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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla factory tour video, Obama rejects Keystone XL

Tesla takes us on a 90-second factory tour in a new video. In the footage, we see humans and robots hard at work putting together the electric cars we all know and love. Pieces of the manufacturing process are interspersed with larger shots of the factory floor. In the end, we see the finished product leave the factory and speed off onto a cone course. Check it out in the video above. President Obama has rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. After a seven-year review, he says it would not be in America's interest to build the 1,179-mile pipeline to bring oil from Canada's tar sands to the Gulf of Mexico. He cites passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill as a better way to create jobs, says US gas prices are already falling, and that reducing reliance on fossil fuels is a better way toward energy security. "The industry can find a different way to move that oil," says Christine Tezak, energy market analyst at ClearView Energy Partners. "If prices go up, companies will get the oil out." Read more at The New York Times. Chevrolet is donating a 2016 Volt to support For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST). Donations raised from the auction will help the organization bring student robotics projects to communities in need of greater science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education representation. "The Volt exemplifies technology, and behind the next-generation Chevrolet Volt is a diverse team of engineers who understand the power of science and math," says Chevrolet Marketing Director Steve Majoros. "FIRST brings science and math alive outside the classroom, just like we are bringing it alive on the road." Read more from Chevrolet. Nissan has been ranked among the top five percent of global corporations in the Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) 2015 Climate Change Report. Nissan scored a perfect 100 points in CDP's Climate Disclosure Leadership Index. Nissan's successful Leaf EV, as well as its efforts to reduce well-to-wheel CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050, earned the automaker its high marks. "Nissan is providing customers with innovative products and promoting effective use of energy and resource by increasing sourcing diversity, such as with renewable energy and recycled materials," says Nissan Corporate Vice President Joji Tagawa. "We will continue our activities to achieve our environmental philosophy of 'a Symbiosis of People, Vehicles and Nature.'" Read more in the press release below.

Chevrolet Silverado reportedly getting the GMC Sierra's MultiPro tailgate

GMC reinvented the pickup tailgate when it added a six-way option named MultiPro to the current-generation Sierra it introduced in 2019. It kept this clever feature to itself as a way to differentiate the Sierra from the Chevrolet Silverado, but a recent report claims it will begin sharing it in the not-too-distant future. Enthusiast website GM Authority learned from anonymous sources familiar with Chevrolet's product plans that the Silverado will soon receive its own version of the MultiPro tailgate. It will be called either MultiFlex or Multi-Flex, a name Chevrolet has already trademarked, and it was initially scheduled to make its debut for the 2021 model year. Its arrival might be delayed until the 2022 model year due to the coronavirus pandemic, however. Chevrolet's Silverado and GMC's Sierra are nearly identical under the sheet metal, so adding the latter's six-way tailgate to the former will be a relatively straightforward and cost-effective process. Interestingly, GM Authority wrote engineers could add a seventh function to the tailgate, though it didn't reveal what they have in store. It's also not sure whether both trucks will get the new feature, or if it will exclusively be offered on the Chevrolet. 2022 will bring major updates to the Silverado and the Sierra, potentially including — as we've previously reported — an independent rear suspension. Interior upgrades will allegedly be part of the mid-cycle changes, too, but we still don't know if the Silverado will receive the tough carbon fiber cargo box available in the Sierra. In the meantime, motorists in the market for a Sierra will temporarily have fewer options to choose from. GMC has asked its dealers to stop taking orders for the regular- and double-cab variants of the truck, according to a separate report from GM Authority. Putting the slower-selling regular- and double-cab trucks on hiatus will allow dealers to build up their inventory of crew-cabs, which sell far better and are in relatively short supply. These restrictions will remain in effect until the 2021 model year, which starts on September 14 for double- and crew-cab models and on September 21 for regular-cab trucks. All three body styles will be available in 2021. Related Video:

GM and Ford quarterly sales continue to slump in China

BEIJING — General Motors and Ford announced their quarterly sales in China fell, albeit at a slower pace sequentially, as the U.S. automakers were hit by a slowing economy amid the Sino-U.S. trade war. GM's vehicle sales in China for the quarter ended June 30 dropped 12.2%, while Ford's sales slumped by 21.7%. While GM also suffered from heightened competition in its key mid-priced SUV segment, Ford was hurt by the limited new models for customers to choose from. For the first quarter of this year, Ford's sales in China tumbled 35.8 percent while GM's skid 17.5 percent. Still, the numbers from GM, the second biggest international automaker in China by sales, and Ford portend more uncertainty for the industry which is trying to rebound from a downward spiral that led to its first annual sales decline last year in more than two decades. GM delivered 1.57 million vehicles in China in the January-June period this year, while Ford delivered 290,321 vehicles. China's factory activity shrank more than expected in June, highlighting the need for more economic stimulus amid higher U.S. tariffs and weaker domestic demand. Annual car sales in China fell last year for the first time since the 1990s, and they are expected to fall this year too. Sales tumbled 16.4% in May from the same month a year prior, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. That marked the 11th consecutive month of decline and followed falls of 14.6% in April and 5.2% in March. U.S. car companies' share of total China passenger vehicles sales fell to 9.6% in the first five months of this year from 10.9% in the year-ago period, according to CAAM. Over the same period, German car makers' share has risen to 23.3% from 20.9% and Japanese auto makers' to 21.3% from 17.3%. CAAM is set to announce June sales next week, which industry analysts forecast will be negative.   New models In China, GM has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp, in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac are made. It also has another venture, with SAIC and GuangxiAutomobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars. Sales of GM's affordable brand Baojun dropped 31.8% for the latest quarter. But luxury brand Cadillac's sales jumped 36.6%. GM sold 3.64 million units in China last year, down from 4.04 units in 2017. Ford makes cars in China through its joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC).