The chief executives of America’s largest automakers were supposed to meet with a Senate committee this week, ostensibly to discuss vehicle affordability.

However, committee chairman Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spent the last week feuding with at least one of the CEOs, and it now appears the hearing has been postponed.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation had scheduled a hearing for January 14 to discuss how car regulations intended to combat climate change have increased the cost of vehicles for U.S. car buyers.

Ford Model e losses by year

  • 2025: $3.6 billion (through the third quarter)
  • 2024: $5.1 billion
  • 2023: $4.7 billion
  • 2022: $2.2 billion

But that isn’t how Senator Cruz framed the hearing.

“This hearing will examine how radical global warming regulations and mandated technologies have driven up the cost of vehicles for American consumers,” the webpage for the hearing explains.

The committee points out that the average new car cost $20,356 in 2000; by 2010, that number had only risen to $24,296. By 2020, the average new vehicle transaction price had doubled, and the committee blames onerous emissions and technology standards for the rapid increase.

Despite the clearly partisan slant of the hearing, the CEOs of Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors probably all would have attended, had the committee also invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Instead, they invited Lars Moravy, VP of vehicle engineering for Tesla.

This didn’t sit well with the other CEOs, and now the hearing may not happen at all after GM CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley expressed their displeasure.

Ford CEO Jim Farley declined to attend a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing originally planned for January 14, citing the fact that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not invited.

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Senate postpones auto affordability hearing after friction between Senator Cruz, invited guests

Last week, Senator Cruz didn’t rule out the possibility of subpoenaing Ford CEO Jim Farley to compel him to testify at his Senate Committee hearing. Sometime since then, the hearing was postponed altogether.

The hearing’s website does not provide a reason for the postponement, but the feud between Cruz and the guests he had invited to speak may have been a contributing factor.

Related: Ford, GM take issue with Elon Musk’s special treatment

Last week, Cruz told Politico that he intentionally did not invite Musk because his attendance would shift the focus of the hearing away from the topic of affordability.

“His role is different from simply an auto CEO, and my objective is to have a hearing that actually focuses on auto affordability and giving the Democrats the opportunity to scream at Elon for three hours would be counterproductive to that task,” Cruz said.

That explanation didn’t fly with Ford or GM.

“Ford believes that it is essential that any potential hearing adhere to Congress’s longstanding tradition of ensuring comparable treatment for similarly situated companies,” said a letter from an outside law firm representing Ford, viewed by Politico.

“If a vice president of engineering is appropriate for the planned hearing, the other companies should have the opportunity to offer a similar witness.”

Meanwhile, General Motors CEO Mary Barra is also questioning why she should appear when Musk is not required. A GM spokesperson told The Detroit News that “Mary Barra will attend the hearing if the other companies’ CEOs do the same.”

Cruz responded to Ford CEO Jim Farley the way you would expect a Harvard Law alum to respond; he called Jim Farley a chicken.

Senator Ted Cruz says Ford CEO Jim Farley finds congressional committee “terrifying”

Ted Cruz decided the best way to get the auto execs to come to Washington, D.C., was to embarrass them.

“I don’t know if he (Farley) was scared about having lost $19 billion for Ford shareholders on the misguided Ford Lightning or if he was embarrassed at having tried to swindle American taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by gaming the expiration of the EV tax credit,” Cruz told Politico. “But for whatever reason, he made the decision that testifying to Congress was too terrifying for him to be willing to do so.”

Related: Ford CEO takes subtle shot at Tesla Cybertruck after $20 billion hit

Cruz also didn’t rule out the possibility of subpoenaing Farley to compel him to attend the hearing, saying “time will tell” whether he will take that step.

Last month, the Blue Oval announced that it is taking a $19.5 billion pre-tax write-down on its electric vehicle division over the next two years as it shifts production away from EVs and toward hybrid and extended-range vehicles.

Of the $19.5 billion, only $5.5 billion is cash charges; the rest is non-cash.

In recent months, both Ford and GM have praised President Donald Trump’s approach to EV regulations, saying that the change from his predecessor will save them billions.

However, Ford has been acknowledging the lack of demand for EVs for years.

Two years ago, Ford announced plans to reduce its EV production capacity by 35%.

Farley estimates that EVs have shrunk to just about 5% of the U.S. market, so the plan is to pivot to hybrids and extended-range vehicles for which U.S. buyers have shown more of an appetite.

Ford expects to have half of its output be hybrids or EREVs by 2030, up from 17% currently.

Related: GM CEO Barra joins Ford in backing controversial White House policy