*By Amanda Weston*
After Mercedes-Benz's unveiling this week of its [first all-electric car](https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/17818836/mercedes-benz-eqc-suv-ev-specs-photos), automotive journalist and future Cheddar contributor Tamara Warren said the market is about to get a lot more competitive.
"It's huge news for Mercedes-Benz, and a real signal in this space that we are about to have a lot of options when it comes to the electric category, luxury, and the sweet space with crossover vehicles," Warren said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
The model, dubbed EQC, is an all-wheel drive SUV with a range of more than 200 miles. Dieter Zetsche, the head of Mercedes and chairman of parent company Daimler AG, called it the ["dawn of a new era"](https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/4/17818836/mercedes-benz-eqc-suv-ev-specs-photos).
The announcement Tuesday further weighed on shares of Tesla, whose stock marked a seventh straight day of losses Wednesday. Warren said the electric automaker may certainly have cause to worry about its new competitor, but "that's the nature of the business."
"If there's no competition, where's the market going to go?" she said. "What I think it forces Tesla to do is to continue to push their vehicles and not stall on thinking about new features and products and innovation."
Whether Tesla can find that focus is something Warren says investors should watch.
"Tesla is a really tricky company to follow right now, and you're talking about companies that have sort of infrastructure internally as far as safety and all of the quality that needs to be there coming into this space, not just Mercedes-Benz. But we're also seeing Audi as a player in this field, BMW, and Volvo," Warren said.
"So it's going to get really interesting by spring when we start seeing some of these vehicles."
The EQC is set to begin production in 2019 and go on sale in the U.S. in 2020. Mercedes-Benz has not yet announced what the vehicle will cost.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mercedes-benz-unveils-electric-vehicle).
Tesla's Austin, Texas-based gigafactory could be days away from opening its doors and beginning production. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at WedBush Securities, joined Cheddar to talk about his estimate that the EV company will be running its factory within a week and noted that Tesla has been in a good position despite ongoing semiconductor shortages. "They're really almost Teflon-like relative to other automakers," he said, calling its production delays "containable." Amid another shortage — labor —, he said he thinks Tesla positioned itself well for access to talent months ago with expanded hiring amid the move to Texas from California.
The UK's Information Commissioner's office is scrutinizing Facebook's parent company Meta over child safety practices linked to the Oculus headset, according to a report. The agency is looking to question the tech giant about how it's protecting children from harmful experiences in virtual reality.
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about his own brand of organic light beer called Eight (his jersey number with the Dallas Cowboys) and explained that he's had an interest in the industry since his days working for a distributor during college. "These brands that are on the market have been there for a long time and [I] felt that it was time for something fresh, something new, and I thought that we could do it in a way that was a better-for-you beer' and that's what we've done," he said. Aikman also provided some insight into the upcoming NFL playoffs and noted that he doesn't see a clear frontrunner for this year's Vince Lombardi trophy.
Disney has secured a patent for a digital world simulator for headset-free augmented reality expected to be accessible in parks by tracking smartphones and projecting personalized 3D displays, an indication that the entertainment giant is gearing up for its entry into the metaverse.
It has been a record year for luxury automaker Rolls-Royce despite the industry struggling to meet demand overall due to the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös joined Cheddar to discuss the driving factors behind the company's 2021 success. He said after the pandemic forced the closure of factories in 2020 and people stopped making large purchases, they were open to spending more in 2021. "The entire luxury sector was fueled by there's money available, and people are prepared to spend money," he said.
John Deere is getting on board the autonomous vehicle craze with its own self-driving tractors. The farming and forestry equipment manufacturer made the announcement at the 2022 CES convention in Las Vegas. Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere, spoke to Cheddar about the shift to self-driving to agriculture and how it will help farmers produce even more food as the world's population continues to grow. "It's all about trying to do more with less in farming," he said. "Labor's already a problem on the farm, and it's only getting to be more of a problem in the future. And we really view autonomy as a way to solve that problem."
John Grant, a senior analyst at OAG, and Jonathan Root, an airline analyst at Moody's, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how mass cancellations are affecting both travelers and airlines after more than 5,000 U.S. flights were scrapped over the weekend. In addition to staff shortages linked to COVID-19, inclement weather reportedly also played a major role in the canceled flights, but Root downplayed the effect on revenues. "We're not concerned about the financial impact, which is going to be very manageable," he said. "We see these conditions as temporary with a favorable outlook as we pass the omicron wave."
