News: SYR Auto File: Tesla fights the headwinds., page-2

The U.S. Government is back in the car business The U.S. Department of Energy has made its first loan in ten years https://www.reutersDOE loans program with a winner..com/business/energy/syrah-resources-gets-107-mln-us-loan-louisiana-ev-battery-plant-2022-04-19 to a clean vehicle business, awarding $107 million to Australian company Syrah Resources to build a battery graphite processing plant in Louisiana, with Tesla as a major customer. The DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program has nearly $18 billion in lending capacity https://www.energy.gov/lpo/products-services/advanced-technology-vehicles-manufacturing-loan-program, but it has been largely dormant. Now, the ATVM is being used as a tool in a broader effort by the Biden Administration to secure U.S. capacity to produce batteries and battery raw materials. As EV sales rise, analysts and industry executives are warning of a looming shortage of battery capacity.

ATVM program chief Jigar Shah is encouraging applicants, but with a caveat: "The vast majority of applicants aren't ready," Shah told Reuters. "We need all of our questions answered to be able to process a loan." Translation: No more Solyndras

They need to kick start the DOE loans program with a winner. Any regulatory approvals should be smoothed out.