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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Washington, D.C., today during a six-day visit to the US. The meeting was at Musk’s request to discuss the possibility of building a Tesla Gigafactory in Korea.

Yonhap, a Korean news agency, summarized the meeting, saying that Yoon emphasized that “South Korea boasts world-class manufactured robots and an advanced labor force, making it an ideal location to run a Gigafactory.”

And Yoon was directly quoted as saying:

“Should Tesla decide to invest, we will provide active support in terms of location, workforce and taxes”

In their previous meeting, Yoon had a similar message – that Korea has a world-class automotive industry and that Korea would work to improve regulations to allow for easier foreign investment into the country. We have no transcript of that meeting, but it sounds like he was more direct in this meeting – promising specific direct support to Tesla rather than generalized government action on regulations.

Musk reportedly responded by stating that he expects to visit South Korea and that the country remains a leading candidate for a Gigafactory.

Korea was already on Tesla’s shortlist for potential new Gigafactory locations, and Yoon and Musk met virtually in November to discuss this possibility. At the time, rumors included that Tesla was considering a Gigafactory in Mexico or Canada.

Since then, Tesla has announced that it will build a Gigafactory in Mexico, which might have thrown some cold water on rumors of other locations. But it turns out that Tesla is still interested in other locations as electric car sales are set to see “explosive growth” worldwide in the coming years.

Given Tesla’s goal to expand sales by 50% per year for the foreseeable future, with a potential (and quite optimistic) goal of selling 20 million vehicles in 2030, it’s going to need a lot of factories to get there.

Tesla already operates one factory in Shanghai, which is a relatively short 500-mile hop over the Yellow Sea away from Korea. But in East Asia, a region where half of the world’s population lives, there is certainly room for more than one factory.

Korea is turning out to be a major player in the EV industry. Korean battery suppliers LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SK On are cooperating with many automakers around the globe, and Hyundai and Kia are among the largest electric vehicle manufacturers.

Plus, Korea is a free trade partner with America, whereas China is not. This could be relevant given the new battery component and critical mineral rules in the Inflation Reduction Act, requiring the domestic or free trade manufacturing of battery components and critical minerals, respectively. While any Korean Gigafactory would primarily serve Asian markets, this could add some flexibility for Tesla in terms of processing or recycling battery minerals.

Korea, in particular, felt spurned by these rules because they also require that cars undergo final assembly in North America (unless you lease them, an interpretation that Korean automakers pushed for). This has caused many Korean automakers to commit to building factories in the US, so having an American automaker establish a factory in Korea would certainly be fair play in response.

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Meet Cadillac’s new $80,000 Lyriq-V, the quickest Caddie (EV or gas-powered) so far

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Meet Cadillac's new ,000 Lyriq-V, the quickest Caddie (EV or gas-powered) so far

With 615 horsepower, the Cadillac Lyriq-V is the quickest Caddie to date. Cadillac’s first V-Series EV will outsprint a CT5-V Blackwing, and it can be yours for under $80,000.

The 2026 Lyriq-V EV is the fastest Cadillac ever

We knew it was coming soon. Cadillac teased the Lyriq-V for the first time in late October, giving a sneak peek at its first electric V-Series vehicle.

Cadillac’s performance brand is known for iconic sports cars like the CT5-V Blackwing, but the new EV pushes the “V-Series sub-brand to new heights,” boasted John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac.

As the first EV to wear the V-Series badge, Cadillac promised the Lyriq-V would be powerful, but we didn’t know it would be this fast.

Cadillac officially introduced the 2026 Lyriq-V on Thursday, revealing additional specs, prices, and more. With an estimated 615 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque and a standard dual motor AWD powertrain, the EV is expected to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds, making it the quickest Cadillac to date.

Cadillac-Lyriq-V-EV
2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V (Source: GM)

At that speed, it would outrun the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing with a 0 to 60 mph sprint time in 3.4 seconds. Although the CT-5 packs slightly more horsepower (668 hp), the Lyriq-V’s EV powertrain unlocks more powerful, instant acceleration.

The added power is enabled by an added Velocity Max feature, which “unleashes the vehicle’s full performance capability” with a surge of power and acceleration.

Cadillac-Lyriq-V-EV
2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V (Source: GM)

Interior and exterior design, prices, and features

The V-Series model differs from the traditional Lyriq with a lower center of gravity and custom front and rear bumpers. It also features V-Series badging on the rear doors and tailgate, V-pattern mesh on the lower grille, and 22″ wheels with the logo etched into the side.

Inside, the performance EV borrows features from the Lyriq, such as a panoramic fixed glass roof, a 23-speaker AKG sound system, and a massive 33″ LED display screen.

Cadillac distinguishes the V-Series from the traditional Lyriq by adding the V-Series logo, a V-mode button, and a sports rim with hand grips. Other unique features include a custom infotainment experience with a “V-Series persona,” a signature V-Series illuminated sill plate and V-pattern detailing on the seatbacks.

A 102 kWh battery pack is expected to provide a range of up to 285 miles. The 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V starts at $79,990, including the destination fee.

Cadillac-Lyriq-V-EV
2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V (Source: GM)

In comparison, the Tesla Model Y Performance starts at $51,490 and has an EPA-estimated range of up to 277 miles. It also includes AWD and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

Cadillac’s new performance EV will be sold in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Other markets will be announced closer to launch. GM will begin producing the new Lyriq-V at its Spring Hill, TN, manufacturing plant in early 2025.

What do you think of the Cadillac’s new performance EV? Would you buy one for $80,000? Or are you sticking with the Model Y Performance? Drop us a comment below to let us know.

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Trump says he will approve power plants for AI through emergency declaration

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Trump says he will approve power plants for AI through emergency declaration

U.S. President Donald Trump makes a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. 

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

President Donald Trump said Thursday he will approve the construction of power plants for artificial intelligence through an emergency declaration.

“We’re going to build electric generating facilities. I’m going to get the approval under emergency declaration. I can get the approvals done myself without having to go through years of waiting,” Trump said in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“They can fuel it with anything they want, and they may have coal as a backup,” he said of the plants.

The president declared a national energy emergency on Monday, directing federal agencies to use whatever emergency authorities they have at their disposal to expedite energy infrastructure projects.

Power demand from artificial intelligence data centers is forecast to surge in the coming years. The tech companies building the centers that support AI have primarily focused on procuring renewable energy to meet their climate goals, though they have shown a growing interest in nuclear power to meet their growing energy needs.

While the tech sector has focused on carbon-free power to meet their climate goals, analysts believe natural gas will play a pivotal role in powering AI because it’s in plentiful supply, is more reliable than renewables and can be deployed much faster than nuclear.

Trump said he wants power plants to connect directly to data centers rather than supplying electricity through the grid.

“You don’t have to hook into the grid, which is old and could be taken out,” Trump said. This setup, called co-location, has faced opposition from some utilities who are worried about losing fees and have warned taking power off the grid could lead to supply shortages.

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Tesla announces giant price hikes to all electric cars in Canada

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Tesla announces giant price hikes to all electric cars in Canada

Tesla has announced some important price hikes across its entire lineup in Canada amid incentives going away and a struggling Canadian dollar.

The Canadian EV market is already having problems amid announcements that the federal incentive program will be eliminated. The same thing is happening to Quebec’s own program, which was the most generous in the country—making the province the leader in EV adoption in Canada.

Now, Tesla, which sells more EVs than anyone in Canada, announced that it is increasing prices on all its lineup.

Here are the price increases for each Tesla model:

  • Model 3:
    • Long Range RWD: $4,000
    • Long Range AWD: $8,000
    • Performance: $9,000
  • Model Y: $4,000
  • Model S: $4,000
  • Model X: $4,000

Buyers can still get $1,300 CAD off of new Model Y, Model S, or Model X purchases with a referral code.

Tesla never comments on price changes and therefore, we don’t know the official reasons for these specific price increases, but we can make some educated guesses.

First off, the Canadian dollar has crashed in comparison to USD over the last few months:

Furthermore, the timing of announcing that the price increases will take place on February 1st has led some to link this to the upcoming tariff wars that President Trump signaled against Canada.

The US President said that he plans to impose 25% tariffs on any goods coming from Canada, and Canada said that it would retaliate.

Electrek’s Take

Obviously, this is not good for the EV market in Canada.

The removal of incentives is already hurting the market, and now the base price of the most popular EVs in the country, Tesla vehicles, is also going up before incentives.

This will be a bad year for EVs in Canada.

Hopefully, things will settle down and we will get more clarity once the tariff war actually starts.

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