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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Rep. Mike Kelly's request for an emergency order that would block Pennsylvania from certifying its election results, including Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump.

The Republican congressman and other plaintiffs had asked the court to prevent the state from taking any further action to certify its results of the Nov. 3 election and to undo any such actions already taken, according to a court filing last week.

Pennsylvania certified its presidential election results Nov. 24, declaring Democrat Biden the winner.

Kelly owns Mike Kelly Automotive, which retails Cadillac, Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai and Toyota brands in Pennsylvania — a state where auto sales were temporarily banned in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The congressman's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mercedes-Benz is developing a U.S. variant of the eSprinter commercial van built on a new electric platform.

The new eSprinter will consist of a front module, an underbody module and a rear module, Mercedes-Benz Vans sales and marketing boss Klaus Rehkugler told German media on Tuesday.

The design will allow for two body sizes and three battery options, the largest of which would top 100 kilowatt-hours, according to Automobilwoche, a German-language sibling publication of Automotive News. In addition to the panel van, a flat-bed body also is possible.

Automotive News reported on Monday that Mercedes plans to begin selling the eSprinter in the U.S. as early as the third quarter of 2023.

The U.S. version of the eSprinter could be powered by up to a 120-kWh battery, sources told Automotive News. That would be a significant upgrade over the 55-kWh battery in the current European version and that of a competing electric van expected from Ford Motor Co…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. delayed production of the Bronco SUV after coronavirus-related logistics issues hampered German supplier Webasto's ability to equip a Michigan facility in time to make the vehicle's removable roof, according to people familiar with the situation.

Webasto in April of last year said it would invest up to $47.9 million in a new manufacturing plant in Plymouth Township, Mich., creating 441 new jobs. The project, supported by a $2.7 million grant from the state and a property tax abatement from the township, came after the supplier announced new contracts with Ford and other automakers.

Webasto declined to comment, referring questions to Ford. A Ford spokesman declined to name the supplier or specific issue involved in the Bronco delay, referring to the statement it issued last week announcing production would move to summer 2021.

The Detroit Free Press first reported on Monday that the delay stemmed from the v…

Stellantis, the new company being created to combine Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with France's Groupe PSA beginning next year, will start business with $6 billion a year in expected gains from synergies, says the merger's chief architect, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares.

That is an increase from the approximately $4.5 billion in new synergies that were forecast when the two companies announced their marriage in December 2019.

The improved outlook, Tavares said in a newly published interview with Automotive News sibling publication Automotive News Europe, is the result of "listening to the proposals of the 25 cross-company teams we created to prepare for the merger, within a strict legal frame."

Tavares said the two automakers have had 600 people working to smoothly merge FCA and PSA since the deal was signed a year ago.

He said uniting the companies will result in "roughly $20 [billion] to $25 billion of value creation."

Tavares, currently CEO of PSA,…

Apple Inc. has moved its self-driving car unit under the leadership of top artificial intelligence executive John Giannandrea, who will oversee the company’s continued work on an autonomous system that could eventually be used in its own car.

The project, known as Titan, is run day-to-day by Doug Field. His team of hundreds of engineers have moved to Giannandrea’s artificial intelligence and machine-learning group, according to people familiar with the change. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Previously, Field reported to Bob Mansfield, Apple’s former senior vice president of hardware engineering. Mansfield has now fully retired from Apple, leading to Giannandrea taking over.

Giannandrea joined Apple in 2018 as its vice president of AI Strategy and Machine Learning before being promoted to Apple’s executive team as a senior vice president later that year. He ran Google’s machine-learning and search teams before that. At Apple, in addition to the c…

Elon Musk has moved to Texas to focus on two big priorities for his companies: SpaceX’s new Starship spacecraft and Tesla Inc.’s new Gigafactory, currently under construction in Austin, the CEO for both companies said Tuesday.

“I have moved to Texas,” Musk said, speaking in a live interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Musk, 49, has lived in the Los Angeles area, where SpaceX is headquartered, for two decades. Tesla is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., and its main factory is across San Francisco Bay in Fremont, Calif.

Tesla is expanding its global operations with a new factory in Shanghai that opened last year and another being built in Berlin. Musk, who has always been highly-mobile, often travels between his company’s facilities on his private Gulfstream jet.

"It wasn't necessarily a great use of my time here (in California)".

Texas might potentially offer some tax reprieve for the world's second richest man. It does not collect perso…

Baidu has become the latest company to deploy driverless vehicles on public roads.

The Chinese technology company received a permit from Beijing transportation authorities on Friday to conduct testing with five driverless taxis — those without a human safety backup — on the city's streets.

"Obtaining permission or driverless testing in Beijing represents a breakthrough that will accelerate Baidu's push to commercialize autonomous driving," a Baidu spokesperson said in a written statement.

The development comes mere days after AutoX, a Chinese competitor, became the first company to roll out autonomous vehicles without safety drivers in China. AutoX received a permit to operate as many as 25 driverless vehicles in Shenzhen.

Across the global industry, more companies are removing — or planning to remove — human safety drivers from their test vehicles. Notably, Waymo expanded the audience for its rider-only operations in m…

Aurora Innovation, the self-driving startup founded by three of the most prominent members of the fledgling industry, will soon add another big name to its ranks.

The company said Monday it is acquiring Uber's Advanced Technology Group, a move that infuses the startup with workers and fresh funds. As part of the deal, Uber plans to invest $400 million in Aurora.

In exchange for the cash and the self-driving tech, Uber will hold a 26 percent ownership interest in Aurora, according to Uber’s 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

Uber had been searching for a buyer for its self-driving division for several months, as it sought to eliminate its more ambitious mobility investments and concentrate on its core ride-hailing service. Earlier this year, it sold its Jump bike-share program to rival Lime. Last week, Uber reportedly agreed to sell its air-taxi research division to Joby…

A prototype of autonomous driving startup Zoox Inc.'s vehicle was reportedly seen in San Francisco over the weekend.

The company's self-driving robotaxi was seen at a photo shoot near San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel, according to a Forbes report, citing an image from Reddit user LakailB87.

The Foster City, Calif.-based company has plans to officially reveal the vehicle, which has bidirectional capabilities, on Dec. 14.

Zoox has a short promotional video on its website that displays few details of the vehicle.

A Zoox spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately we are unable to comment on rumors or speculation, but confirming the official reveal of Zoox's vehicle is slated for 12/14.”

The company, founded in 2014, has been making waves and exploring a variety of opportunities amid the pandemic.

Retail giant Amazon bought Zoox for more than $1 billion in June.

Zoox also received a test permit from California authorities in September to test …

The 2021 Chicago Auto Show will not take place in February because of the COVID-19 pandemic but organizers are aiming for a spring event, though dates have not been finalized.

"At this point, with the recent increase in [COVID-19] cases, it doesn't look like February is realistic," said Mark Bilek, senior director of communications and technology for the Chicago Auto Show. "So we wanted to make sure that we let people know that we're still very excited about trying to have a show in spring of 2021, at some point, be it in March, April or May."

The 2021 Chicago Auto Show was set for Feb. 13-21. The show's website now refers to spring 2021.

Bilek said the auto show, one of the biggest in North America, particularly with consumers, has been working with health departments from both the city of Chicago and state of Illinois to determine when it can hold the event. The show has submitted plans to the city and state but is waiting on approval, Bilek said.