Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 168 on July 13, creating the MyFirstEV program — a $3,500 point-of-sale rebate for first-time electric vehicle buyers in California (theautowire.com). The catch: the program's eligibility criteria effectively narrow qualifying manufacturers to Rivian and Lucid, while Tesla — the company responsible for nearly half of all EVs registered in the state — is locked out. The bill even includes a provision anticipating legal challenges, a clear signal that lawmakers knew the structure would draw lawsuits.

The move raises pointed questions about whether MyFirstEV is designed to foster competition in the EV market or simply pick winners among California-connected manufacturers (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). By excluding the state's dominant EV seller and steering rebate dollars toward two smaller companies, the program is almost certain to become a lightning rod for debate over industrial policy, fairness, and the role of government incentives in shaping the electric vehicle landscape.

Munich-based Diamond Atelier, celebrated for over a decade of meticulous BMW boxer restomods, has unveiled the DA#22 Ultron — and it marks a sharp departure from the shop's one-off custom playbook (backfirenews.com). The Ultron is the opening chapter of Diamond Atelier's new in-house "Hyperbike" line, an ultra-limited production series rather than a singular build. It makes 205 horsepower and features a titanium exhaust system manufactured using additive processes — literally grown layer by layer instead of traditionally welded — showcasing cutting-edge 3D-printed metal technology in motorcycle fabrication.

The strategic shift positions Diamond Atelier as a potential low-volume manufacturer, not just a custom workshop (diamond-atelier.com). It's a significant bet: moving from bespoke commissions to a repeatable product line requires a different kind of engineering discipline and business infrastructure. If the Ultron is any indication of what's ahead, the Hyperbike series could carve out a niche where boutique craftsmanship meets advanced manufacturing at a level few small shops have attempted.

Barrett-Jackson's inaugural Columbus, Ohio auction ran June 25–27 at the Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds and pulled in $38.1 million in total sales across cars, charity lots, and automobilia — emphatically answering whether Midwest collectors would show up for a major auction event (theautowire.com). The sale's headline result was a new record price for a Ford Boss 429 Mustang, underscoring the continued strength of blue-chip American muscle cars in the collector market.

Barrett-Jackson has long anchored its calendar around the flagship Scottsdale, Arizona sale each January, and the Columbus expansion signals confidence that the collector-car market can sustain additional major regional events beyond the traditional hubs of Scottsdale, Monterey, and Amelia Island (barrett-jackson.com). The strong debut suggests robust demand among heartland enthusiasts and could pave the way for further expansion into underserved markets (theautowire.com).

Mexico's auto industry associations reported that electrified vehicle sales hit 95,037 units in the first half of 2026, a 44% year-over-year jump — but as The Auto Wire points out, the vast majority of those sales are conventional hybrids, not fully electric vehicles (theautowire.com). The distinction between "electrified" — a category that lumps hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles together — and genuinely electric is more than semantic, because current tariff and trade policy debates hinge on whether Mexico is becoming a backdoor for subsidized Chinese EV technology.

The timing makes it worse. This announcement arrives amid intensifying U.S. scrutiny over whether Chinese automakers are using Mexican assembly to circumvent American tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. The headline growth number is real, but it risks being wielded to overstate Mexico's EV transition at a politically sensitive moment — exactly when precision in the data matters most (theautowire.com).