Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest. Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalise the country’s stagnant economy. Mr Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag – a sister publication of Politico owned by the Axel Springer Group – published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month that he has supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD. “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” he wrote in his translated commentary. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announces the decision to dissolve the Bundestag and schedule a new election for February 23 (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) The Tesla Motors chief executive also wrote that his investment in Germany gives him the right to comment on the country’s condition. The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party. Billionaire Mr Musk, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image. “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Technology billionaire Elon Musk is an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump (Brandon Bell/Pool/AP) Eva Marie Kogel wrote: “I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.” A critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Mr Musk’s opinion piece. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” he wrote. Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Mr Burgard – who is due to take over on January 1 – said in a joint statement that the discussion over Mr Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.” “This will continue to determine the compass of the ‘world’ in the future. We will develop ‘Die Welt’ even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.
Upcoming IPOs: Indo Farm Equipment among four public offerings to watch out for next weekTelstra Group Limited ( OTCMKTS:TLGPY – Get Free Report ) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,600 shares, a decline of 46.0% from the November 30th total of 49,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 125,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Telstra Group Stock Down 0.7 % Shares of OTCMKTS:TLGPY opened at $12.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.91. Telstra Group has a 52 week low of $11.19 and a 52 week high of $13.90. Telstra Group Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Telstra Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Telstra Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Two teams headed in opposite directions square off Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City when the Utah Jazz host the New York Knicks. The Jazz come in on a four-game losing streak, having most recently blown a huge lead at San Antonio on Thursday. They entered the weekend last in the Western Conference with just three wins on the season. Conversely, the Knicks bring a four-game winning streak to Utah after kicking off a five-game road trip Wednesday night with a victory at Phoenix. Coach Tom Thibodeau was pleased with how well the Knicks performed together in their 138-122 win over the short-handed Suns, who were missing injured stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. "The guys are starting to get used to playing off of each other," Thibodeau said. "Each game you can see they're seeing things. They're reading the game extremely well. I think they're creating good spacing. They're cutting extremely well and what that's doing is it's opening up the floor and we're playing into space. And everyone's unselfish. We had 30 assists. I think that's huge." In the win at Phoenix, Jalen Brunson scored 23 points in the first half and Karl-Anthony Towns poured in 23 in the second half. Brunson finished with 36 points and 10 assists. He hit 12 of 21 field goals overall and drained 7 of 11 3-point attempts. Towns totaled 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the floor, adding 10 rebounds to help the Knicks continue their winning ways after two victories over Brooklyn and one against Washington. The Jazz came unraveled Thursday night after taking a 20-point first-half lead at San Antonio. Lauri Markkanen scored 27 and Keyonte George chipped in with 19 against the Spurs, who were playing without injured star center Victor Wembanyama. "I thought the first half, the energy, the tempo, the ball movement, the competitive spirit of the team was as good as we've seen in a while," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. That wasn't the case in the second half, however, as Utah gave up 75 points and was outscored by 12 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Reserve Brice Sensabaugh, who's seen inconsistent playing time, was a highlight for Utah in the first half, when he totaled 13 of his 18 points. "He has not complained. He's not had, like, a ‘woe-is-me' mentality. He's just come to work every day and he's taken some hard coaching," Hardy said. "He understands what's expected of him, but to his credit, he was ready, and he deserves all of the credit for that." Off to a tough start, the Jazz are hoping to find more consistency. The uneven play was evident against the Spurs, and it's been an issue at home, too. Utah returns to the Delta Center, usually a difficult venue for opponents, with just a 1-5 home record. "At the end of the day, you've got to play two halves," Collin Sexton said after scoring 18 for Utah. "We've got to play 48 minutes. You can't allow the first half to get you too high or get you too low, you've got to always stay consistent and just continue to build off of that." --Field Level MediaMinter: Cut flowers for the holidays
Today, the art of investment is not any more intimidating pursuit in the hands of Wall Street wizards alone; it’s an adventure for almost anyone willing to explore. Imagine building a portfolio that not only reflects your financial aspirations but also resonates with your values-this is finding your financial fit. With all the new, innovative tools and cutting-edge technology at your fingertips – from stock screeners filtering investments based on your unique criteria to those focused on sustainability, technology, or social impact-now is probably the most seamless journey in the investment landscape ever. So, let’s examine how you can step up your investment game, get your money working for you, and always stay true to who you are. How To Align Your Investments With Right Tools? In an age where technology is reshaping how we manage our finances, finding your financial fit has never been more exciting or accessible. You can create your investment portfolio based on your personal values and areas of tolerance, along with your other financial goals. Whether you are seasoned or just starting out, innovative tools and approaches can help take your investment game to a whole new level, such as using the power of a stock screener. 1. Into the Digital Revolution Thanks to technology, the financial world has entirely changed. The days of studying everything in books and doing manual searches for investments are behind us. There are so many digital tools that make this process easy enough for anyone to get a foot into the stock market. The most significant development is probably the emergence of robo-advisors. These automated platforms evaluate your situation and goals, then create and manage an optimized diversified portfolio customized for you. They will invest on your behalf with little effort on your part, thus ideal for those who have always wanted to set up a passive strategy. In addition, many robo-advisors include socially responsible investing. 2. Filter Stocks With Stock Screeners Stock screens are among the most important tools for any investor. This is an efficient tool that filters stocks on specific criteria, thus making a selection easier or finding an investment running in line with your strategy. It lets you set parameters based on market capitalization, dividend yield, price-to-earnings ratio, and even ESG scores. That helps you concentrate on stocks that align with your financial goals and ethical considerations. For example, if you are interested in sustainability, you can screen for companies with high ESG ratings. Therefore, you can invest in businesses that may give financial returns but simultaneously help society. 3. Emerging Investment Strategies While investing, consider new strategies that reflect the current trends people in the market find popular. Here are a few of them for you to consider: 1. Thematic Investing: This investing style focuses on sectors or trends and not specifically on particular sectors. It could be companies associated with telehealth, renewable energy, or cybersecurity, for instance. Doing this helps you invest in areas with substantial growth and align your portfolio with the current trend of interest. 2. Impact Investing: Impact investing tends to share a striking similarity with SRI: it combines financial returns with measurable social or environmental benefits. It is an attractive strategy for individuals who want their investments to support causes that matter to them, whether that is education, health, climate action, or something else. 3. Fractional Shares: Because of fractional share investing, you do not necessarily have to save much money to buy expensive stocks. You can diversify your portfolio even if you do not have a huge savings account because you will acquire fractions of shares from those gigantic companies. So it will not be challenging to spread your investments in different sectors. 4. Leverage Data and Analytics Data-driven decision-making has also become an essential part of investing today. Most platforms provide analytics tools, which provide insights into market trends and stock performance. One can access real-time data, historical performance metrics, and even sentiment analysis, which drives decisions accordingly. You can, therefore, use these tools to make informed decisions that may eradicate possible risks. You can perfectly analyze your data and show all the chances you would otherwise not recognize. 5. Building a Community Another amazing feature of modern investing is the ability to build a sense of community through technology. One can easily connect with fellow investors, gain insights, and learn on forums, social media groups, or even through investment applications. Connecting with like-minded people may also provide support, accountability, and inspiration when navigating your financial journey. Discussions about stock picks, investment strategies, and market trends abound on platforms like Reddit and Twitter, and specific online forums are dedicated to investing. Joining these communities can increase your knowledge and confidence, turning you into a more well-informed investor. Finding the perfect financial fit requires being current about various financial news and trends. Subscription to financial news websites, investment newsletters, and market analysis blogs provides precious insight into the financial landscape, keeping one on top. Participation in webinars and virtual investment conferences also helps deepen your understanding of various investment strategies and tools. As you embark on this journey, remember to be patient and flexible. The investment landscape continues to evolve, so you will continue learning and maturing throughout your journey. It is possible to develop a portfolio that not only aims for financial success but also corresponds with your values and your belief in using the right tools and staying informed. Happy investing!
TOPSTAR is fully committed to entering the new energy field. 12-17-2024 11:22 PM CET | Associations & Organizations Press release from: ABNewswire The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly proposes to actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Realizing carbon peak and carbon neutrality is a major mission assigned to the industrial sector in the new development stage. In recent years, as one of the top ten energy-saving pioneer enterprises and comprehensive manufacturing service providers, TOPSTAR has always adhered to the high-quality development path of green and low-carbon, practiced the new development concept, and become a backbone force in promoting the application of new energy technology. TOPSTAR takes green and healthy lighting products as its main focus, focuses on lighting product manufacturing, explores diversified development, actively lays out and extends the industrial chain, enters new fields in the lighting sub industry, and expands into the new energy industry. Based on green and sustainable development, TOPSTAR regards new energy business as the "new track" of development. It has established a 6000 square meter charging pile production workshop and advanced automated production lines and equipment configuration to help continuously increase production capacity. Scientific production process flow, strict production quality control system, layer by layer control of energy conservation and safety, ensuring product quality. In June 2023, TOPSTAR made its debut at the 2023 Munich International Battery Energy Storage and Smart Energy Expo with new energy products. Based on providing users with safe, reliable, and cost-effective new energy solutions, TOPSTAR received unanimous praise from exhibitors and customers, and achieved remarkable results. Image: https://ecdn6.globalso.com/upload/p/1005/image_other/2024-03/65e955ccad07457383.png Intelligent electric vehicle charging station Green and low-carbon Intelligent electric vehicle charging stations [ https://www.topstarevc.com/ ] are divided into two types: household and commercial. They have a simple and lightweight design, are suitable for multiple scenarios, are easy to install, and are plug and charge; Equipped with dust-proof and rainproof design, the overall protection can reach IP65 and IK10, and also has functions such as over temperature protection and leakage protection. Some charging stations can also support Bluetooth, WiFi connection, and APP remote control; On the interface, American standard, European standard, and national standard charging plugs are adopted for different market demands, suitable for various types of charging port models. Battery energy storage system [ https://www.topstarevc.com/ ] Energy conservation and environmental protection The battery energy storage system, due to its minimal design, combines the characteristics of easy installation and is suitable for household integrated light storage and charging systems. It has floor to ceiling and wall mounted installation options, built-in battery safety protection technology, high energy efficiency density design, and IP65 waterproof rating; Simultaneously compatible with multiple inverter models, supporting high-power output of battery pack units (100A/5KW under specified conditions), suitable for power outages and emergency situations. TOPSTAR will adhere to the new requirements of green and sustainable development, adhere to the high-quality development path of green and low-carbon, accelerate the construction of energy-saving and consumption reduction in urban road lighting, actively promote the development of urban lighting into the photovoltaic industry, broaden the application scenarios of new energy, and continuously contribute to the national "dual carbon" goals. Media Contact Company Name: Xiamen Topstar Co., Ltd. Email:Send Email [ https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=topstar-is-fully-committed-to-entering-the-new-energy-field ] Country: China Website: https://www.topstarevc.com/ This release was published on openPR.iOS 18.2: Everything You Can Do With ChatGPT Integration
On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here . Getting benched may have been the best thing that happened to Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson. Both second-year quarterbacks are playing well since returning to the starting lineup. Young has steadily improved after coming back in Week 8. He’s displayed the skills that earned him a Heisman Trophy at Alabama and convinced the Carolina Panthers to draft him ahead of C.J. Stroud with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. Young had his best game on Sunday, nearly leading Carolina to an overtime win over Tampa Bay if it weren’t for Chuba Hubbard’s fumble in field-goal range. He threw for 298 yards and a go-ahead touchdown pass in the final minute of a 26-23 loss . Young almost led the Panthers to a win over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs a week earlier only to see Patrick Mahomes drive Kansas City into position for a winning field goal as time expired. Rookie coach Dave Canales benched Young for veteran Andy Dalton after just two games in which he had a 44.1 passer rating. The 23-year-old has completed 60.4% of his passes for 1,062 yards, six TDs and three interceptions — none in the past three games — while going 2-3 in the five starts since Young got another opportunity to lead the Panthers (3-9). Richardson has led Indianapolis to a pair of comeback wins late in the fourth quarter in three starts after he regained his starting job. The Colts (6-7) selected Richardson No. 4 last year and he started just 10 games before coach Shane Steichen benched him for Joe Flacco in Week 9. Richardson completed only 44.4% of his passes with four TDs and seven picks in his first six starts. He’s improved to 52.4% with three TDs and two picks since coming back. The 22-year-old tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Alec Pierce on fourth-and-goal with 12 seconds remaining and then ran in for a 2-point conversion to lift the Colts to a 25-24 win over New England on Sunday. Young and Richardson both have a long way to go to prove they can be franchise quarterbacks. But there’s far more optimism now that they’re not busts. Young is on his third head coach and second offensive coordinator in two seasons. Canales is known for getting the best out of quarterbacks, helping Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield revive their careers. He made a bold decision to bench Young after just two games but that allowed him to watch, grow and learn without the pressure of having to perform. Now it appears Young might have a future in Carolina when that seemed unlikely in September. Richardson just needs more experience. He threw only 393 passes in college and started four games as a rookie before he was injured. Steichen’s decision to bench him for Flacco didn’t work out. Flacco, who was the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year last year after leading Cleveland to the playoffs by going 4-1 in five starts, struggled in two games. Still, that gave Richardson a chance to reset after tapping out for a play in the game before he was benched. Quarterbacks need time to develop. They can’t be judged fairly after one or two seasons, especially when they were high draft picks who joined bad teams that lacked talent. Matt Eberflus lost his job as Chicago’s head coach a day after he watched the offense run out of time with a timeout in hand, missing an opportunity to push Detroit to overtime on Thanksgiving. But Antonio Pierce made an even worse decision on Black Friday that cost the Raiders a chance to beat the Chiefs. Aidan O’Donnell drove Las Vegas to the Chiefs 32 with 15 seconds left. Instead of trying for a game-winning field goal down 19-17, Pierce wanted O’Donnell to take the snap, allow more time to tick and throw the ball away. But O’Donnell wasn’t ready for the snap, the Chiefs recovered the fumble and escaped with the win. aManaging the clock shouldn’t be this difficult for NFL head coaches. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is having the worst season of his 13-year career. If he wasn’t one of the best kickers in NFL history, Baltimore would’ve made a switch already. But coach John Harbaugh has too much respect for Tucker, who began the season as the most accurate kicker in league history. Tucker has missed a career-high eight field-goal attempts, including two in a 24-19 loss to Philadelphia. Harbaugh, a former special teams coach, isn’t planning to replace Tucker. But the Ravens (8-5) have Super Bowl aspirations and Tucker needs to straighten things out. One solution would be to place him on injured reserve to work on his technique. In this case, Tucker has earned the right not to be released. Plus, he’s signed through 2027. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflGREG JOHNSON: Saints game proves Giants assembled historically bad quarterback room
It was a fine first win for Ruud van Nistelrooy , and perhaps one final defeat for Julen Lopetegui. Leicester marked Van Nistelrooy’s first match in charge of the team by surging to a 3-1 win over Lopetegui's West Ham in the Premier League on Tuesday. Van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United striker, is back in English soccer this time as a manager, with Leicester taking something of a gamble on the Dutchman after his brief and impressive spell as interim coach at United this season following Erik ten Hag's departure. He faces the tough task of keeping Leicester, one of the top candidates for relegation, in the top division. For that to happen, he’s likely to need goals from Jamie Vardy — and the 37-year-old former England international delivered immediately. Nine years after breaking Van Nistelrooy’s record for scoring in consecutive games, Vardy scored the first goal of the Dutchman’s tenure at Leicester by beating the offside trap and slotting home a finish with less than two minutes gone. Morocco midfielder Bilal El Khannouss supplied the pass for Vardy’s goal and scored himself with a low shot in the 61st minute to make it 2-0. Patson Daka added a third for Leicester in the 90th minute, before a stoppage-time consolation by West Ham substitute Niclas Füllkrug. “We are very happy with the new manager," El Khannouss said of Van Nistelrooy. “He arrived two days ago, and there’s a new dynamic in the group.” Van Nistelrooy praised the “spirit and energy” in his team. “The foundation for us going forward is everyone working their socks off, fighting for every inch and defending together,” he said. “We can look further then, and they did that in an unbelievable way.” This dismal result for West Ham came three days after its 5-2 thrashing at home by Arsenal , which piled more pressure of Lopetegui early in the former Spain and Real Madrid coach's first season with the London club. West Ham's disgruntled traveling fans chanted "You’re getting sacked in the morning” toward Lopetegui during the second half — even if his team dominated large parts of the game but only had one goal to show from 31 shots on goal. “We're very frustrated but in the same way I can say nothing about the players — they fight until the end,” Lopetegui said. "It’s not easy to explain football some days.” West Ham has lost seven of its 14 games so far and is in 14th place in the 20-team league, one spot above Leicester. Crystal Palace won for just the second time in the league this season, beating relegation rival Ipswich 1-0 to pull clear of the bottom three. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the goal in the 59th minute. Palace’s only other league victory was against Tottenham in October. While Ipswich stayed in next-to-last place, Palace moved three points above the relegation zone. Much of the focus ahead of the game was on the teams’ captains , Sam Morsy of Ipswich and Marc Guehi of Palace, during another round when the Premier League was celebrating LGBTQ+ inclusion in its campaign to promote equality and diversity. For the second straight game, Morsy chose against wearing a rainbow armband issued to the captain of each of the 20 teams in the league. He has made the decision “due to his religious beliefs,” Ipswich says. Guehi did wear the rainbow armband but defied Football Association rules by writing a religious message on the item. The message read “Jesus loves you” — using a heart sign instead of the word “loves.” During the match against Newcastle on Saturday, Guehi wrote “I love Jesus” — and was later contacted by the FA for acting in contravention of its regulations. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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Stock market today: Wall Street inches higher to set more recordsLiverpool stars teased Mohamed Salah about his furious clash with Jurgen Klopp before he led them to victory against West Ham on Sunday night. The Egyptian forward was in stunning form at the London Stadium with a goal and two assists. It saw him break a Premier League record for scoring and assisting in an eighth game in the same season. The 32-year-old now has a stunning 20 goals and 17 assists this term. Salah certainly enjoyed better fortune this time than last season. He was involved in a furious touchline exchange with former boss Klopp ahead of being introduced as a substitute at the same ground during the 2023-24 campaign. And his team-mates could not resist the opportunity to give him a reminder. Speaking to Sky Sports after Liverpool ’s win, he said: "In the dressing room, the players said, 'Do you remember what happened here last year?' They were laughing. Virgil started it. We had a laugh about it. It was not a nice moment here last year but this one was better." Funnily enough, neither Salah nor Klopp have ever revealed what was said between the two at the time of their angry argument. Both the forward and the German were pictured shouting at each other back in April. Asked for his assessment, Klopp remained tight-lipped, he said: “No. But we spoke already in the dressing room, for me that’s done.” Asked if he thought the matter was put to bed, he added: “That was my impression, yeah.” But Salah was slightly more descriptive. A video on social media showed him saying: "If I speak there will be fire." Is Salah the best footballer in the world right now? Share your thoughts in the comments below And while Salah and Klopp remained quiet, West Ham star Michail Antonio did give a slight insight . Talking on the Footballers’ Football Podcast, he said: "Basically - this is not inside information, nobody has told me anything - but what I have heard is what the boys have been talking about on the training ground. "As the [Liverpool] players come on, Klopp always gives them a big hug and says 'good luck', but when Mo came on he walked in a different direction and was doing his shinpads and stuff like that. Klopp has put his hand out to him and his hand was there for a bit and as Mo stopped doing what he was doing, he just slapped his [Klopp's] hand as a high five. "Obviously Klopp didn’t like that and he was like, ‘do you want to sit back down?’, basically saying, 'do you want to go on?'. And nobody has told me what Mo said back." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £240 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
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SEOUL (XINHUA) – As a major side effect of the ongoing political crisis in South Korea, the local currency gave its worst performance last week compared to other major currencies against the United States dollar, Yonhap said yesterday citing available data. The Korean won dropped 1.86 per cent against the greenback on Friday from a week earlier, the worst performer among major currencies, according to the Yonhap report. South Korea’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok vowed yesterday to take “pre-emptive” action in collaboration with the country’s central bank to respond to foreign exchange volatilities. Choi made the remarks as he called on the National Assembly to finalise the budget bill for the coming year, one of the major friction points between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and the opposition-controlled legislature in the lead-up to the emergency martial law declaration by the president.
The U.S. is set to grant a more-than $9.6 billion loan to Ford and a partner for the construction of new electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plants, with the country’s top energy agency this week saying that it has finalized the offer. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has finalized a $9.63 billion loan for Ford and South Korean company SK On, set to help the companies establish three brand-new battery production facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee, as reported by Reuters . The BlueOval SK joint venture is the largest loan ever to come from the agency’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program, coming from the Biden administration ahead of Donald Trump taking office in January. The companies plan to begin construction on the first Kentucky factory in 2025, with the Tennessee facility expected to follow later in the year. This funding is expected to eventually support the production of 120 GWh of EV batteries per year, and as the U.S. seeks to bolster its domestic supply chain for batteries and reduce its reliance on China. In an interview with the head of the DOE loan program, Jigar Shah, the agency official highlighted the importance of the loan enabling U.S. jobs, and promoting local production of EV batteries. “This program is essential to getting people to choose the United States of America,” Shah said. “When you look at the competition that we have from China, it is very clear to me that they have used low-cost debt for a very long time to promote a lot of manufacturing capacity that has hollowed out many communities in Kentucky, Tennessee, and other states around the country.” READ MORE ON DEPT. OF ENERGY: Rivian gains conditional $6.6B loan commitment for Georgia factory The DOE initially offered a conditional commitment of $9.2 billion for the Ford JV loan, and some have criticized the process taking almost 18 months since the plan was approved in June 2023. Blue Oval SK has responded to criticisms of the lengthy process by saying that the department went through rigorous due diligence to finalize the loan, including thorough reviews of the financial, technical, legal, market, credit, and regulatory implications. Ford also has a battery supply deal in place with fellow Korean battery supplier LG Energy Solution (LGES) for the European and North American markets, and part of the agreement includes bringing battery production for the Mustang Mach-E to the U.S. In its third-quarter earnings call, Ford reported a $1.2 billion loss on EVs , saying that it expects to reach a full-year loss of roughly $5 billion as it aims to achieve profitability with the sector. What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com , find me on X at @zacharyvisconti , or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com . Ford & GM might be required to stop imports from China Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace: