Ford recently announced a groundbreaking multi-billion dollar investment to build two new manufacturing plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The total amount of the investment is $11.4 billion. According to the plan of the company, the two factories will manufacture the upcoming EV F-series pickup trucks and their batteries.
The Target
Ford’s $7 billion investment is already the largest ever manufacturing investment at one time by any automotive company in US history. The full investment supports the visionary company’s longer-term goal of creating a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem in America by next 2025. Backed by the Paris Climate Agreement approved science-based targets are in line, accelerating the manufacturing progress towards achieving much-needed carbon neutrality. Based on this goal, Ford confidently expects to transform 40%-50% of its global vehicle volume into fully electronic by next 2030.
The Vision
The Tennessee factory is going to be the largest ever manufacturing facility of Ford. It will also be the first new American vehicle assembly plant of the company in decades, after its iconic River Rouge EV Complex in Dearborn, Michigan. Together, the two factories will create over 11,000 job opportunities. According to Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford, this important investment is a transformative moment in the history of Ford, enabling the company to lead America’s transition to a new prosperous era of environment-friendly electronic vehicles with sustainable carbon-neutral manufacturing.
The Ford Blue Oval City
The Tennessee facility will be officially dubbed as the Ford Blue Oval City, bringing the futuristic vision of the electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem into reality. Through this manufacturing pad, the company is set to reimagine the entire designing, developing, and recycling process of electric vehicles and their batteries. Planned to be built as a bigger assembly plant with smaller environmental impact, the 3600 acres sprawling campus of the Blue Oval City will cover nearly 6 square miles. The facility will encompass battery production, vehicle assembly, and a supplier park cohered in a vertically integrated system, minimizing the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process in a cost-efficient way.
Director Apologizes to Lukas Gage After Mocking His Apartment on Zoom
Euphoria actor Lukas Gage was auditioning for a role via Zoom in August. Right before the actor got to audition, the director commented on Gage’s “tiny apartment” without realizing his microphone wasn’t muted.
psa if youre a shit talking director make sure to mute ur shit on zoom mtgings pic.twitter.com/PTgMZcRhEw
— lukas gage (@lukasgage) November 20, 2020
Who Is the Director?
Lukas Gage uploaded the video to his Twitter account without naming the director who’s also not seen in the video. However, British director Tristram Shapeero regretted what he did and apologized with an open letter, taking the blame.
Before publishing his open letter, Shapeero told a TMZ journalist that he didn’t have any apology because he didn’t say anything bad. However, the director felt obliged to apologize to Lukas Gage.
Shapeero has previously directed episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Community. The director claims that his criticisms were not based on Lukas Gage’s financial situation but where instead an “appreciation” of the conditions actors are forced to work in during the pandemic.
Lukas Gage Didn’t Upload the Video Right Away
As previously stated, the Zoom audition happened in August. However, Lukas Gage didn’t upload the video until November 20. The video was viewed more than 9 million times in just a few days with more than 300,000 likes and retweets.
The actor received support from major figures in the industry, including Seth MacFarlane, Judd Apatow, and Billy Eichner. Most of them encouraged the young actor that his apartment looked just fine and they wished they’d had such a nice place at that age.
Gage took the inappropriate comments pretty well and even made a joke that he needed this job so he could afford a better place. However, PageSix reports that Lukas Gage didn’t get that gig but is now shooting on location in Hawaii with Molly Shannon.
It seems like the young actor got the best of both worlds, he received public support, he got another and probably a better job, and he kept his cool, proving he’s a man of patience and can handle critical situations with a smile on his face.