DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
To many Tesla drivers, their electric vehicles are still ahead of the curve.
Eric Rondeau is the vice-president of government affairs at Club Tesla Quebec, a group of owners and enthusiasts aiming to boost electrification and raise awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles (EVs). He bought his first Tesla more than a decade ago.
"Even the car itself keeps evolving by software updates," Rondeau said in an interview with CTV News. "This is quite unique. Some other manufacturers still haven't gotten there."
The EV maker, though, is facing some headwinds, along with the industry as a whole.
Tesla announced Monday it is slashing 10 per cent of its global workforce, a deep cut for what once seemed like an unstoppable company.
"Cost cutting is one thing; the magnitude of the cuts is troubling," says analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities, a wealth management, brokerage and advisory firm.
Tesla has hit a series of roadblocks, including increased competition and declining sales. It delivered 387,000 cars worldwide in the first quarter of 2024, marking an 8.5 per cent drop compared to the same period last year.
Some rival EV makers, like China's BYD, reported an increase in sales, but Tesla's troubles come as overall demand for battery-powered vehicles has slowed.
"This has really been a sobering moment for the EV industry," Ives said. "I think many thought conversion was going to be a lot quicker, including Tesla."
To be clear, the sector is still growing, but the pace of sales, including in Canada, is now more sluggish.
"If we don't address the barriers to electrification, it will be hard to reach the targets that have been established by the federal government," said Brian Kingston, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association.
Ottawa has set a target that by 2026, at least 20 per cent of new vehicles sold in this country should be EVs or other zero-emission vehicles.
Kingston says one of the key barriers to electrification is access to public charging infrastructure.
"Right now there are 27,000 public chargers available to Canadians, and according to the federal government, we will need to have 442,000 public chargers ready in the next 11 years," he says. "That requires building over 100 chargers every single day for the next 11 years, so there needs to be a plan to do that."
The issue of particular concern to some would-be buyers surrounds reliability and battery life. Manufacturers say they are investing in new technology, but that in a country with unique challenges, such as a vast highway network and cold weather, there is an even greater need to build a reliable and extensive charging network.
Another barrier is the price gap.
A large share of EV buyers have been early adopters – those keen to embrace the technology, despite higher price points. But for sales to keep accelerating, manufacturers have to entice a more budget-conscious mass market.
On average, EVs are $14,000 more expensive than gas-powered vehicles, and the gap is exacerbated by higher interest rates.
Government incentives have boosted sales, but some are now set to run out.
Rondeau, of the Club Tesla Quebec, says a system of bonuses for those adopting EVs and restrictions for drivers still running on fossil fuels would help the government reach its electrification targets.
But he also says while the pace of growth has slowed, it is important to focus on the fact that sales are still growing globally, and that the focus now is to continue to scale up production.
He said he believes Tesla's troubles are likely just a bump in the road.
"The whole industry is following Tesla," he says. "So they are still ahead and it will take a long time until they are totally displaced."
And down the road, say analysts, competition will drive down prices and drive up demand.
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
For those who go to their local libraries often, they know there’s much more to their library than just borrowing books. Local libraries in Atlantic Canada are now renting out a broader range of items for people.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.