Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is turning up the heat on Ford as he looks to pressure the heads of Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis to attend his Senate committee hearing on vehicle affordability.
While the meeting is officially about affordability, according to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, it encompasses much more.
Pretty much every American not directly involved in the car industry can agree that affordability is a good thing, so one would think that this would be a pretty straightforward hearing. However, the committee’s own description of the hearing suggests that this is more political grandstanding.
The committee says it is inviting the heads of the top U.S. automotive original equipment managers to discuss affordability as well as “how radical global warming regulations and mandated technologies have driven up the cost of vehicles for American consumers.”
But this is Washington, D.C., and the politics didn’t stop there.
Invited to speak to the committee about why the price of the average new vehicle has more than doubled over the last 15 years are Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors; Antonio Filosa, CEO of Stellantis; Jim Farley, CEO of Ford; and Lars Moravy, VP of vehicle engineering for Tesla.
Ford CEO Jim Farley was invited to a congressional hearing on vehicle affordability.
Photo by Bill Pugliano on Getty Images
Ford, GM attendance at congressional committee hearing is up in the air
While the committee did not explain why it didn’t invite Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Cruz told Politico that he intentionally did not invite Musk because his attendance would shift the focus of the hearing away from the topic of affordability.
“His role is different from simply an auto CEO, and my objective is to have a hearing that actually focuses on auto affordability and giving the Democrats the opportunity to scream at Elon for three hours would be counterproductive to that task,” Cruz said.
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That explanation didn’t fly with Ford or GM.
“Ford believes that it is essential that any potential hearing adhere to Congress’s longstanding tradition of ensuring comparable treatment for similarly situated companies,” said a letter from an outside law firm representing Ford, viewed by Politico.
“If a vice president of engineering is appropriate for the planned hearing, the other companies should have the opportunity to offer a similar witness.”
Meanwhile, General Motors CEO Mary Barra is also questioning why she should appear when Musk doesn’t have to. A GM spokesperson told The Detroit News that “Mary Barra will attend the hearing if the other companies’ CEOs do the same.”
So while it’s not official — Ford didn’t return a request for comment, and GM pointed to the statement made to Politico — it appears that at least two of the Detroit Big 3 won’t attend.
Senator Cruz responded to them this week.
Senator Ted Cruz says Ford CEO Jim Farley finds congressional committee “terrifying”
If grade school recess taught us anything growing up, it’s that the best way to get someone to do something stupid is to call them a chicken.
Senator Cruz is using that tactic to goad hesitant automotive CEOs to come to Washington to testify in front of his congressional committee.
Cruz sounded off to Politico on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Ford did not immediately return a request for comment from TheStreet.
“As we’ve said all along, we’re committed to appropriately engaging on issues that impact our company, our employees and the industry and we look forward to continuing to work with leaders such as Senator Cruz,” a Ford spokesperson told Politico.
Cruz did not rule out the possibility of subpoenaing Farley to compel him to attend the hearing, saying “time will tell” whether he will take that step.
But Cruz does say the hearing on affordability will proceed, regardless of whether the automaker CEOs attend.
“It’s understandable that Ford and GM would want a level playing field when it comes to congressional oversight,” said Dominick Miserandino, CEO of Retail Tech Media Nexus.
“If the goal of the hearing is a constructive conversation about vehicle pricing and the future of the auto industry, then having all major players at the table would only strengthen that discussion and make it more balanced for everyone involved.”
Ford supports congressional affordability push
Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation, under President Donald Trump, declared that the Biden administration had exceeded its authority when calculating its emissions standards by inflating the expected adoption of electric vehicles.
In addition, as of July, Congress eliminated Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules penalties, such that automakers will no longer face government fines for not meeting fuel economy standards.
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While more than 75% of what Ford sells in the U.S. is assembled in the U.S., and the company was second in U.S. EV sales, Farley supported eliminating the CAFE fines.
“This allows us to invest in affordable vehicles made in the U.S., which we will take the lead on, and will allow us to make vehicles more affordable,” Farley said during the White House announcement regarding the CAFE penalty rollback.
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