| | | | |  | | By Sam Ogozalek | With help from Cassandra Dumay
| | — EVs are becoming a flashpoint in Michigan during the final stretch of the presidential race. — How much will it cost to repair North Carolina’s roadway system following Hurricane Helene? The state says it’s too early to tell. — It will take weeks for ports to return to normal after the East and Gulf Coast dockworkers strike, a supply chain data firm warns. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We’re glad you’re here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Sam at sogozalek@politico.com, Chris at cmarquette@politico.com, Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and Cassandra at cdumay@politico.com and follow us at @SamOgozalek, @ChrisMarquette_, @Oriana0214 and @cassandra_dumay. “We used to listen to the radio/ And sing along with every song we know/ We said someday we'd find out how it feels/ To sing to more than just the steering wheel.” Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | EVS ON THE AIRWAVES: The Trump campaign is attacking electric vehicles — again and again — in Michigan. The latest broadside: a nearly $1 million ad buy that falsely claims Vice President Kamala Harris wants to “end all gas-powered cars.” (As MT readers will know, it’s more complicated than that.) Regardless, it remains a political liability for Harris in a key battleground state — polling this summer showed that 55 percent of Michigan voters disapprove of the Biden administration’s EV push. Democrats are on the defensive in the lead up to Election Day as they attempt to court auto workers, who still predominantly produce gas-powered cars and trucks, Gavin Bade reports from St. Clair Shores, Michigan. — “I don’t care if people drive an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle or a combustion engine — drive what you want,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, said. “But if the question is who’s going to build the next generation of cars, I want it to be the United States of America, not China.” HARRIS RESPONDS: Up until Friday, Harris largely stayed quiet on EVs. But she addressed the topic head-on during a speech in Flint, Michigan. “Let us be clear, contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive,” Harris said. “But here’s what I will do: I will invest in communities like Flint.”
| | WHAT’S THE PRICE TAG: It’s unclear how much funding is needed to patch up hundreds of North Carolina roadways mangled by Hurricane Helene. “We are still assessing damages and determining the best process for moving forward with repairs, so it is too early to speculate on anticipated costs,” Aaron Moody, a North Carolina DOT spokesperson, said in an email. — FHWA announced Saturday the “immediate availability” of $100 million in emergency relief money for the NCDOT. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement said it’s an initial round of funding. FHWA also said it was sending $32 million to the Tennessee DOT and, a day earlier, announced $2 million for the South Carolina DOT. TIMELINE UNKNOWN: The NCDOT and TDOT told your MT host they don’t have an estimate on how long it will take to reopen parts of Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 — which link the two states — shuttered by the hurricane. In western North Carolina, there were more than 590 road closures as of Sunday afternoon, according to a POLITICO analysis of NCDOT data. NO MAJOR DAMAGE: Fitch Ratings in a statement Friday said it won’t change its credit ratings for toll roads, ports and airports in the region the storm hit. Fitch-rated transportation infrastructure has not sustained significant damage or revenue disruption, the company determined. CALL ME!: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Friday took to X, his social media platform, to post a text exchange in which someone claimed the federal government was shutting down the airspace over the disaster zone, affecting private relief efforts. Buttigieg replied to Musk’s post, saying that wasn’t true. The FAA, he added, “doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call.” Apparently, the two later connected:
|  X | — And it seems like Buttigieg smoothed things over:
|  X | MISINFORMATION TAKES ROOT: Extremist groups and others, including some politicians, are spreading false claims and conspiracy theories about the disaster and the government’s response, the AP reports.
| | CLEARING THE BACKLOG: It will be at least three weeks before ports get back to normal operations after the nearly three-day Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast dockworkers strike, Everstream Analytics, a supply chain data firm, said Friday. (For each day of the walkout, it takes about a week to clear the backlog.) — The number of container ships waiting outside ports reached a high of 59 on Thursday but dropped overnight to 54, according to Everstream Analytics. “Some shippers will now face the challenge of having to recover containers discharged at other ports outside of the [U.S.] as carriers had to manage the situation,” such as in the Bahamas, the firm said.
| | PROBE INTO BRAKING ISSUE: NHTSA said Friday it has opened an investigation into more than 368,000 Ford Edge SUVs after it received 36 reports of a “loss of braking ability” in model year 2015-2017 vehicles. The complaints allege the issue is the result of a rear brake hose failure and the problem occurs without warning. The agency’s probe is specific to the implicated model years. Ford didn’t respond to a request for comment. AV PARTNERSHIP INKED: Robotaxi company Waymo and Hyundai announced Friday that the companies will add Waymo’s autonomous driving technology into a “significant volume” of Hyundai’s electric IONIQ 5 SUV. The vehicles will be assembled at Hyundai’s sprawling “Metaplant” EV factory near Savannah, Georgia. Initial on-road testing will begin by late 2025 and the SUVs will become available via Waymo’s ride-hailing app, Waymo One, “in the years to follow.”
| | | | TARIFFS INCOMING: EU countries on Friday didn’t oppose the European Commission's plan to impose hefty duties on made-in-China EVs imported into the bloc, overcoming eleventh-hour resistance from Germany’s chancellor. In practice, the vote means the Commission is free to decide on next steps. One EU diplomat said the legal text for the duties of up to 35.3 percent is coming before Oct. 30. Koen Verhelst and Hans Von Der Burchard have the story.
| | MISSION RECEIVES GO-AHEAD: The FAA announced Sunday that it OK’d SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to return to flight — but for just one mission, which is scheduled to launch Monday in Florida. The rocket will carry a European Space Agency craft that will probe an asteroid. The FAA last week said SpaceX had to investigate a malfunction with the Falcon 9, grounding the rocket, Reuters reports. The issue occurred during a NASA Crew-9 mission that launched Sept. 28. The rocket’s second stage, which helped boost the crew into orbit, landed in the ocean outside of its designated safety zone. No injuries or public property damage was reported, according to the FAA. — The agency determined that the “absence of a second stage reentry” for Monday’s mission “adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public.” “Safety will drive the timeline for the FAA to complete its review of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mishap investigation report and when the agency will authorize Falcon 9 to return to regular operations,” the FAA said in a statement.
| | | | HITTING THE TRAIL: Musk, who endorsed Donald Trump after the first assassination attempt against the Republican presidential nominee earlier this year, briefly spoke at Trump’s rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. Musk talked about voting rights and freedom of speech — but didn’t mention transportation issues. MAKE D.C.’S ROADS GREAT AGAIN: Trump, just before introducing Musk, promised to improve the District’s streets if he’s reelected. “We’re not gonna have roads that have potholes all over ‘em, and medians that are falling into the highways,” he said.
| | BUMP IN UNEMPLOYMENT: The U.S. employment rate in the transportation sector was 5.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in September, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Friday, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That’s an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the same month last year — and it’s above the pre-pandemic level of 3.3 percent in September 2019.
| | | | — “Italian prosecutors accuse 7 people, 2 firms over flawed Boeing plane parts." Reuters. — “GM halts vehicle production at two US plants due to Hurricane Helene.” Reuters. — “Stellantis sues UAW in US federal court over strike threats." Reuters. — “Carmakers don't plan immediate price changes to Chinese-made EVs after EU backs tariffs." Reuters. — “Boeing and striking union negotiators to return to the table on Monday." Reuters. — “EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles are part of an ‘economic cold war,’ Hungary’s Orbán says." AP. — “Jeep Parent Stellantis Taking ‘Drastic Measures’ to Conserve Cash." Wall Street Journal. — “How Biden helped end a strike that threatened Democrats in November." Washington Post. — “What Do US Vehicle Regulators Have Against Tiny Cars?” Bloomberg. — “Bipartisan lithium-ion battery safety bill still awaiting vote in U.S. Senate." NY1. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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