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Episode #1098: Rivian is laying foundations in Georgia with a new East Coast HQ and massive EV factory. A brave deacon turns his F-150 into a life-saving shield, and gets rewarded. And OpenAI's latest ChatGPT upgrade puts real-world task management on autopilot.

• Rivian is plugging into Atlanta as it sets the stage for its next major manufacturing move. The EV maker is launching an East Coast HQ to support its second plant, with big plans to expand.
  • The Atlanta office opens late 2025, expands in 2026 to support the nearby Georgia plant.
  • An initial staff of 100 will grow to around 500.
  • The new $6B+ factory in Stanton Springs to begin vertical construction in 2026 which will produce R2 and R3 models starting 2028, span 16 million sq. ft., and employ 7,500.
  • CEO RJ Scaringe: “Atlanta embodies so much that makes Georgia great — top talent, exceptional creativity, and a desire to always be moving forward.”

• Some heroes don’t wear capes, they drive F-150s. When Richard Pryor saw a man pulling a weapon outside Crosspointe Church during Vacation Bible School, he didn’t freeze. He floored it. The deacon used his truck to stop what could’ve been a tragic day in Wayne, MI.
  • Though he saved countless lives that day, unfortunately his truck didn’t survive the harrowing incident after taking a round and crashing
  • When Demmer Ford heard what Richard had done, they handed him the keys to a new 2025 F-150 as a gesture of appreciation for his courage and quick action.
  • We may not all have Richard’s bravery, but every one of us has the power to do something that matters. The key is keeping your eyes open and your heart ready.

• OpenAI has launched a game-changing upgrade to ChatGPT, giving it its own virtual computer. This move turns the AI into a fully-fledged assistant that can execute complex tasks—start to finish—without skipping a beat.
  • ChatGPT Agent can now handle real-world work like analyzing competitors, booking travel, and updating spreadsheets, all from your single prompt.
  • It blends the strengths of previous tools—Operator and deep research—into one powerful, task-completing system.
  • The AI can click, scroll, code, and summarize, even logging into your Gmail or GitHub (with permission) to grab the info it needs.
  • New benchmarks show it beats human-level accuracy across investment banking, data science, and spreadsheet modeling tasks.
  • “You’re always in control,” says OpenAI. “You can take over the browser, pause tasks, or get a real-time progress summary.”
  • Starting today (July 17–18), it’s available to Pro, Plus, and Team subscribers. Just toggle “Agent Mode” in the tools dropdown during any chat

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.

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