Edward Niedermeyer

Edward Niedermeyer is an American author, analyst, and critic who focuses on the automotive industry and mobility innovation. He attended the University of Oregon. His writing has been published in The New York Times, The Truth About Cars, and The Wall Street Journal, and in 2019, his book Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors was released.[1][2] Niedermeyer cohosts The Autonocast, a podcast about autonomous vehicles technology and its effects.[3][4]

Career

Niedermeyer began covering the automotive industry in 2008 as a contributor to The Truth About Cars and later became its Editor-in-Chief,[2][5] where he often covered General Motors and Chrysler.[6] After leaving Cars, he joined The Drive as a Senior Editor and continued to write bylines as a freelancer.[7] In 2018, he joined Automotive News.[8] In 2019, Niedermeyer published his book about Tesla, Inc. with BenBella Books, advancing a skeptical perspective on the electric car company's history.[6][9]

In response to a story broken by Niedermeyer about the company, Tesla published a 2016 blog post stating the story was fabricated and suggesting that he had shorted Tesla's stock,[10][11] which led to Niedermeyer experiencing online harassment.[12] Writer Nathan Robinson stated that there is "probably no greater expert on the career of Elon Musk and the development of Tesla [than Niedermeyer]."[5] In particular, his insights regarding Tesla Autopilot have been cited repeatedly.[13][14][15][16]

As of August 2025, Niedermeyer has a forthcoming book, The Autopilot Effect, about the "Tesla-Waymo competition" for commercial robotaxi services.[17]

References

  1. Author: Ed Niedermeyer TechCrunch, March 7, 2020, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  2. Ed Niedermeyer – Fuel Choices Summit Speakers retrieved June 30, 2022^
  3. Edward Niedermeyer. When Elon Musk Dreams, His Employees Have Nightmares The New York Times, June 1, 2022, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  4. Matthew Beedham. Stay at home and listen to these 5 podcasts on the future of mobility thenextweb.com, December 28, 2020, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  5. Exposing the Fraudulence of Elon Musk and Tesla Current Affairs, January 7, 2022, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  6. Niedermeyer, Edward BenBella Books, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  7. Edward Niedermeyer The Drive, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  8. AN adds mobility tech reporter Automotive News, August 10, 2018, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  9. Timothy B. Lee. Why customers love Tesla despite its many mistakes Ars Technica, October 5, 2019, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  10. A Grain of Salt www.tesla.com, June 9, 2016, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  11. Megan Geuss. Tesla denies suspension issue and accuses blogger of lying Ars Technica, June 10, 2016, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  12. Edward Niedermeyer. When I First Saw Elon Musk for Who He Really Is Slate Magazine, May 27, 2022, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  13. Jay Ramey. Tesla Releases FSD Beta 9, But Neglects Bigger Picture Autoweek, July 13, 2021, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  14. NHTSA: Cars with driver-assist systems involved in nearly 400 crashes over 10 months www.cbsnews.com, June 15, 2022, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  15. Ioanna Lykiardopoulou. Tesla is removing radar from Autopilot, and it makes absolutely no sense thenextweb.com, May 26, 2021, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  16. Ari Levy,Lora Kolodny. Tesla shares drop after report says its Autopilot system was engaged during a fatal crash CNBC, May 17, 2019, retrieved June 30, 2022^
  17. Noah Shachtman. Elon Musk Has His Vision. Waymo Chief Tekedra Mawakana Says She’s Got a Better One Vanity Fair, 2025-08-20, retrieved 2025-08-22^