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Jack Ewing
For Jack Ewing's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The assembly line at the Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, Germany, on March 14. The factory stopped producing gasoline-powered Golfs and switched to electric vehicles, illuminating the risks and opportunities for factory towns and cities.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 11, 2024
What happened when a German car factory went all electric?
The city of Zwickau, where more than 10,000 people work for Volkswagen and tens of thousands more for suppliers, seems to have avoided dire consequences.
Tesla Model 3 assembly line at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, in 2018. Before the Shanghai plant opened, Fremont was Tesla’s principal factory.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024
A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also binds him to Beijing.
Musk is now treading a fine line, sounding the alarm about Chinese rivals, even as he remains reliant on the Chinese market.
Lukasz Krupski, a service technician for Tesla in Norway who says he was fired after expressing safety concerns, in Drammen, Norway, on Nov. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023
Man vs. Musk: A whistleblower creates headaches for Tesla
An employee who was fired after expressing safety concerns leaked personnel records and sensitive data about driver-assistance software.
Rachel Culin, a disenchanted Toyota owner, standing between her Toyota Prius and new Chevy Bolt at her home in Mesa, Arizona. The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023
Toyota, a hybrid pioneer, struggles to master electric vehicles
The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell EVs, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2023
Tesla offers a new ‘master plan,’ but few big revelations
Shareholders and analysts had expected Tesla to reveal information that would clarify how the company would retain its crown as the world’s dominant maker of electric vehicles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2023
Electric vehicles could match gasoline cars on price this year
Increased competition, government incentives and falling prices for lithium and other battery materials are making electric vehicles noticeably more affordable.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2022
India’s electric vehicle boom is built on mopeds and rickshaws, not Teslas
Electric mopeds and three-wheeled rickshaw taxis that sell for as little as $1,000 are zipping along India's congested urban thoroughfares, cheered on by environmentalists and the government
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2022
Why Elon Musk’s Twitter bid has shaken Tesla investors
The chief executive's billions of dollars of personal debt, his divided attention and Twitter's own challenges could all have an effect on his electric-car company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2022
As automakers add technology to cars, software bugs follow
Today's automakers must design entertainment systems for their cars that will work with software and devices that haven't been invented yet.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on