Add “rare earth minerals” to the list of suddenly inescapable terms, alongside “tariffs,” “uncertainty,” and “chaos.”

That’s because in April, China made these materials subject to export controls in response to new tariffs implemented by the US. Cue panic in the auto industry, which needs rare earth minerals for myriad vital components, from electric motors for EVs and oil pumps to catalytic converters and windshield wipers—and which is almost entirely reliant on China to supply them.

China controls nearly 60% of rare earths mining and nearly 90% of the processing capacity in the world, according to AlixPartners.

“It’s integral to the production of the vehicle,” C.J. Finn, PwC’s US automotive industry leader, told Tech Brew. “The OEMs and the suppliers [are] all very much looking at identifying what alternatives may be available to them.”

But even as the industry looks for near-term solutions to avoid production stoppages, experts say that a long-term fix may be tricky—and largely dependent on politics.

Keep reading here.—JG

Are you wearing your seatbelt?

The EV market is in for a “roller coaster ride” in the coming months thanks to a bevy of federal policy changes, according to Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. And that’s on top of tariff-driven disruptions that are likely to upend the new-vehicle market in the second half of the year.

“Now we face the risk of cooling demand, as rates remain high and are unlikely to go lower, while uncertainty for world peace, inflation, interest rates, and the end game for tariffs remains incredibly high,” Smoke said during a presentation Wednesday. “We also have seen steps taken that will lead to a roller coaster ride for EV sales over the next nine months, as policy changes remove tax credits and emission targets are dialed back.”

Reality sets in: The anticipation of tariff-induced price increases drove consumers to lock in new-vehicle purchases, sending sales surging in March and April. Sales showed signs of cooling in May—and that’s likely to be the story for the rest of the year.

Keep reading here.—JG

Ford’s 2023 announcement that it would build the first automaker-backed lithium iron phosphate EV battery plant in the US was touted as an example of the Inflation Reduction Act’s success.

Two years later, the future of major IRA provisions is uncertain amid wrangling over the federal budget in the Republican-controlled Congress. And a House version of the controversial budget bill would nix credits for batteries that use Chinese tech—Ford’s exact model for the plant, per a licensing agreement with Chinese battery giant CATL.

But Ford executives say the company is staying the course on its $3 billion BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which is now more than halfway complete—even as the project stands to lose major federal incentives, namely the IRA’s 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit, which subsidizes investments in domestic battery manufacturing and could represent hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits for Ford.

“When we invest, we stick behind our investments,” Lisa Drake, Ford’s VP of technology platform programs and EV systems, told reporters this week during a tour of the Marshall, Michigan, site. “Ford is a company that will weather the storm until we get there. But there’s a great opportunity to help not only Ford, but all of the auto sector stay in this game and keep these battery jobs here. Now it’s going to just be up to the administration.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Think about it: Today we’re doing a little something different in this space. Instead of pointing you toward the hot new hardware or notes on the latest operating system or social media feature, we’ve assembled some consumer tech-focused ~*think pieces*~ for you to consider over your Fourth of July break.

• The entire internet is reverting to beta (The Atlantic)
• What’s happening to reading? (The New Yorker)
• ‘Ancestra’ actually says a lot about the current state of AI-generated videos (The Verge)