Bad News for Elon (and Donald)

Not that the trillionaire with fascist tendencies will be that bothered.

Autoguide today are suggesting that the Cybertruck might be a flop.

Registration data shows that U.S. registrations hit a record quarterly low of just 3,519 units in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 45.1% drop compared to the same period in 2025.

Oops.

But what about elsewhere?

Tesla also officially sells the Cybertruck in Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

It's not even legally allowed on the roads in the UK.

I can't imagine the Canadians or Mexicans are buying many.

Back in January, Torque News also suggested that the Cybertruck might be a flop.

And they had this excellent picture which I'm happy to credit them with:

And, it looks like a lot of the American sales are internal corporate fleet purchases from other Elon Musk-led ventures such as SpaceX.

So how is that working out?

Meanwhile, Elon's former best friend isn't doing too well with his latest venture either.

About a fortnight ago, I reported on A White House promoted scheme to sell cheap fuel to Americans in certain States who had noticed that the Iran War was badly affecting their everyday costs.

Well, that went well.

1000 Not Out!

This is my 1000th Blog Post!

Number 1 was a bit serious - I hadn't got into my stride of  commenting on car news items at that point.

And I was right. 

That was November 2009 by the way - when the World was a better place but we didn't know it.

In fact, it wasn't until 2021 that the end of the World was announced.

By me.

And it was 2018 when I foresaw the end of Top Gear.  I may not have said it, but I definitely foresaw it.

Number 999, just last week, was an amusing electric Bentley story.

So, what have I got for today's Number 1000 story?

An amusing story about a Yorkshire cyclist who decided that a car had passed him too closely so sent footage of it to the Police.

That footage also showed the cyclist squeezing his bike through this gap:

(The car on the left is parked)

The BBC story is here together with the video. There is no news of the car driver that he reported.  But there is news that the cyclist ending up with over £1200 in fines for riding without due care and attention.

I have a vision of the police officer watching the footage then spotting this.

Poetic.

Beat That!

Another excellently written story from Car+Driver.

It's about the forthcoming electric SUV from Bentley, the Torcal:

We know a couple of things about it - one is that it we don't know what it looks like but it won't look like my picture because that is a photo of a Bentayga.

We also know it will be an electric SUV and therefore quite boring.

Or will it?

Well yes, but...

Instead of fake engine noise or an annoying whirr, it will have a bit of drum and bass.

Which should sound pretty good when you are winging your way along an Autobahn or around to Welsh Mountain B-Roads, but what about when you are pootling around town? 

  

Con-Oil

I see the Iran War is kicking off again.

The idiot Trump negotiated a worse deal than the Obama one and then couldn't keep the peace.

This means that fuel prices have already started rising.

Just as they had started to go down from the peak days of Trump's War:

But don't worry!  The White House has a solution for the mess they created.

As long as you live in certain bits of Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

The Freedom Fuel Network will sell fuel at $3.47 per US Gallon.

The 47 cents is a tribute to the 47th POTUS - the moron who caused the prices to skyrocket in the first place.

But the MAGA fans won't understand that.  They will just see the patriotic signage and not realise they have been had again.

Trump watches anyone? Or some Trump crypto perhaps?

It's the same over here will gullible people hanging flags on lampposts because people funded by billionaires would rather we think that immigrants are to blame for UK hardships when tax evasion costs us considerably more.

Don't get me wrong, I'd buy cheap fuel - but it wouldn't alter my views on very obviously corrupt politicians. 

According to Autoguide...

The origins of the network remain highly obscured. Over the course of a single week, 25 independent filling stations across southeastern Pennsylvania (20 locations) and southern New Jersey (5 locations)—which previously operated under branding like Sunoco, Valero, and Shell—abruptly rebranded, hanging patriotic red, white, and blue banners over their existing architecture. Business registries reveal that "Freedom Fuel Network LLC" was quietly incorporated as a private entity in Delaware on June 23, 2026.

A White House official confirmed that the Freedom Fuel Network is a private company and did not receive federal subsidies or government funding. Instead, the administration claims the unnamed, patriotic retailer is lowering prices strictly by drastically reducing its own profit margins to set an example for the rest of the industry.

They are using the word patriotic a lot.  It will be a billionaire friend of Trump and prime for tax write-off.

And what is the significance of Delaware?

This maybe?

Plus, don't forget the Mid-Term Elections coming up this year.

Pennsylvania has a U.S. Senate race with 17 U.S. Representative seats up for grabs.

New Jersey has a U.S. Senate race with 12 U.S. Representative seats up for grabs.

Wonder why they picked those states for the Freedom Fuel?

Is Skywell Skyworth it?

Their importers don't seem to think so.

Although the fact not many people have actually heard of them may have something to do with it.

I certainly hadn't.

They are another Chinese brand and have apparently been trying to sell vehicles in the UK since 2024...

  

...when they sold 6 cars.

Their website looks professional enough - concentrating on their electric SUV, the BE11...

 

...which looks just like most electric (and non-electric) SUVs.

They have other vehicles in the range too - a hatch, a saloon and a van:

which seems to be a "Skyworth"

But they are described as "coming soon..."

 

...so probably won't now.

The Skywell short-lived story is described by Autocar here.  According to that, there will be redundancies as their 16 dealerships shut (none near me) and their spokesman is also being let go.

Sounds like a failure in marketing or investment...

 

...or investment in marketing.

Skywell have skydived.