New president says Mexico will make own EV

Snubbed by Tesla, Mexico’s new president pledged Friday to create a Mexican-made small, affordable electric car to compete with vehicles imported from China.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Teslas were too “onerous,” or expensive, for the Mexican market anyway. Tesla’s cheapest car, the Model 3, costs about $30,000.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in July the company had “paused” plans for a plant in Mexico, citing former President Donald Trump’s remarks about possible auto tariffs.

Sheinbaum said her government will try to bring together Mexican companies and researchers to produce a “compact, cheap electric car.”

“The idea is to use Mexican companies and Mexican researchers’ ingenuity, to bring them together to assemble this electric car,” Sheinbaum said. “The idea is to create production chains so that this entire electric car is made in our country.”

She cited electric vehicles from China and India — some of which are already flooding into Mexico — as examples. Small electric motorbikes from China have flooded Mexican streets in recent months, but Sheinbaum said motorbikes, which in Mexico are often ridden by three people at a time, were too dangerous.

The plan faces a number of problems, including the fact that Mexico doesn’t produce any lithium, the key ingredient for batteries, nor any mass quantity of batteries. High domestic electricity rates could also be a roadblock.

Snuga Swings recalled after 5 infant deaths

Fisher-Price is recalling parts of over 2 million infant swings across the U.S., Canada and Mexico due to a serious suffocation risk, following reports of five infant deaths.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned that all models of Fisher-Price’s Snuga Swings should never be used for sleep or have bedding materials added. The products’ headrest and seat pad body support insert can increase risks of suffocation, the notice published Thursday said.

There have been five reports of deaths involving infants between 1 to 3 months old when the product was used for sleep, according to the commission. In most of those incidents, which took place from 2012 to 2022, bedding material was added to the product and the babies were unrestrained.

CPSC Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr. advised consumers to claim a $25 refund and then “throw this product away.”

The Fisher-Price Snuga Swings now under recall were sold at major retailers — including Amazon, Walmart, Toys R Us and Target — across North America between October 2010 and January 2024, according to the CPSC. About 2.1 million swings were sold in the U.S., 99,000 in Canada and another 500 in Mexico.

Amazon adds Apple TV+ to U.S. channels store

Amazon.com is adding Apple’s TV+ streaming service to its channels store in the U.S., offering hits such as “Ted Lasso” and “Slow Horses” in its video supermarket for the first time.

Apple will begin selling TV+ subscriptions through Prime later this month, Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Amazon Prime Video, said this week in Los Angeles.

Amazon markets more than 100 streaming services via its channels store, enabling customers to watch shows from Max, Paramount+ and Hallmark within Prime Video. Those services rely on Amazon to expand their audience.

Apple TV+ was one of the few major streaming services not available in the store, along with Netflix and Walt Disney Co.’s main properties.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.