Autobayng News Team
Since the pandemic, the U.S. has been working to bolster its industrial backbone while simultaneously investing in the future of transportation. It was the promise of “Made in America 2.0,” and the Koreans were one of the first to buy in.
Things became a bit more messy in the current political climate. And when a huge immigration raid on Hyundai’s latest plant in Georgia made international news, it morphed into a diplomatic nightmare. The current administration has since backed down and invited workers back into the States. There’s just one problem—workers may no longer want to come back.
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Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things electric and tech in the automotive space. Also on deck: Tesla’s board warns Musk could quit if $1 trillion pay package isn’t approved and Canada may undo tariffs on Chinese EVs. Let’s jump in.
30%: Trump Opens Door To Hyundai Bringing Back Workers After ICE Raid
Photo by: Hyundai
U.S. President Donald Trump has officially denounced a massive raid on Hyundai’s Georgia Metaplant in September. The raid, which was the largest-ever operation conducted on domestic soil by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, resulted in the detention of an estimated 475 workers at the Hyundai plant.
The majority of those detailed were South Korean nationals contracted as engineers to construct the LG Energy Solutions battery plant. It was confirmed that many of those detained were in the U.S. illegally by misusing visas in a way that was considered an “open secret” in the auto industry.
Trump eventually attempted damage control by noting that foreign workers were welcomed in the U.S. This latest statement, however, is the first time that Trump has outright denounced the Hyundai plant raid. CNN outlines Trump’s comments:
President Donald Trump on Monday agreed, saying he was “very much opposed” to the raid carried out by members of his administration.
“In fact, before they got out… I said they could stay… and they’re going to be coming back,” he said. “When they come in, they’re making very complex machinery, equipment, things. They’re going to have to bring some people in, at least at that initial phase.”
He added: “You can’t expect them to make unbelievably complex chips and computers and other things and pick people off the unemployment line that haven’t worked in five years,” referring to the need for foreign experts to train American workers in skilled production jobs like battery manufacturing.
However, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that those workers may not even want to come back to the U.S. In fact, during an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Myung said that the entire ordeal caused “severe trauma” to workers and their families. Many of those workers, even if offered the opportunity to return, may not want to due to their treatment.
Early reports indicate that the workers detained by ICE were “shackled at the waist, handcuffed, and crammed into rooms with doorless toilets.” Some also reported having firearms pointed at them by officers. This could lead to the factory being delayed for an unknown amount of time, as Hyundai requires quite a bit of specialized expertise to consult on the factory.
Myung told Bloomberg:
This has also caused severe trauma for the workers as well and I have heard that some workers do not want to go back. Without taking measures to ensure the safety and rational treatment of these workers, there is a high possibility that factory construction in the US may be significantly postponed.
Hyundai has rolled with a lot of punches over the last few years. Not only did it work to transition production of certain models to the U.S. so that they could qualify for the EV tax credit, but it also continued the work, knowing that the tax credit would almost certainly be doomed upon Trump being elected. It also continued to push forward as tariffs made light of the entire import industry so that it could remain competitive.
For now, the battery factory sits half-finished in Georgia as politics continue to short-circuit America’s EV transition.
60%: If Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package Isn’t Approved, Tesla Board Warns He May Quit
Photo by: Patrick George
Elon Musk might be the only CEO on Earth able to ask to for a $1 trillion pay package and make it sound like a favor to shareholders. That’s exactly what Tesla’s board is pitching to anyone with stock, anyway. Just days after threatening it himself, the chair of the automaker’s board has written a letter urging them to vote in favor of Musk’s big payday.
Robyn Denholm’s letter was published on Monday, 10 days ahead of the annual meeting where shareholders will vote on whether or not to grant Musk’s massive compensation package that would effectively make him the first trillionaire in existence. And if the vote fails to pass? Well, that could mean the end of Musk’s leadership, and all of the stock value that is so synonymous with his name.
Reuters touches on the specifics:
The proposed performance-based plan was designed to retain and motivate Musk to continue leading Tesla for at least another seven-and-a-half years, Denholm said in the letter.
Musk’s leadership was “critical” to Tesla’s success, she said, and warned that without a plan that properly incentivizes him, the company could lose his “time, talent and vision”. Musk’s role was vital as Tesla seeks to become a global leader in artificial intelligence and autonomous technology, she said.
The proposed package would grant Musk 12 tranches of stock options tied to ambitious targets, including a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion and milestones in autonomous driving and robotics.
Musk is pitching his continued tenure at Tesla as necessary to lead the company into the future. That’s a future beyond just EVs, by the way. With AI and humanoid robots being the primary focus of the company, and cars potentially just being a byproduct of other things that it makes.
The benefit to Musk isn’t just the money, either. He’s admitted that his motivation is about the control of the company and having a significant enough stake so that he couldn’t be ousted by “activist investors.”
“If I go ahead and build this enormous robot army, can I just be ousted at some point in the future? That’s my biggest concern,” said Musk during Tesla’s Q3 earnings call. He later continued:
“If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over that robot army? Not control, but a strong influence. That’s what it comes down to in a nutshell. I don’t feel comfortable wielding that robot army if I don’t have at least a strong influence.”
Whether or not he’d walk away from Tesla is up in the air, but at this point it feels more like the world’s most expensive game of chicken. He admittedly seems bored with building cars, but a significant portion of Tesla’s huge market cap is built on his shoulders. Maybe that’s why Tesla’s board is invested in keeping the band together.
90%: Canada Rumored To Soon Lift Tariffs On Chinese EVs
Photo by: Xiaomi
The U.S. and Canada have been slap-boxing over tariffs for the last few months. Recently, America’s neighbor to the north aired a series of ads depicting a speech given by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan on protectionist tariffs being damaging. It angered Trump enough for him to declare all trade talks with Canada would be “terminated.”
Well, Canada may soon bring down a second punch as rumors are swirling that it could do away with tariffs on Chinese EVs imported into the country. That tea comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at this week’s APEC summit. The idea is that the two countries are “hoping for a relations reset,” which could include those pesky EV duty fees.
While Carney didn’t outright say that EV tariffs were on the table, he’s expected to unravel a number of policies made under former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. One of those policies was the 100% tariff on Chinese-built EVs imported into the country, a move that mirrored the U.S. when it was enacted.
This also isn’t the first time that we’ve heard rumors of Canada potentially dropping the duty fee. Back in September, Canadian Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said that the government was undergoing a review of its EV-related tariffs, aimed at helping Canadian farmers. And, no, it’s not by giving farmers access to adorable electric kei cars, but instead removing the retaliatory tariffs that China placed on canola oil from Canada.
Whether or not it happens is still to be seen. But if Canada really does go through with the removal of tariffs, it could potentially allow Canadians access to a plethora of in-demand Chinese EVs with the latest tech. And perhaps even more trouble for the U.S., it brings China’s automotive market one step closer to the doorstep of American consumers.
100%: If Canada Accepts China’s EVs, Is America Next?
Photo by: BYD
If Canada really does open its doors to Chinese EVs like rumors have it, it could mean that America is officially surrounded—after all, Mexico already has BYD. Plus, let’s not forget that Europe is getting a number of ’em too, so the peer pressure is on.
Should Canada suddenly remove the trade barriers that it had in place (the same ones that it put in place to support the U.S.), suddenly, some of the world’s cheapest, most advanced EVs are a stone’s throw away from Detroit. That certainly makes this feel more like a when kind of scenario instead of an if.
So, what do you think? If Canada allows China’s EVs in its market, is America next? Let me know in the comments. More EV News We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Insideevs.com? – The InsideEVs team
