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Elon Musk has already become the world's richest person on the ascendancy of Tesla Inc. But SpaceX, the private space exploration company he leads, could lift him to trillionaire status, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst.

SpaceX "is challenging any preconceived notion of what was possible and the time frame possible, in terms of rockets, launch vehicles and supporting infrastructure," Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas wrote last week in a note titled "SpaceX Escape Velocity ... Who Can Catch Them?"

SpaceX currently makes up less than 17 percent of Musk's $241.4 billion net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And that's after the company was valued at $100 billion in a secondary share sale earlier this month.

Jonas, who has a $200 billion bull-case valuation for SpaceX, wrote that he views it as multiple companies in one, encompassing space infrastructure, Earth observation, deep-space exploration and other industries…

Greg Rogers, public policy manager at Nuro, explains how the company uses its robots to deliver fresh groceries, discusses the climate for AV laws in Washington D.C. and details how his experience as a ride-hailing driver influenced his views on transportation.

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KAMINOKAWA, Japan — Japanese automakers, once hailed as electrified-vehicle pioneers but derided of late as reluctant laggards, are finally getting their heads into the global EV game.

The effort begins now, with one of the country's biggest automakers and one of its smallest lifting the curtain on secretive EV manufacturing hubs that reveal the automakers' innovative thinking about how to make EVs profitably.

Nissan Motor Co., an EV leader a decade ago that was quickly surpassed by international rivals, is firing up a completely renovated plant to churn out new EVs this winter. And low-volume Mazda Motor Corp. has designed a new line to roll out electrified vehicles.

The factory updates — costing hundreds of millions of dollars — indicate that Japan's players intend to use their world-renowned expertise in lean manufacturing and creative continuous improvement, or kaizen, to compete in EVs.

The production tricks used…

Profit is not a dirty word in EV-battery recycling. In fact, Jessica Durham, a materials scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, says it's key, just as it is in traditional vehicle and 12-volt lead-acid battery recycling.

"To be able to recycle EV batteries, there's going to have to be some type of profit," said Durham. "Or else people are not going to want to do it. And the more profit we have, the more people will be willing to adopt this technology."

Argonne's researchers say they've found an old mining process that cuts down the cost of processing used batteries and preserves their high-priced metallic compounds, unlike traditional methods that break them down into their lower-cost constituent parts. This clever new methodology has caught the interest of battery makers and the auto companies that use these recycled materials.

The recycling of lithium ion batteries has yet to scale up. Only about 5 percent are recycled. Today most find secondary li…

Automakers tend to jealously guard their market share because once it's gone, it can be extremely difficult to win back.

Yet with the microchip shortage stirring the sales race this year, a question is starting to emerge: If Toyota Motor North America and Hyundai-Kia keep picking up market share as they have this year because they have vehicles to sell and others don't, are they, with their high customer retention rates, likely to give it back when inventories normalize?

Toyota not only leads General Motors in overall sales through the first three quarters but also has picked up 1.8 percentage points of U.S. market share over the last year. It now leads the industry, at 15.8 percent. Hyundai-Kia's market share has also climbed dramatically over the last 12 months, rising 1.5 percentage points to 10 percent, tying it with American Honda. Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co.'s market share has fallen 2.6 percentage points to 11.8 percent, GM has lost 2 ful…

Rivian Automotive Inc., the Amazon-backed electric-pickup maker that’s preparing to go public, expects to record a quarterly net loss of up to $1.28 billion due to costs associated with the start of production of its debut truck.

The losses are increasing from a year ago due to “significant labor and overhead costs” for its plant in Normal, Ill., the startup said Friday in a filing. The net loss for the period ended Sept. 30 will range from $1.18 billion to $1.28 billion, according to the preliminary results.

“As we just started to ramp vehicle production at the site, the facility produced limited quantities of vehicles in the period,” the company said. The operating loss for the quarter is expected to be $725 million to $775 million.

The company, which began delivering the R1T truck last quarter, previously reported a net loss of nearly $1 billion in the first half of the year.

Rivian is among the most serious competitors lining up to take on ele…

Mercedes-Benz plans to bring the next generation of its EQC electric compact crossover to the U.S. around 2025, as well as a battery-powered C-Class sedan, the automaker told dealers this month.

Mercedes had planned to introduce the EQC crossover with the debut of its EQ subbrand in the U.S. in early 2020. But after delaying the launch by a year, the company scrapped plans to bring the model here.

The EQC is part of a fleet of electric vehicles Mercedes is launching in the U.S. as it shifts toward being an EV-only brand.

The two new models will be built on the Mercedes Modular Architecture electric platform, which the automaker said should offer longer range, faster charging and a more efficient drivetrain. The platform's skateboard design also opens up the interior for more passenger and cargo space.

The current EQC crossover is based on the combustion engine GLC crossover. Powered by an 80-kilowatt-hour battery, the EQC has a range of up to 257…

The transistors used in vehicle power electronics are conventionally made from silicon. But GaN Systems Inc. of Ottawa is moving forward on transistors made from a hard crystal known as gallium nitride, or GaN, created by combining gallium with nitrogen.

GaN Systems believes the material change will enable smaller, more efficient and lower-cost power electronics, translating to smaller and lighter batteries for electric vehicles with improved charging performance and greater range for vehicles.

BMW AG and other auto and parts manufacturers are interested.

Last month, the luxury automaker signed a deal with GaN Systems to potentially source power transistors for its on-board vehicle chargers and e-motors. The innovation could help BMW produce EVs with higher power density, faster charging capabilities and longer range. The material could also advance capabilities in autonomous driving and wireless power applications.

For…

From the rear, a small Findlay Auto Group staff meeting more resembles the locker room of an all-star game than it does an automotive retailing training session.

While the athletes in this huddle aren't nearly as famous as their jerseys might imply, their continued development and performance are just as critical to their team's mission as if they were on a field with a ball in their hands and helmets on their heads.

These are the Rising Leaders of Findlay Auto Group, and this sports-infused Las Vegas room is the training ground for the next generation of dealership general managers, sales managers and department heads who will one day run vital pieces of the 33-rooftop, family-owned dealership chain. Those gathered are not here to learn the intricacies of dealership management systems or the vagaries of inventory management, but how to work together as a team and develop as leaders — and how they will better themselves by doing both.

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A Napleton Automotive Group executive accused of sexual assault by a co-worker in 2018 was sentenced Wednesday in Florida to five years of probation on a charge of third-degree felony battery.

Edward Napleton Jr., director of operations for Napleton Automotive Group and son of company President Ed Napleton, will not face prison time nor will he be required to register as a sex offender in Florida under a type of guilty plea identified in court documents as a "best interest" plea. Under a best interest plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but does acknowledge that a guilty plea is in his or her best interest.

Napleton Jr. stipulated to one count of sexual penetration, according to his plea sheet. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Scott Suskauer withheld adjudication in the case, which means Napleton Jr. isn't formally convicted of the charge.

A Florida statute gives judges special authority to sometimes "withhold adjudication" in probation sentence…

Four dealership groups bought single rooftops — some with multiple brands — in deals late in the fourth quarter and in October in the Midwest, West and South.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic, import and luxury brands.

Domestic brand growth in Wisconsin for Kayser Automotive

Kayser Automotive Group of Madison, Wis., has purchased a Ford dealership in Sauk City, Wis., adding a sixth dealership to its domestic-brand-only platform.

Kayser on Sept. 30 bought Courtesy Ford of Sauk City from Ray Fregia Jr., also dealer principal of Fregia's Courtesy Ford of Danville in Illinois.

Kayser plans to build a new facility within two years for the Ford dealership that was renamed Kayser Ford of Sauk City, said Brendan Baxter, Kayser Automotive's senior vice president.

The Kayser group, owned by the Baxter family and led by brothers Sean, Ryan and Brendan, already has Chevrolet-Buick and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealerships in Sauk Cit…