AD #2415 – The SEC is Investigating Tesla, VW Offers Bold Color Palette, Bollinger B1 Already Gets a Face Lift

On today’s show… legal troubles are in the news today… The SEC is investigating Elon Musk, and Sergio Marchionne may have given an illegal gift to a UAW executive… but we also have a lot of cool car stuff. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.

This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.

SEC INVESTIGATING TESLA
Tesla’s stock took a bit of a hit yesterday when word broke that the company is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is looking into whether or not Elon Musk was trying to manipulated the stock price when he tweeted that he wants to take the company private. Even so, legal experts say that Musk will only get a slap on the wrist, at most.

TESLA “SABOTEUR” TWEETS VINs OF “DEFECTIVE” CARS
Meanwhile, a former Tesla employee who accuses the company of shipping Model 3’s with defective batteries has now posted VIN numbers of cars with those defects. Tesla denies any of those batteries are defective and have sued Martin Tripp to the tune of $1 million, claiming he is trying to sabotage the company.

MARCHIONNE FAILED TO REPORT EXPENSIVE GIFT
The Detroit News reports that FCA’s former CEO, Sergio Marchionne, failed to disclose he had given an expensive gift to a UAW leader, even when federal prosecutors asked him about it. Sergio gave UAW Vice President General Holiefield a custom made Italian watch worth about $2,200. FCA released a statement saying its cooperating with prosecutors but that it can’t comment further because it’s an ongoing investigation.

Henry Ford once said that customers could have any color Model T they want as long as it was painted black. Well Volkswagen is going in the completely opposite direction and we’ll tell you more right after this.

ALONSO DROPS OUT OF F1
An end of an era is coming to Formula 1. Fernando Alonso, one of the best in the business, announced he will drop out of F1 at the end of this season. But it seems like Alonso wants to get back on the podium while he’s still one of the best racers in the world. Speculation is that he could go to IndyCar or the World Endurance Championship for sports cars. And just in case, NASCAR posted this to entice him to run in the Daytona 500.

VW BRINGS SPEKTRUM PROGRAM TO U.S.
Who says color is dead? Volkswagen will now offer its Spektrum Program in the U.S. that allows Golf R customers a wide color palette to choose from. 40 to be exact. It includes some wild blues, greens and purples. These custom colors are not cheap at $2,500, but you’re a lot less likely to have the same color as someone else. And as we reported before, some unique colors can add value to a vehicle once hits the used car market.

HERTZ CELEBRATES WITH CORVETTE ZO6
Rental car company Hertz has been known to come out with some pretty slick special edition cars that people can rent. And to help celebrate its 100 anniversary it’s teaming up with Chevrolet. One hundred Hertz 100th Anniversary Edition Corvette Z06s will be available to rent at select U.S. locations. You’re certainly not going to get in a vehicle like this with any ride-hailing or ride-sharing service, but get ready to fork out $200 a day to rent the Hertz Z06.

The electric Bollinger SUV is not even on sale yet, but it’s already getting a face-lift. More on that, right after this.

FORD PUBLISHES PHILOSOPHY ON AVs
Ford just published a 44 page report on its philosophy on autonomous cars. It’s all about educating the public on how the company plans to go to market with AVs, and is specifically aimed at building public trust in AVs. It’s an easy to read document with lots of graphics, so if you want to learn a lot more about autonomy click on the headline to this story in the transcript on our website or look for it in the description box below. We commend Ford for publishing this report, but at 44 pages, this is not something that people are going to read at their leisure. We think a series of short Youtube videos might be a more effective tool at getting the word out.

BOLLINGER B1 GETS A NOSE JOB
After testing its B1 in the wind tunnel, EV startup Bollinger Motors realized it needed to make a few tweaks to its boxy off-roader. It had too much lift in the front and too much downforce in the back. So, it’s changing over to a floating headlight style to improve airflow and instead of having air vent out the side, it open exits out the top of the hood. Bollinger says this will bring down the front lift and make the rear downforce more neutral.

And don’t forget to tune into Autoline After Hours this afternoon. We’ve got a great show lined up with Craig Erlich from the company George P. Johnson, which is renowned for making auto show displays. So join John and Gary at 3PM eastern time on our website, Autoline.tv, for a look into all the changes going on with auto shows.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.