Tesla Is Exploring and Designing a Compact Pickup Truck: TDS
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Good morning and welcome to The Down Shift, or TDS for short.
The Down Shift is The Drive’s new quick morning recap of the latest news happening in the automotive world. Enjoy it with your coffee and a Pop-Tart.
This marks the third edition of TDS, and we appreciate the feedback on both the format and content from comments and emails ([email protected]).
Light. Brief. Quick. TDS is not intended to be a detailed article or manifesto but rather a brief update for your morning routine. Headlines are condensed into a single sentence, with links to explore further for those interested in more details.
We promise that not every edition of TDS will feature Tesla as the headline or even include news about them, though it seems the electric vehicle favorite can’t seem to escape the spotlight this week.
I’ve finished my first cup of coffee, so let’s dive in.
🚘 What I’m driving: The updated 2025.5 Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid luxury SUV is in my garage for the week, and it has been further refined with the latest enhancements. More updates will come as the week progresses.
🛻 Tesla’s engineering head, Lars Moravy, revealed at X Takeover 2025 that internal discussions about a smaller truck below the Cybertruck are indeed happening, and the design team is actively brainstorming potential designs.
⚡️ Chevrolet hinted at the return of the Bolt EV on Instagram, and it appears to be nearly the same model with updated lighting and a Tesla NACS charge port.
🏎️ Bentley’s new CEO, Frank-Steffen Walliser, stated that the company has opportunities to push the boundaries further regarding both luxury and performance.
🔋 Audi CEO Gernot Döllner announced an electric sports car concept set to debut in early September, and it will not be a TT or an R8, but something in between.
🏭 Nissan announced plans to close its Ciudad Industrial del Valle de Cuernavaca industrial park (CIVAC) in 2026, which was the first factory the company established outside of Japan.
💶 The list of automakers warning investors and the market of impending challenges is growing, with Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Lamborghini all lowering profit expectations due to the impact of U.S. tariffs.
Have thoughts on the TDS format? Drop us a note: [email protected]
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Tesla Is Exploring and Designing a Compact Pickup Truck: TDS
Tesla is aware that the Cybertruck is underperforming and is considering its options moving forward.