Peter Valdes-Dapena - Senior Writer, CNN Business
Peter Valdes-Dapena
Senior Writer, CNN Business
Peter Valdes-Dapena is a senior writer for CNN Business where he covers automobiles, the industry that produces them and the changing ways in which people buy, own and use them.
Latest
Tesla recalls Cybertruck due to accelerator pedal that can stick
Apr 19, 2024
Tesla has been ordered to recall nearly 4,000 of its Cybertrucks due to an accelerator pedal that can stick in place when pressed down.
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Toyota sells only two electric vehicles. Executive insists they’re not holding back
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Apr 12, 2024
Group VP & General Manager of Toyota North America David Christ sits down with CNN’s Peter Valdes-Dapena to talk about the auto maker’s hybrid strategy and whether the company intends to expand its electric vehicle lineup.
The Toyota 4Runner is finally entering the future with a hybrid
Apr 10, 2024
It’s been almost 15 years since there has been any major change to the popular Toyota 4Runner SUV, a fan favorite among off-road enthusiasts. But an all-new version is finally coming, and among the most notable changes is the addition of a hybrid option.
What’s wrong with Tesla?
Apr 7, 2024
Tesla last quarter posted its first annual sales decline since the pandemic – a drop that was significantly worse than expected. The company blamed a weak Chinese economy, arson at its German factory and supply constraints because of escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Elon Musk announces Tesla will unveil a ‘robotaxi’ on August 8
Apr 5, 2024
Elon Musk has long had an affinity for self-driving vehicles, claiming they will be one of Tesla’s most important products. Despite big promises, years have gone by without cars that can, so far, drive on their own.
Electric vehicles are changing how America goes camping
Mar 31, 2024
There is a sound that, one day not too far in the future, may disappear forever from that gentle symphony that greets a camper each dawn. Among the singing birds, the owl’s hoot, maybe the sound of a deer pulling at the leaves of a nearby tree, the rumble of a gasoline-powered generator will be… strangely gone.
This new SUV’s stereo lets you make phone calls your passengers can’t hear
Mar 29, 2024
It can be awkward to take a phone call while you’re driving and your family is in the car with you. If you’re listening to music it turns off and everyone has to stop and listen to whatever someone on the phone wants to tell you.
You can buy this electric luxury SUV for $25,000 right now. But there might be a catch
Mar 28, 2024
For sale: A brand new luxury electric SUV for the holy-grail price of $25,000. There’s just might be a slight catch.
Fisker shares halted as EV company navigates uncertain future
Mar 26, 2024
Shares of Fisker, a California-based electric vehicle startup, were halted Monday. This comes after the company warned, in an earnings report in March, that it might not have enough cash to survive the year.
Stellantis is recalling 285,000 sedans because side curtain airbag inflators could break open
Mar 22, 2024
Stellantis is recalling almost 285,000 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans in the United States because they have side curtain airbag inflators that could burst, sending metal shrapnel flying through the cabin.
Bentley sales are down thanks to ‘emotional sensitivity,’ CEO says
Mar 21, 2024
After four consecutive years of sales growth, sales of ultra-expensive Bentley cars and SUVS were down 11% last year.
Federal investigators look into crash of Mustang Mach-E equipped with driver assistance tech
Mar 18, 2024
Investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating a fatal crash involving a Ford Mustang Mach-E equipped with advanced driving assistance technology.
VW is reviving a storied American brand to sell electric SUVs
Mar 17, 2024
When Volkswagen decided to relaunch the Scout SUV brand it took a very unusual step. It created a new subsidiary company to design, build and sell vehicles targeted, almost entirely, at a single market: the United States.
Marcello Gandini, designer of the world’s most famous supercar, dies at 85
Mar 16, 2024
If you look at almost any modern high-horsepower supercar, you will see the work of Marcello Gandini. Sharp lines, doors that swing up, the low stance, all were influenced by auto designer Gandini’s seminal work, the Lamborghini Countach.
About
Peter Valdes-Dapena is a senior writer for CNN Business where he covers automobiles, the industry that produces them and the changing ways in which people buy, own and use them.
Valdes-Dapena has written about the industry for CNN since 2001 and, in that time, covered the American auto industry’s collapse during the 2008 financial crisis and its resurgence. Now he’s covering the industry’s shift toward new technology such as electric propulsion, autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing services.
Valdes-Dapena was born near Philadelphia but grew up in South Florida where he earned an undergraduate degree in communication and a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Miami. He worked as a business journalist and as a science writer for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center before being able to indulge his own passion for automobiles as a car writer for CNN.