Bernard Condon
Bernard Condon is an investigative reporter at The Associated Press whose recent work concentrates on Tesla and the risks, scrutiny and business fallout surrounding self-driving and electric vehicles. He covers the collision between safety regulation, crash litigation, technology marketing and investor reaction rather than routine product news on the auto beat. His reporting often connects individual accidents or regulatory actions to broader questions about how Tesla’s technology is deployed and overseen.
Tesla crashes, Autopilot and legal fallout
Condon devotes significant attention to crashes involving Tesla vehicles and the legal consequences when driver-assistance systems fail. He covered a Miami federal jury verdict that ordered Tesla to pay more than $240 million in damages after its Autopilot driver-assist technology was found partly responsible for a deadly crash, detailing how the jury apportioned blame between the system and a distracted driver. In that piece he reported on the size and structure of the punitive and compensatory awards and underscored that the case tested how much responsibility juries will place on automated driving systems when drivers remain technically in control. He also reports on fatal crashes that trigger special probes by top auto regulators, tracing how a single collision - such as a Tesla slamming into a Texas home and killing an elderly resident - can prompt investigations into whether the company’s technology and safeguards meet federal safety expectations.
Across these stories, he treats crashes less as isolated incidents and more as entries into the record that regulators, courts and the public use to judge Tesla’s systems.
Regulators, robotaxis and self-driving oversight
Condon’s work repeatedly follows federal auto regulators as they respond to Tesla’s push into self-driving and steering‑wheel‑free vehicles. He has covered investigations into Tesla’s full self-driving feature, reporting that regulators opened probes after dozens of incidents in which cars allegedly ran red lights, drove on the wrong side of the road and crashed into other vehicles, and noting that the inquiry covered roughly 2.9 million vehicles equipped with the technology.
He has written extensively on Tesla’s robotaxis and Cybercabs, including stories on new steering‑wheel‑free taxis launched in Austin, Texas that lack traditional controls such as steering wheels, mirrors and brake pedals.
In those articles he tracks how regulators question Tesla’s self‑certification process, demand explanations of how the vehicles will avoid causing accidents and consider whether rule changes will make it easier for automakers to report fewer crashes involving self‑driving cars. His coverage also follows political pressure around these deployments, documenting how Democratic lawmakers in Texas have asked Elon Musk to delay the rollout of driverless robotaxis to address safety concerns and how proposed regulatory shifts under the Trump administration could benefit Tesla by loosening reporting requirements. Taken together, these stories frame Tesla’s autonomous ambitions as a live test of the regulatory system rather than a pure innovation narrative.
Sales, brand damage and investor reaction
Beyond safety and regulation, Condon writes on how Tesla’s sales, brand and stock respond to consumer sentiment and Musk’s public behavior. He has reported that Tesla’s sales dropped 1.1% in 2024, marking the company’s first annual decline, and highlighted that nearly all sales in a recent quarter came from the less expensive Models 3 and Y while the more costly models, including the Cybertruck, accounted for a small fraction of deliveries. He has examined how Musk’s embrace of far‑right politicians and association with President Donald Trump contributed to boycotts and a sharp plunge in Tesla sales, and then tracked a later quarter in which car sales jumped 7% as those boycotts eased.
In coverage of Musk’s impact on the brand, he has noted data showing Tesla’s U.S. electric‑vehicle market share falling from around two‑thirds to less than half as rivals gain ground, presenting brand damage as a central challenge for the company. His business reporting also follows investor behavior, describing periods when Tesla’s stock rose sharply - such as a 34% surge in a single month - as investors bet on cheaper models, driverless robotaxis and Optimus factory robots even as the core car business struggles.
Across these pieces he approaches Tesla as both an automaker and a technology‑driven market story, linking sales figures, market share shifts and branding to Musk’s strategic choices and public persona.
Investigative breaking news beyond autos
Condon’s AP author page describes him as an investigative reporter covering breaking news, with work that has also addressed major events and power structures beyond the auto sector.
He has written on topics such as the Maui wildfire, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, gun laws, Chinese lending in Africa and the business interests of Donald Trump, showing a pattern of scrutinizing institutional decisions and their consequences across different domains. His more recent coverage of Tesla and Musk sits within that broader investigative frame, applying the same focus on accountability to technology companies, regulators and political actors tied to the auto industry.
4 more automobile journalists.
Aarian Marshall
Aarian Marshall is a staff writer at WIRED who stands out for covering how cars, software, and policy collide. She writes on transportation systems and cities, from the auto industry to broader mobility systems. Before WIRED, she reported on cities and urban policy for The Atlantic’s CityLab. Her beat runs from electric vehicles, fuel prices, tariffs, and car-buying decisions to autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and software-defined cars. She reports with a systems view, linking policy shifts, technical failures, and urban life to what happens on streets, in repair shops, and at the pump.
Abby Smith
Abby Smith’s most distinctive work combines motorsports coverage with live digital and radio reporting. She is Digital Director at KRDO13 and covers the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, including race updates, weather shifts, breaking developments and ways to follow the action. Her beat also includes automotive news, crime, public safety, politics, city government and community life. Notable work includes coverage of homicide arrests, a major drug bust, a presidential address about the war with Iran, a family’s effort to bring Stephen Hubbard home, a state governor candidate and a city security ordinance. She also reports on fitness, school spirit and station staff. Smith writes in a concise, factual style shaped by investigative documentary experience. She turns live events, official announcements and daily developments into clear coverage across digital and radio platforms.
Adele Peters
Adele Peters covers climate solutions and other structural problems as design and policy questions, focusing on what can work in practice. She is a senior writer at Fast Company, where she reports on energy, transportation, housing, materials, agriculture, corporate sustainability, and social impact. Her stories examine climate technologies, grid resilience, electric vehicles, renewable energy, modular construction, homelessness, affordable housing, compostable materials, regenerative agriculture, and ecosystem restoration. She looks at whether projects can scale, their real-world constraints, and their measurable effects. She interviews political and philanthropic leaders, startup founders, and climate tech entrepreneurs, anchoring stories in what is being built and tested. She has written more than 3,000 stories and contributed to Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century and State of Housing Design 2023.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung writes engineering-led coverage of Chinese electric vehicles and performance cars for CarNewsChina. He focuses on new energy vehicles, battery systems, powertrains, electric platforms, high-end domestic brands, and track-ready models, and he explains technical details in plain language for non-specialist readers. His reporting treats new models as hardware and systems stories, with precise figures on range, battery capacity, chassis layout, motor outputs, weight, and acceleration. He also covers the Chinese auto industry’s finances and technology roadmap, including sector profits, vehicle volumes, and solid-state battery timelines. His background in Electrical and Computer Engineering shows in the way he writes about vehicle electronics and battery management.