TOKYO — Panasonic is pulling out of its partnership with Tesla to produce solar panels at a factory in New York state, the Japanese electronics maker said Feb. 26.

The 2018 fatal crash of a Tesla Inc. SUV, in which an Apple Inc. employee was playing a game on his company-issued phone and the car veered into a divider, highlights the “misuses of technology,” a U.S. investigator said Feb. 25.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Feb. 25 will convene its second hearing on a fatal crash involving Tesla Inc.’s automated driver-assist technology, even though the pioneering automaker hasn’t filed formal responses to recommendations stemming from the first one more than two years ago.

As Tesla observers try to understand how and why the stock already has doubled this year, analysts and Musk’s own rivals are second-guessing the notion that the Model 3 maker will be caught anytime soon.

The race for first place in hands-free driving will intensify later this year when General Motors Co. begins selling an advanced version of its Super Cruise system.

Tesla Inc.’s legal victory to sell its electric vehicles in Michigan without dealers could clear a path for other carmakers to follow.

Tesla Inc. fired back against a petition filed with U.S. regulators, saying in a blog post Jan. 20 that it’s “completely false and was brought by a Tesla short seller.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is evaluating allegations that Tesla Inc. vehicles contain a defect that can cause sudden unintended acceleration, according to a notice posted on the agency’s website.

Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess told top managers that the world’s largest automaker needs to undergo a “radical overhaul” in the face of industry change or risk being pushed aside.

DETROIT — Three crashes involving Teslas that killed three people have increased scrutiny of the company’s Autopilot driving system just months before CEO Elon Musk has planned to put fully self-driving cars on the streets.