The Inflation Reduction Act could not have been passed without West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who surprised everyone when he helped push the green job-laden bill across the finish line. It’s less than a year since the bill passed, and no one in the Senate is seemingly madder about the bill than Senator Manchin.
We’ve got that this morning, plus a Ford deal that’s probably not going to make Manchin any happier, more veiled threats from Stellantis, and Škoda news (because we can).
Joe Manchin Is Pissed
In most modern democracies, a legislative branch (a congress or a parliament, usually) passes laws intended to tell the executive branch how to do things. There exist, however, practical limits to how much a bill can specify. For instance, a law banning the use of the term “hot dog” on packaging for any sausages not made with pork might specify the dollar amount of the fine for any violations. A law is unlikely to detail the kind of paper the fine might be written on or the name of the person writing up the fine.
It’s in the interpretation of the enforcement of laws that the executive branch tends to find a lot of its power. Take, for instance, the Inflation Reduction Act. When it passed, it used the carrot of massive tax breaks to encourage, among other things:
- EVs to be built in North America
- Battery packs to be assembled here, too
- Battery materials to come from places we have trade agreements with
Automakers, as automakers do, have been trying to wiggle around those laws by claiming cars leased for Uber drivers are commercial vehicles. In addition, by pushing back the rules interpretation to later this year, the Treasury Department allowed a bunch of people to buy Teslas and claim a tax credit. Senator Manchin proposed a bill to force people to give those tax credits back. It didn’t pass.
The next battle is over what counts as “manufactured” or “assembled” when it comes to making battery packs. How assembled is assembled? Is it like Technic, where you have to put all the little pieces together, or is it like Duplo, where you’re just pushing together the mostly formed modular pieces? The Treasury Department is on the verge of deciding.
There’s a good read on the issues today in Automotive News that has most of the details:
So why is Senator Manchin upset?
[…]
“What I’m most concerned about is how they classify the processing with manufacturing,” Manchin told Automotive News. “Manufacturing is meant to bring manufacturing back to the United States. It’s not basically allowing everyone to put all the parts and build everything you can for that battery somewhere else and then send it here for assembly.”
The “they” in this situation is the Treasury Department, which is under the guidance of President Joe Biden.
How much of this is theater intended to influence them to keep requirements stiff and how much he means it is not clear, but boy it’ll be fun to watch what happens when the guidance comes out (probably tomorrow).
Ford Is Part Of A $4.5 Billion Nickel Plant In Indonesia
When it comes to materials that are difficult to source for a battery, lithium is actually not that bad. It’s the cobalt, nickel, and manganese that tend to be a little bit tougher. You know who has an ass ton of nickel? The island nation of Indonesia!
That’s good news for Indonesia, which wants investors to build a bunch of nickel processing facilities in the country. In fact, Indonesia banned the export of unprocessed nickel for that reason a few years ago for this very reason. Guess who is stepping up to snatch some of that nickel? Ford.
U.S. carmaker Ford (F.N) has joined PT Vale Indonesia (INCO.JK) and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt’s as their new partner in a $4.5 billion nickel processing plant in Indonesia, the companies said on Thursday.
The investment is Ford’s first in the Southeast Asian country and underscores growing appetite among automakers for raw materials used in producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries, which account for about 40% of a vehicle’s sticker price, aiming to cut costs and close the gap on EV market leader Tesla (TSLA.O).
If you were curious, the United States does not have a comprehensive free trade agreement with Indonesia, so it’s not clear where this processed nickel is going. Ford has plenty of operations in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere that will need resources.
Stellantis CEO Seems To Be Gunning For A Fight
There’s already been a decent amount of discussion around these parts about Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and the showdown that’s brewing between the company and the UAW. Perhaps the two sides have cooled off a bit.
Ahhh nope.
Stellantis is conducting a “manufacturing assessment” of the Sterling Heights facility that makes the Ram 1500.
From a Detroit News article about the hubbub:
CEO Carlos Tavares has emphasized the need to find savings, because electric vehicles are 40% more expensive than their internal combustion engine counterparts. He’s said there is significant room for improvement in North American manufacturing efficiency based on best practice elsewhere and has noted how U.S. absenteeism is higher than Europe’s.
It’s worth noting here that autoworkers who build cars for Stellantis in Italy get an EU guaranteed 20 days off and another 10 from the Italian government.
The United Auto Workers represent both the Belvedere, Illinois plant that’s been mothballed and the Sterling Heights facility. What does UAW think about this? Here’s UAW VP Rich Boyer earlier this week to workers:
“I’m going to make one commitment to everybody in this room: If you’re in trouble, we’re coming,” he said. “Stellantis is coming. We’re coming to your side. We’re going to walk the line with you. We’re going to do whatever we’ve got to do to make sure you survive.”
Carlos Tavares worked under Carlos Ghosn and, somewhat famously, departed Nissan allegedly because he was worried Ghosn would never give up the top role. Tavares is a self-described “performance psychopath” and seems to be bringing that energy to North American manufacturing.
He’s probably not wrong about the inefficiencies inherent in some (or all) of the company’s facilities and the need to reform them, but with a changing and potentially ascendent labor movement in this country I’m curious about his tactics.
I Can’t Wait For This Škoda Camper Concept
Every year the students at the Škoda Vocational School put together a concept car. They’ve had some wild ideas, ranging from little beach cars to big ol’ rally crossovers. This year’s concept combines two of our favorite things: Škodas and campers:
In their design sketches, the students have already defined the personality of their dream car. As a battery electric office camper, the first ever Student Car based on an Enyaq iV is intended to be a companion on journeys to new horizons. A personal space for experiences and discoveries, it also underlines Škoda’s commitment to electric mobility. As is typical for the brand, the upcoming Student Car will benefit from iconic “Simply Clever” features and state-of-the-art technology, while also incorporating a wide array of sustainable materials. The aim of the car is to let its owner become a digital nomad – working without being tied to a desk, free to move wherever and whenever they want to. It’s a perfect match for Škoda’s new “Explore More” concept and precisely the right vehicle for modern explorers and independent adventurers.
This thing is gonna be cool.
Let’s Try Something
I might be able to have you comment on specific content with inline comments.
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Photos: Stellantis, U.S. Senate, Ford, Kia, Skoda
Manchin is an idiot.. its bad enough the income limits are as low as they are, 75k for the used credit? come on, it blocked the koreans who have the most compelling products ATM. Im not going to buy an Escape PHEV as its the one one that qualifies!
The manufacturing should have been phased in (like batteries), and the income caps should have been based on cost of living.. Agree with Beer-light Fuck that guy!
And blocking the Koreans was a very special dick move, given our free trade agreement with them.
Warning: If Manchin were a member of this site (like you or I) you wouldn’t be allowed to say anything negative about them, no matter how public of a person they are. Otherwise your comment can get stealth deleted.
What are u referencing to ?
If I reference it my comment will be removed. Lets say a very public person with a “colorful” history who ran for congress was promoted in an Autopian post and when I told people they should look into this person’s history including some specifics (while not containing any expletives) my comment was removed and later G rated variants that were intentionally vague were held for moderation and not approved. I was told after I replied to the thread referencing the stealth comment removal that said very public person with a “colorful” history is a member and criticism of members is not allowed.
Seemingly it doesn’t matter how public of a person one is nor what they have done in their past, or what they do in their present. So beware of saying anything less than positive about any person in general as if they are a member of this site your comment/s will be removed.
Appears so.
After reading, it showed “22 Comments”, but I could only see one. I clicked on lightning, then fire, then refreshed four or five times, then clicked on the Autopian-home box at the top, went back into the article, refreshed a couple more times, and voilà, all of the comments appeared! Turns out the new commenting system is kind of like starting my ’79 Duster – when hope is lost, just keep pumping the gas and turning the key and it will eventually work.
What browser are you using? We’ve gotten reports that browsers that aren’t Chrome seem to have issues seeing every comment. Looks like something to investigate.
Not a Chrome user (usually run Firefox), and having issues seeing all comments, especially after posting a reply.
Chrome on android is hit or miss. I see 3 comments, but need to click on the flame or the lightning bolt to see more.
Chrome on Windows at least has the page count and previous buttons to navigate the comments.
Chrome on a desktop, no ad-blockers
(and the edit function is sweet!)
I hope Joe Manchin spends the rest of his life pissed. He’s an unbelievably selfish regressive asshole who has spent his entire political career doing everything he can to enrich himself and his buddies. The dude has been actively screwing over climate legislation his entire life solely so he and his cronies don’t have to shut the money nozzle from coal off. There are very few redeeming characters in American politics but Manchin is a living parody of how corrupted our system has become and how the 1% have hijacked it to push themselves further from consequences and line their pockets even more at the expensive of literally everyone but themselves.
Stay pissed, Joe. I hope your life remains as miserable as humanely possible and that the remainder of your ghastly political career is a series of increasingly embarrassing Ls. I’m not sure if I can think of anyone from our era that history is going to be more unkind to than this buffoon. People are going to talk about his despicable actions for decades to come…if the world hasn’t burned down by then.
As said multiple times on this thread beware of who you criticize on this site. If they happen to be a member on this site (like you or I) any negative criticism of them will result in your comment getting stealth deleted. It doesn’t matter how public of a person they are or what they’ve done in the past or what they’re doing in the present.
EVs cost 40% more to make because of materials. You cant expect manufacturers to subsidize the bloated labor costs because that makes them doubly expensive. And the manufacturer isnt eating those costs he is passing them onto the buyer. 1 am not paying tens of thousands more for some guy to do nothing. Top that of with raising taxes to pay for billions in payoffs for things like the IRA, no cars under $100,000 will be hear in 10 years or less.
Dave I have a suggestion for you. When you read an article and want to comment, don’t. Instead, write out your comment on a piece of paper to review. Then soak that paper in gasoline and set it on fire. Thank you.
Chris – that is a good opinion.
Yes
Yes?
Matt, just an FYI, the only way to see all the comments on this is to go into your own comment and then they all appear.
Yes, is there a way to see more than 3 of the comments?
It better or that means that Torch forgot a floppy disk or something in the process.
o.O
I really wish I could see all the comments on articles.
Can you email me? I’d like to figure this out.
Sent with screenshot evidence.
Yeah, I saw a lot more, longer comments on this article in the incognito window I first opened it in, then once I logged in, they’re all gone. Chrome, Windows 10. No idea what sort of filtering is going on.
Alright, once I clicked on the inline-comment, the rest all showed up, even the ones that weren’t replies to that. Looks like that feature still needs some work.
It’s very odd.
Sometimes I refresh and get no comments.
Sometimes I get all the top level comments and none of the replies.
Sometimes I get everything.
Sometimes clicking on my comment in the My Settings works to load the missing comments, sometimes it doesn’t.
No rhyme or reason that I can discern. I’ve also never seen any notifications in the floating comment bubble, and getting email notifications of replies seems to have stopped without me doing anything (I consider the lack of emails a good thing, but wish I got the notifications in the bubble!)
I have also not yet seen the orange notification circle.
Edit – now I’m seeing it, but for all new comments on an article which I also commented on.
Hmm it says here there are currently 14 comments but I only see one.
I have noticed this today on multiple articles as well. Maybe Torch missed a disk when using his Apple Lisa to upgrade the comments.
Yes?
It’s showing 10 comments but didn’t show me any until I clicked the Lightning Bolt (2) or Fire (4).
Inline comments? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time… long time. ::strokes grey beard::
I mean, I’m trying? Can I make $17,000 and hour by sending you pictures of toenail clippings?
Is there a simple way to see all comments?
They already have enough pictures of the Tonale 😛
The devil is in the details. Well, he’s in the Senate, but he’s also in the details.
The devil is in the Senate, or Cancun if the power goes out.
I hope Richard Ojeda runs for that senate seat in 2024.
As far as Ford and Indonesia, it’s certainly a country with plenty of cheap labor. I’m sure all the bean counters and risk management people have had their input and it makes sense for them financially, but is it really helping anything environmentally when it all has to be shipped by freighters to get anywhere? Profit is profit, but it just goes to show that all this “Committed To Green Energy And Carbon Neutrality” is still just bullshit marketing.
This could be a good setup on the morning dump to allow people to easily comment on specific stories. Maybe it could even encourage rootwyrm to break the comments down a little with a separate comment per story!
No offense intended. I generally read rootwyrm’s comments and agree with large portions, but I do sometimes need to refresh my memory on which things the dump mentioned.
This is a test of the inline comment system. This is only a test. Had this been an actual comment, this message would have been followed by something insightful, witty, or at least a bad pun.
*tap* *tap* *tap* Is this thing on?
Totally breaking the fourth wall with this one!
Inline comments? My comments should generally be out of line.
I’m surprise Manchin didn’t try to insist that in order to qualify an EV had to run on coal. Fuck that guy.
I ran across a Tesla around Wake Forest, NC 2 years ago with license plate “COALPWRD”. I found it amusing.
Well, about 20% of the electricity in the US comes from coal power (over 60% from fossil fuels), so technically….
https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3
That varies greatly depending on where in the country you live. In CA for example, it is 3% coal (and 41.1% total fossil fuels).
https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/2021-total-system-electric-generation
Here in Idaho, we’re at 19.9% coal, but natural gas is only 12.6%, making a total of almost 32.5% fossil fuels. We use a lot of hydro power, as well as wind, solar, geothermal, and a small amount of biofuels.
You can pay extra to be on renewables only, but I have seen nothing that makes me believe they aren’t just taking in the extra money on that to keep regular prices lower (we have very low electric rates)
He’s fighting to make sure they maintain the deal that was struck in the first place. He’s completely right on this issue. They are trying to bait and switch.