Adam Cook

@motorcityadam.com

3613 Followers 8061 Following

Engineer focused on robotics, control systems, system safety, manufacturing and simulation. Machinist. Purdue Engineering alum. Chicago ➡️ Detroit. Vegan. 🌱 He/Him. Father of Benny cat and Tiggy cat.

Two cats, in a hallway, looking at the camera, with each cat positioned in the same spot right behind their own food bowls.
Tesla deal with Hertz is 'huge embarrassment for traditional automakers' By Phoebe Wall Howard Detroit Free Press Updated Oct. 26, 2021, 6:10 p.m. ET News of a multibillion-dollar deal from Hertz to buy 100,000 vehicles from Tesla has sort of stunned Detroit. "What it really cements is Tesla is far, far, far in the lead and nobody is even close," said longtime industry observer John McElroy, host of "Autoline After Hours" podcast and webcast. "This is a huge embarrassment for traditional automakers that they're not on the list," McElroy said Monday. "But overall, this is going to make the American public more accepting of electric vehicles." Hours earlier, Hertz announced its plan to transform more than 20% of its global rental car fleet to all-electric by the end of 2022 with the order from Tesla — along with plans to build charging stations so consumers would have more options to plug in and power up.
“The European Union is going to agree to purchase from the United States $750 billion worth of energy,” Trump said. “They are going to agree to invest into the United States $600 billion more than they’re investing already.”
An animated image of Fidel Castro from a Simpson's episode where Homer and Mr. Burns flee to Cuba with a $1 Trillion bill. Mr. Burns allows Castro to physically inspect the bill and, after Mr. Burns asked for it back... Castro replies "What back?"
Officials familiar with the US-Japan talks said the deal was pulled together in a slapdash manner during a 70-minute meeting between Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and Trump on Tuesday.
Posting on X, Marc Cuban, a billionaire businessman and TV personality suggested he was interested in the party, sharing fireworks emojis then writing: "I work with [Center for Competitive Democracy]. They will help you get on ballots. That is their mission."
Penn remains committed to fostering a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and open to all students, faculty, and staff. I share this commitment, just as I remain dedicated to preserving and advancing the University’s vital and enduring mission. We have now brought to a close an investigation that, if unresolved, could have had significant and lasting implications for the University of Pennsylvania.
A screenshot of a tweet from the House Freedom Caucus, @freedomcaucus, posted on June 29, 2025, at 2:08 PM. The tweet has 196.9K views. The tweet text reads: "HERE ARE THE FACTS: — The House bill added $72 billion to the deficit with interest costs included. — The Senate version adds $1.3 trillion to the deficit. That's 1,705% more. — Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework." Below the text is a bar chart titled "Deficits in One Big Beautiful Bill." The y-axis is labeled "Change in Deficits (Millions)" ranging from -800,000 to 600,000. The x-axis shows years from 2025 to 2034. The chart includes stacked bars for each year, representing "Defense and Border Committees," "Other Savings Committees," "Finance Committee," "Interest Effects, HBC Dynamic With Policy Changes," and "HBC Estimated Dynamic Effect." There are two lines plotted on the chart: a purple line labeled "Total Change in Deficits, with Interest and HBC Dynamic" which shows a peak around 2027-2028 and then declines, and a red line labeled "As proposed by the Senate. Official Baseline. HBC Dynamic." which generally trends upwards. A smaller text box to the right of the chart says "Increases Deficits $1.3 Trillion vs. Current Law."
A Bloomberg Tech segment featuring Steve Man and Ed Ludlow talking about Tesla's "autonomy" efforts.
“Stop talking about bathrooms and locker rooms and start talking about the classroom,” said Emanuel, the former ambassador to Japan and two-term Chicago mayor who said he is open to a 2028 presidential campaign.
There’s more. Tesla’s valuation rests to a large degree on the idea that it will dominate autonomous vehicles, despite years of missed deadlines. Forget about the federal AV bill Musk was pushing; how hard would it be for the Trump administration to apply pressure via traffic safety regulators? There are huge questions hanging over the viability of Tesla’s “generalized,” sensor-lite model of autonomy, with the limited nature of the Austin launch itself an admission that much remains to be proved. For example, a regulation mandating that AVs use the lidar systems that Musk disdains — a measure that would be entirely defensible, as recent reporting from my Bloomberg News colleagues demonstrates — would represent a huge setback for a company that insists millions of the vehicles it has sold are essentially robotaxi-ready.
A photograph of a laptop stick that says “Deport Elon” and has a Cybertruck flying in the background.
University President Who Shut Down D.E.I. Efforts Is Recruited to Florida The University of Michigan’s president, Santa Ono, is set to leave for the University of Florida to become one of the highest-paid public university presidents ever.
Tesla's ambitious plans to rely heavily on autonomous robots to build the Model 3 didn't work as planned, and Musk later said in a post on Twitter, now X, that this level of automation was "a mistake." "There was a very ambitious plan to automate a lot more than we probably should have, and it was clear the system was struggling," said Walti, who said he worked for nine months with his team to design a simpler robotics system for the factory.
A photograph of employees at Quaker City wear protective gear when working around molten metal. Some cast parts are lying in the foreground. In the background, several workers are manipulating a part from the furnace.
Factory employers face other headwinds, said Susan N. Houseman, an economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. These include misconceptions that all factory work is dirty and dangerous, or lingering trauma from the wave of manufacturing layoffs in the 1990s and early 2000s as factories moved abroad. “People saw what happened in their communities and may not think it’s stable employment,” Houseman said.
On this day in 1972: Segregationist George Wallace wins Mich. Democratic presidential primary
So it’s running extensive tests in downtown Austin. “There’s just always a convoy of Teslas going all over to Austin in circles,” Musk said on the call. But a recent Business Insider story, citing interviews with former Tesla test drivers, doesn’t inspire confidence. The program “feels very forced,” one former worker said. "It's this breakthrough moment for Tesla, but there is also this feeling of so many last-minute details being up in the air.”
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social Holy shit, when Richard Hanania is not far enough right for you. Would love to hear what US Senators and prominent bloggers doing appearances with Andreessen think. Attached screenshot text: The tone was jesting, but "Marc radicalized over time," Hanania recalled. Hanania said he found himself increasingly alienated from the group and the shift toward partisan pro-Trump politics, and he came to see the chat he'd established as a "vehicle for groupthink." (A friend of Andreessen's said it was Hanania, not Andreessen, who had shifted his politics.) The group continues without him. Hanania argued with the other members "about whether it's a good idea to buy into Trump's election denial stuff. I'd say, 'That's not true and that actually matters.' I got the sense these guys didn't want to hear it," he said. "There's an idea that you don't criticize, because what really matters is defeating the left." He left the group in June of 2023.
USW Local 2911 President Mark Glyptis says despite these latest setbacks, he holds high hopes for policies that President Trump has implemented. His policies are geared towards bringing industry to America, and I support his policy. Sometimes there’s pain before you yet the gain. That’s what’s happening now.” Mark Glyptis – President of USW 2911, United Steelworkers
Persona AI’s robots are capable of doing confined-space work, hull welding, and repairs in the shipbuilding industry, where attrition in vital trades can surpass 30 percent. The platform supports pipe welding, equipment inspection, and maintenance in the energy sector, where an aging workforce and automation are reshaping operations.
Each partner will contribute significantly to the project’s realization under the terms of the agreement. The development of humanoid robots, including the creation of hardware and AI-based control systems that can weld with high precision, will be spearheaded by Persona AI. Vazil Company will concentrate on developing specialized welding equipment and constructing an industrial testing facility to guarantee preparedness for the real world.
Outside, there are plenty of other hidden but remarkable features. The sensors and cameras used for GM’s hands-free driving system, Super Cruise, get an upgrade on the Celestiq. Call it “Ultra Cruise” or don’t, the system is powered by cameras and radar, as well as LiDAR, for use on secondary roads. While it’s not yet available, Celestiq gets the equipment to ensure it works in the future when GM gives it the green light. Sensors are hidden under carbon-fiber body panels that look like metal so they can “see” through them. The enormous clamshell frunk cover is also one huge piece of carbon fiber, which allowed designers to move the cut lines lower into the side panels and keep the Celestiq’s low-slung looks.
dejavu_candy from TikTok talking to the camera while a Washington Post article is shown the background. The Washington Post article title and subtitle read: Mom raises $500K after appearing to hurl racist slur at child in viral video The website hosting the fundraiser said it restricted comments after many donors expressed racist rhetoric over the incident filmed at a Minnesota playground.
Ezra Klein and Ken Rogoff have a conversation about US manufacturing in a dark podcast studio.
Fetterman was criticized for an incident in North Braddock in January 2013 when he heard a sound he thought was gunfire and followed an unarmed jogger, whom he detained with a shotgun.[43] The jogger, Chris Miyares, a Black American, said that what Fetterman thought were gunshots were kids shooting bottle rockets. Fetterman said no debris had been found.[44] Miyares claimed that Fetterman pointed the shotgun at his chest while he loaded the gun and then aimed the gun at his face.[43] Fetterman denies that he pointed the gun at Miyares and said he only pointed the gun in a way to show that he was armed and that he "didn't even have a round chambered or the safety off."[43] He said he believed he "did the right thing" and has not apologized.[45][43] No charges were brought against either in connection with the incident,[44] and Miyares never filed a formal complaint.
Detroit Mayor Duggan: "Boys don't belong in girls sports" Mike Duggan's comment happened while meeting with Arab American leaders earlier this week at a closed-door meeting in Genesee County.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan speaking in front of a podium surrounded by several Detroit-based faith leaders.
Tech giants are also getting in on the trend: Both Apple and Meta are rumored to be working on some kind of consumer-facing humanoid robot. A 2024 Goldman Sachs report estimates that humanoid robots will represent a $38 billion market by 2035—more than six times what the firm projected a year earlier.
The basic promise of humanoid robots is that they will be able to switch between multiple tasks, just like their human peers. It’s a fundamentally different approach from traditional assembly line automation, which builds an entire environment around the specific tasks required for manufacturing. Jonathan Hurst, cofounder and chief robot officer at Agility Robotics, expects its robots to sit alongside that process, not disrupt it. “A purpose-built automation solution is always going to be higher performance and lower cost for that purpose,” Hurst says. “That’s great if you have 24/7 operations for that specific thing you want to do.” But for tasks that don’t need to run around the clock, a flexible robot could be more productive.
The exact functions that Figure’s humanoids would handle for UPS remain unclear. The startup hinted at a tie-up with a logistics firm in February, posting a 90-second video on X that showed its sleek, 5-foot-6-inch robot standing beside a conveyor belt, picking and sorting small parcels.
For the shipbuilding industrial base, the bill adds $750 million for supplier development, $500 million to incorporate advanced manufacturing techniques, $500 million in additional dry dock capability, $450 million to apply autonomy and AI to the shipbuilding process, and $450 million for maritime industrial workforce development programs, among other initiatives.
But just as many Republicans don’t like Trump’s protectionism, there are many Democrats conflicted by the way the president has stolen an issue that appeals to many blue-collar voters whom the party needs. This is especially true of swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Trump won these states in both 2016 and 2024 because their industries had been ravished by NAFTA and other trade agreements.
Slotkin’s plan lays out why she thinks Democrats suffered sweeping setbacks last year, including focus groups of home-state voters who she said described her party as “weak and woke.” It defines success as winning a number of upcoming battles, including at the Supreme Court.
Former SpaceX executives, as well as fired SpaceX employees who complained to the National Labor Relations Board in 2022, say a high-level group around Musk fails to apply his company’s own rules to the CEO, contributing to a culture of sexism and harassment. They say there’s an understanding that Musk, a charismatic leader with many fans who call him a genius, can act with impunity. “Elon is SpaceX, and SpaceX is Elon,” one former engineer recalled an executive saying during a June 2022 meeting after the firings of some of the SpaceX employees, who had criticized Musk and demanded greater accountability at the company.
This also sounds implausible. But it’s worth noting that Musk-founded SpaceX has been notching accomplishments and avoiding pop culture punching-bag status. It is widely seen as the Musk property with the strongest non-Musk manager: president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell, who oversees daily operations. It does seem plausible that if Musk could find a similar figure for Tesla it would at least begin to put some distance between his caustic political views and Tesla’s original innovative and progressive brand.
“Within the next four years, NVIDIA plans to produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the United States through partnerships with TSMC, Foxconn, Wistron, Amkor and SPIL,” a press release from the company announced.
Screenshot of a tweet by Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood). The tweet reads: "Whitmer on her $3.5B, multi-year bonding program for highway construction: 'My plan was always a short-term fix.' A short-term fix with a long-term cost. Taxpayers in Michigan will spend $6 billion with interest over 25 years in debt payments for Whitmer's short-term fix." Posted Feb 26, 2025.
The governor called for more such business activity in Michigan, which she said has lost good-paying manufacturing jobs for decades because of past trade policies. "We know losing a factory doesn’t just mean losing jobs," Whitmer said in her speech. "Losing people means losing resources. It means fewer police officers and underfunded schools. It means less housing built and fewer roads fixed. It’s a loss of purpose and identity." The share of U.S. workers employed in manufacturing jobs has declined for decades as businesses have moved production to countries with lower labor costs. That trend predates oft-maligned international trade accords like the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. There have been similar trends within the United States, too.
The late 1990s and early 2000s were a dark time for Michigan, as many auto manufacturers took advantage of free-trade deals such as Nafta to move production to cheaper countries. Some offshored to Mexico or China. Others moved factories to cheaper southern states including Kentucky and Tennessee. Michigan had about 185,000 auto manufacturing jobs last year, down from 336,000 in 2000, according to Ehrlich, the economist. The UAW says it is cautiously optimistic Trump’s new tariffs can reverse that trend. “Some economists are trying to scare anyone, saying that the costs of tariffs will be passed on to working Americans. But the cost of Nafta was passed on to working Americans in the form of plant closures, deaths of despair and economic devastation,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video backing the tariffs in late March. “Free trade isn’t free. It’s a disaster.”
Sign on a fridge that reads: We are currently experiencing difficulty sourcing eggs that meet our strict animal welfare standards. And no eggs are available to purchase.
A screenshot from the Amtrak app showing that the Wolverine 353 train, from Detroit to Chicago, on March 28th, departing Detroit at 9:35 am is cancelled.
Instead, Trump said, they should be grateful for his elimination of what he called President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle mandate, which involved subsidies and emissions requirements to encourage electric-car production. He made a lengthy pitch for how they would actually benefit from tariffs, two people on the call said, adding that he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and was better for their industry than previous presidents.
As they shift their supply chains and investments to the US, auto companies that have enjoyed years of record profits should absorb the cost of these tariffs rather than passing them on to consumers, and the UAW would support legislative or regulatory action requiring them to do so. Workers must be held harmless during any disruption that accompanies the reshoring process, with financial support from the federal government if necessary. And finally, the working class can’t wait. The auto companies have been given time to plan, and now it’s time to act.
A market selloff accelerated over the next two weeks as Trump and his advisers signaled they were prepared to accept short-term pain to remake a global trading system that has contributed to steady declines in the prices of consumer goods over the past three decades. “If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective,” Trump said in an interview on March 9 on Fox News. By the next day, all of the gains in the three major stock indexes since Trump’s election had been erased.
And G. Michael Staley earns the distinction of highest ranking official in Detroit living farthest from the city. He listed Romeoville, Illinois, on his 2023 disclosure, located nearly 300 miles west of Detroit. Initially hired in 2022, in August 2023, Duggan named Staley interim Director of Transit. In that role, he oversees both the Department of Transportation and the Detroit People Mover. G. Michael Staley, program manager for paratransit, speaks at a news conference to provide an update on the paratransit program at DDOT Administrative Building in Detroit on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Staley did not respond to a request for comment. But Roach said since being hired, Staley has lived "full-time in Detroit's New Center." "He and his wife still have a home in Illinois, where she lives and he visits every other weekend," Roach said. Asked why Staley would list his Illinois address if other officials, like Bettison, put down addresses where they were most likely to be, Roach did not respond. Staley was initially hired to overhaul the city's paratransit system. At the time of his appointment, Duggan indicated he would evaluate Staley's performance after six months to determine whether he should stay on as full-time department leader. About 10 months later, Staley remains interim director.
Just a static image of Musk and Trump and a white Tesla vehicle while audio plays in the background.
A pencil drawing of Elon Musk’s portrait that shows highly distorted features. Arguably, Musk’s true form though.
Companies are also just desperate for clarity. One Fortune 500 CEO said April 2 can't get here fast enough. Trump previously gave automakers a temporary reprieve from tariffs on Canada and Mexico, before pausing those levies more broadly for all products that comply with the USMCA trade agreement. But on Friday, he lamented that people had criticized him for backing down, and hinted that his approach to tariffs could shift in the coming days and weeks. Once you give exemptions for one company, "you have to do that for all," Trump said, adding that "the word flexibility is an important word. Sometimes there's flexibility, there'll be flexibility."
A screenshot of a Twitter post showing a tweet by Brian Schatz, a US Senator, agreeing with a thread by Kelsey Piper about the need for a COVID reckoning. Schatz shares his personal experience of not being able to watch his kid play tennis outdoors in Hawaii, but being allowed to wait at a bar, calling it "totally inexcusable." He emphasizes that acknowledging the inconsistencies in COVID policies doesn't make one an anti-vaxxer. The tweet includes a quote from Kelsey Piper's article highlighting the shifting and often contradictory messaging about lockdowns, masks, and outdoor gatherings, arguing that it damaged public trust. Piper's article also suggests that a reckoning is unlikely due to a lack of incentive for those involved.
A screenshot from Bluesky that claims that the official Governor Whitmer Bluesky account is "Not found" and that the "Account has been suspended".
New York times article published on December 24, 2004 that reads: Democrats Weigh De-emphasizing Abortion as an Issue Democratic leaders say their party needs to de-emphasize the issue of abortion rights, concerned that Republicans have hurt the Democratic Party by portraying it as an uncompromising champion of abortion. In interviews and public appearances since Election Day, Democratic officials have said that the party should open its doors to abortion opponents and that candidates should make abortion a less central focus of future campaigns. Party leaders said they were not abandoning their fundamental support for abortion rights, but said Democrats should consider accepting some restrictions that enjoy popular support -- like parental notification when teenagers receive abortions. The remarks, taken together, amount to a significant reassessment of a touchstone issue of the Democratic Party after an election in which President Bush won a second term and his party strengthened its hold on Congress.
A humanoid robot performs a series of dynamic maneuvers, including walking, jumping, and balancing. The robot moves fluidly, demonstrating advanced agility and control. The background appears to be an industrial or lab setting, with equipment and structures visible as the robot navigates its environment.
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Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpaer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement Taxpayer is missing the “y”
The recalled component uses only a structural adhesive to join the assembly. This structural adhesive has been found to be susceptible to environmental embrittlement. The remedy component uses a different structural adhesive not prone to environmental embrittlement to join the assembly, which is reinforced with a stud welded to the stainless panel with a nut clamping the steel panel to the vehicle structure.
The Cybertruck is equipped with a cosmetic applique along the exterior of the vehicle, known as the cant rail, which is an assembly comprised of an electrocoated steel stamping joined to a stainless steel panel with structural adhesive. The cant rail assembly is affixed to the vehicle with fasteners. On affected vehicles, the cant rail stainless steel panel may delaminate at the adhesive joint, which may cause the panel to separate from the vehicle.
A sticking point in negotiations has been the status of the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies department. The Trump administration requested it be put into receivership for five years, which means someone from outside the department would be brought in to make decisions for the faculty. When a school puts a department into receivership—an unusual move—it typically appoints a chair from another department. Normally, a school only does this when departments are so dysfunctional the university has lost faith they can course correct on their own. The idea that Trump would force such a move—and not the university leadership—is unpalatable to many faculty. The school is negotiating with the administration to call the receivership something more agreeable and present it as a win-win, according to people familiar with the school’s thinking.
X’s revenues have dropped since Musk’s takeover, but it posted about $1.2bn in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in 2024, according to two people familiar with the matter — roughly flat with the period before Musk’s takeover. Another two people with knowledge of X’s finances said there were signs Musk’s cost-cutting plan for the company was working, and that revenues had been improving. A further person noted, however, that the ebitda figure was “wildly adjusted”. X declined to comment.