*By Carlo Versano*
Shares of General Motors soared by as much as 5 percent Wednesday on news that Honda will take a stake in its Cruise unit as part of a new partnership to build an autonomous vehicle for "large-scale deployment."
"This is a great deal on the path to deploying self-driving cars at scale," Cruise CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
Honda ($HMC) will bring $2.75 billion to the table over 12 years for a 5.7 percent stake in Cruise, valuing the GM ($GM) subsidiary at $14.6 billion ー that compares to a $11.5 billion valuation in May. Vogt said that Honda's engineering expertise, particularly in "space-efficient design" is a critical element of the joint venture.
The companies will work together to build an autonomous car from the ground up, Vogt said. Unlike Cruise or Google's ($GOOGL) Waymo unit of fleets of retrofitted SUVs and minivans, the mission is to completely rethink what an automobile is when a driver isn't needed ー or wanted, for that matter.
"We're removing the constraints of how cars drive today," Vogt said. "This is what comes next."
Vogt didn't give a timeline for roll-out, but he said the plan is for engineers from GM, Cruise, and Honda to first focus on a car that can be deployed in a rideshare capacity, making it "accessible to as many people as possible." In a press release, GM referred to it as "purpose-driven" vehicle, leaving the possibility open that it can be used for things like delivery, for example. The vehicle will be manufactured at a current GM plant.
A partnership of this size between two multinational auto giants shows the importance of scale as legacy manufacturers and tech start-ups jockey for position in a field that has the potential to revolutionize huge swaths of the economy.
Tesla ($TSLA) has proven how difficult it can be to produce a car "from scratch" without infrastructure in place or decades of assembly-line experience. GM and Honda have both.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/gms-cruise-teams-up-with-honda-on-autonomous-cars).
Paramount Global is set to absorb Showtime into Paramount+, creating a single streaming option to compete with the likes of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max. The company also plans to raise the monthly price from $9.99 to $11.99 per month after the integration.
Debt ceiling talks are underway in Washington, DC ahead of a default deadline. Michael Rosen, chief investment officer with Angeles Investments, joined Cheddar News to explain how a potential default could affect investment portfolios, among other items, for Americans.
Australia's government announced regulations for buy now, pay later services, which will be labeled as consumer credit products, which puts them under the country's Securities and Investments Commission's watch.
Walmart is reportedly teaming up with pet telehealth provider Pawp, giving subscribers unlimited access to vet services via video and text, starting on Tuesday.
Cheddar News checks in to see what's on The Day Ahead, which will include earnings from Lowe's, Dick's Sporting Goods, BJ's and AutoZone along with new home sales data. In addition, Microsoft's Build 2023 Developer Conference is slated to kick off for software engineers and web developers.
Amazon will use a new feature in its palm-scanning system to verify one's age to purchase alcohol.
Venmo will soon have accounts for teenagers ages 13-17 but they will have to follow a set of rules, with parents or guardians opening accounts on their behalf under their own accounts.
Rory Harvey, General Motors' incoming North American president, joined Cheddar News to discuss GM's foray into the rapidly-changing electric vehicle market along with what lies ahead. "It's a very dynamic time in the automotive industry," he said. "If you look to the transformation across the EVs, it's happening and it's happening at a pace."
Tesla trimmed prices by offering discounts of around $1,300 for its Model 3 vehicles, continuing price adjustments across its fleet since January.
A new oral weight-loss drug from Pfizer could be more effective than the popular Ozempic injection, based on clinical trial results.
