Shoot us a Text. Episode #1296: GM and LG retool for energy storage as EV demand cools, VinFast restarts its North Carolina factory with a fraction of the jobs promised, and Nvidia adds four major automakers to its autonomous driving platform. Show Notes with links: GM and LG are retooling their Tennessee Ultium Cells joint venture plant for energy storage batteries, and recalling 700 laid-off workers to make it happen. The facility was originally built to supply EV batteries, but slower-than-expected adoption changed the math.The Ultium Cells joint venture will shift to lithium-iron phosphate battery production starting in Q2, targeting the booming energy storage market.AI data centers are driving massive electricity demand, making grid storage one of the fastest-growing battery opportunities right now."Right now, the demand exceeds supply tremendously, and it's going to continue to exceed it for the next several years." — Kurt Kelty, GM VP of Battery, Propulsion and Sustainability VinFast is restarting construction on its North Carolina factory after a year-long pause, now targeting a 2028 launch. The original vision has shrunk considerably, and the company's finances aren't making the story any easier to tell.The plant's projected workforce dropped from 7,500 to 1,400 jobs, putting $315M in state and local incentives at serious risk.VinFast must either invest $500M or hit 1,750 jobs by end of 2026, or North Carolina can trigger a site repurchase option.Q4 losses widened 15% year-over-year to $1.3B, even as deliveries more than doubled and full-year revenue doubled as well.North American EV sales are forecast to drop 16% this year, adding headwinds to an already uphill U.S. market entry.VinFast said it "remains focused on executing the project responsibly," but declined to comment on the incentive and job-count implications. At its GTC conference this week, Nvidia revealed that Hyundai, Nissan, BYD, and Geely are building Level 4-capable autonomous vehicles on its Drive Hyperion platform, joining Mercedes, Toyota, and GM.Drive Hyperion is Nvidia's reference architecture for autonomous vehicles, combining its computing platform with cameras, radar, and lidar so automakers aren't starting from scratch.Level 4 autonomy means the vehicle can drive itself in certain conditions with no human intervention required.Nvidia's GPU dominance in gaming and data centers has quietly made it the backbone of the autonomous vehicle industry as well. Today’s show is brought to you by HeyGreenlight. HeyGreenlight’s Wingman gives your sales and BDC team live, real-time guidance so they consistently say the right things, at the right time, on every call. Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry. Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/