Musk And Tesla Are Sued By Shareholders Over Exaggerated Robotaxi Claims

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Good morning! It's Wednesday, August 6, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk are sued by shareholders because of misleading robotaxi claims, Rivian mislaid an astonishing magnitude of money successful nan 2nd quarter, Lucid is having its ain transportation struggles and moreover Honda is emotion tariff pains.

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Tesla and CEO Elon Musk person been sued by shareholders who are accusing them of securities fraud. The group alleges that they concealed nan thought that the company's robotaxi and different self-driving vehicles were dangerous. The projected people action suit was revenge earlier this week, and nan move comes pursuing Tesla's first nationalist trial of robotaxis successful Austin, Texas a fewer months ago.

Since these robotaxis are a spot of a half-baked product, it's nary astonishment that tests person shown them speeding, braking suddenly, driving complete a curb, entering nan incorrect lane and dropping customers disconnected successful nan mediate of a multilane road. Musk and his institution person been accused of many times overstating nan effectiveness of nan robotaxi and nan prospects for their autonomous driving tech. From Reuters:

Shareholders said this included Musk's assurance connected an April 22 convention telephone that Tesla was "laser-focused connected bringing robotaxi to Austin successful June," and Tesla's declare nan aforesaid time that its attack to autonomous driving would present "scalable and safe deployment crossed divers geographies and usage cases."

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Expanding robotaxis is important for Tesla arsenic nan institution faces falling request for its aging electrical vehicles and a backlash complete Musk's politics.

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Monday's suit successful Austin national tribunal is led by Tesla shareholder Denise Morand, and seeks damages for shareholders betwixt April 19, 2023 and June 22, 2025.

This isn't nan first clip Tesla has had to woody pinch autonomous driving claims successful court. Just a fewer days ago, Tesla was recovered 33% responsible for a fatal 2019 clang that progressive its driver assistance software. It was ordered to salary astir $243 cardinal successful damages to nan victims, but it continues to blasted nan 22-year-old driver and plans to appeal.

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Rivian conscionable posted disastrous second-quarter results that are still someway an betterment complete nan anterior year. The automaker reported a gargantuan nett nonaccomplishment of $1.1 billion, yet that's a triumph complete nan $1.5 cardinal nonaccomplishment it posted during nan aforesaid clip past year. Revenue besides roseate 13% from past twelvemonth to $1.3 billion. It besides kept its 2025 transportation guidance of betwixt 40,000 and 46,000 vehicles intact, but it's going to request immoderate thief successful nan 2nd half of nan year. Small victories, I suppose.

Riv posted a gross nonaccomplishment of $206 cardinal successful nan 2nd 4th — acold amended than nan $451 cardinal nonaccomplishment it posted a twelvemonth earlier. CEO RJ Scaringe said nan automaker faces a much challenging business ambiance acknowledgment to policies enacted by nan Trump management that summation tariffs and trim national support for EVs. So overmuch for supporting American companies, Don. From Automotive News:

"The argumentation situation continues to beryllium analyzable and quickly evolving," Scaringe said. "Changes to EV taxation credits, regulatory credits, waste and acquisition regularisation and tariffs are expected to person an effect connected nan results and nan rate travel of our business."

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The automaker said it nary longer expects to scope affirmative gross separator successful 2025, citing headwinds including argumentation changes that person reduced nan worth of regulatory credits and different subsidies.

Rivian besides forecast a bigger adjusted EBITDA nonaccomplishment this year, expecting it to beryllium $2 cardinal to $2.25 billion, compared pinch a erstwhile forecast of $1.7 cardinal to $1.9 billion.

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Rivian expects a important driblet successful gross from emissions-related regulatory credits that it sells different automakers, McDonough said connected nan call.

Last month, Rivian reported a 23% diminution successful second-quarter deliveries from a twelvemonth earlier to 10,661 vehicles. When you adhd successful 8,640 Q1 deliveries, Rivian needs to waste astir 21,000 vehicles successful nan 2nd half to meet nan debased extremity of its 2025 forecast. That's a gangly bid given everything  that is going on.

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Despite Rivian's struggles, it's still doing rather a spot amended than Lucid. The automaker conscionable lowered its yearly accumulation forecast and missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue. This comes arsenic Lucid navigates uncertain times for nan manufacture arsenic a whole, acknowledgment to tariffs and little support for EVs from nan national government. These changes person threatened to upend proviso chains and raise nan costs of vehicles by thousands. From Reuters:

The institution has been aggressively striking deals pinch North American companies successful bid to domestically root captious minerals utilized successful EV manufacturing amid a push by nan Trump management to reshore accumulation and fortify American manufacturing.

Lucid's fortunes trust heavy connected nan occurrence of its recently launched Gravity SUV and nan upcoming mid-size car, which targets a $50,000 value point, arsenic nan institution looks to grow its user base.

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Lucid now expects to make betwixt 18,000 and 20,000 vehicles this year, compared to its erstwhile forecast of 20,000 vehicles.

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Lucid reported gross of $259.4 cardinal successful nan 2nd quarter, missing estimates of $279.9 million, according to information compiled by LSEG.

I request you rich | dopes to fastener in, because there aren't galore — if immoderate — automakers retired location building amended cars than Lucid correct now.

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Honda isn't truthful judge its electrical conveyance plans are going to activity out. Money issues wrong its EV portion are compounding pinch U.S. tariffs to return a immense chunk retired of Honda's profits. In conscionable nan past quarter, nan Japanese automaker booked a $780 cardinal one-time complaint for EV-related issues. That's astir arsenic overmuch arsenic U.S. tariffs are costing it. This operation halved Honda's operating profits successful its fiscal first 4th that ended June 30. It trim net to $1.69 cardinal from nan $3.35 cardinal it posted nan aforesaid clip past year. From Automotive News:

In announcing nan financial results Aug. 6, Managing Executive Officer Eiji Fujimura blamed nan added EV costs connected Honda's blimpish outlook for EVs. The institution has ]delayed merchandise improvement and finance successful a Canada EV accumulation hub arsenic it readies its caller 0 Series of EVs.

"We are not very optimistic, to put it plainly," Fujimura said.

The nonaccomplishment of nan U.S. taxation in installments inducement for EVs was a further blow, arsenic is cooling EV request growth, he said. Meanwhile, Honda's attempts to summation traction successful China's large EV marketplace pinch a caller statement of locally developed vehicles person mostly missed nan mark. Honda's caller EVs for China were excessively costly for nan marketplace amid ongoing value wars there, and they lacked nan smart-car personification interface and connectivity demanded by Chinese consumers, Fujimura said.

[CEO Toshihiro] Mibe shifted gears, saying Honda would slash its planned R&D finance successful electrification and package by 30 percent done nan extremity of nan decade. Among nan changes, Honda suspended finance successful nan Canada EV accumulation hub amid uncertainty astir biology regulations and waste and acquisition argumentation successful North America aft nan Trump Administrations tariff rollout.

Honda says its EV measurement will travel successful astir 700,000 aliases 750,000 vehicles successful 2030. That mightiness sound for illustration a lot, but it's down drastically from nan 2 cardinal EVs it announced conscionable a twelvemonth ago.

Still, fans of nan 0 Series (like me) tin respire a sigh of relief. Honda says location are nary changes to nan company's scheme to motorboat nan EV successful nan U.S. successful 2026. Right now, nan only EVs Honda sells are nan Prologue and Acura ZDX. They're good vehicles, but successful reality, they're conscionable rebadged Chevy Blazer EVs — not precisely inspiring.

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