Elon Musk Won't Let A Blue Wave Stop His SpaceX-Tesla Merger
Happy Friday! It's November 13, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.
In this morning's edition we're looking at the continued efforts for a SpaceX-Tesla merger, and Mercedes dialing back its Germanity. We'll also look at EV sales in the U.S., and a BMW recall.
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1st Gear: Tesla and SpaceX are still working out a merger
Elon Musk wants to merge his biggest companies, giving Robinhood addicts a single ticker to watch to satisfy their obsession with Musk's weird antics. Tesla and SpaceX are still figuring out how to make a deal, despite the midterm blue wave which could meaningfully impede the merger. From Reuters:
Nov 12 (Reuters) – SpaceX and Tesla are progressing in their merger negotiations, and a deal could be announced as early as December, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The proposed merger would unify Elon Musk's AI, robotics, EV and aerospace ambitions under a single corporate roof, though it faces steep regulatory hurdles over SpaceX's US defense contracts and Tesla's reliance on China.
We've known this deal was coming for a while, but it'll be interesting to watch how newly blue regulators approach it. Will they take the midterm elections as a mandate to stand against business consolidation, or will they rubber-stamp the merger of a U.S. government contractor in order to show business donors they're not all bad?
2nd Gear: Mercedes is sick of all this Germany in its German car company
Mercedes-Benz, noted German automaker, has decided that being German is just too expensive. The company's latest round of negotiations with unions hasn't yielded any cost savings, so the company is now halting new spending on its German factories — and considering closing some altogether. From Automotive News:
FRANKFURT — Mercedes-Benz is freezing investment in its German plants and exploring site closures after failing to agree with worker representatives on labor cost cuts.
The automaker made the move after talks with its works council and union stalled, according to an interview with executive board members shared on the company's intranet.
Mercedes' production chief Michael Schiebe said in the interview that management had "jointly decided to halt all further investments in our German locations."
Mercedes' reasoning is that labor in Germany is more expensive than in Eastern Europe or the United States, which is the sort of reasoning an employer would use to evade such considerations like cost of living changes. I imagine the union members involved will have something to say about losing their jobs entirely.
3rd Gear: Tesla still leads U.S. EV sales, but Rivian is working its way up
The state of electrification in the United States is dire, as legacy automakers rush to cancel their electric models in the wake of Republicans canceling the EV tax credit last year. EV sales are dropping, relative to the broader U.S. car market, and no automaker can hold a candle to Tesla's electric sales dominance. One automaker, though, is actually climbing the rankings: Rivian. From Automotive News:
Auto industry newcomers Tesla and Rivian are taking over the U.S. electric vehicle market following last year's repeal of the federal tax credit, as traditional brands turn to gas models and hybrids, analysts said.
While EV registrations fell 44 percent in September compared with the record set a year earlier, Tesla registrations slipped a relatively modest 27 percent and Rivian posted a gain, the most recent data from Mobility Global showed. The data does not include hybrids.
...
Rivian's share of the EV market in September rose to 7.6 percent, a gain of 4.5 percentage points. Combined, the two brands captured nearly two-thirds of all EV registrations for the month.
I've liked the Rivians I've driven a lot, and I'm glad to see the company become the second-best-selling EV maker in the States. Hopefully that's enough to get Rivian on sounder financial footing — I want the company to last long enough that I can buy a cheap used R1S in ten years and still get spare parts.
4th Gear: BMW recalls 720,000 cars for fire risk
Ah, the vaunted Fourth Gear Recall Spot returns. Not Ford this time, though — today, it's BMW's turn in the box. Even worse, the company is re-recalling previously "fixed" cars, which can now catch fire while turned off. That's generally not ideal. From Reuters:
BMW said Friday it is recalling 720,796 vehicles due to a risk of fire while cars are parked and turned off. The vehicles were previously recalled in 2024 for a water pump issue and must be repaired again, NHTSA said, adding that owners "should park your vehicle outside and away from buildings and other vehicles until the vehicle is repaired."
...
NHTSA said the following vehicles should be parked outside until repairs can be made:
• 2012-2016 BMW 3 Series
• 2012-2016 BMW 5 Series
• 2012–2015 BMW X1
• 2012-2016 BMW Z4
• 2013-2017 BMW X3
• 2014-2016 BMW 2 Series coupe
• 2014–2016 BMW 3 Series sportswagon
• 2014-2016 BMW 328xi Gran Turismo
• 2014-2016 BMW 4 Series convertible
• 2014-2016 BMW 4 Series coupe
• 2015-2016 BMW 2 Series convertible
• 2015-2016 BMW 4 Series gran coupe
• 2015-2018 BMW X4
• 2016-2018 BMW X5 xDrive40e
That's a lot of models! Try street parking your car until it can be fixed.
Reverse: Communism is when you're a fox
From each according to their ability, to each according to whatever the fox gives them, I guess
The Fuel Up
It allllll retuuuuurns to nothiiiiing. Prices keep tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling doooowwwwwnnnn.
On The Radio: SOPHIE - 'BIPP'
A rainy day, a nice cup of coffee, and some SOPHIE. What a morning.