EDITOR'S CHOICE

Quartz, Cobalt, And The Waste We Leave Behind

24 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"Three books reveal just how tragic a toll the materials we rely on take for humans and the environment."

"...there is little evidence that we have decoupled our economy from its churning hunger for resources. 'For every ton of fossil fuels...we exploit six tons of other materials - mostly sand and stone, but also metals, salts, and chemicals...

"Simply shifting to 'sustainable' or 'cleaner' technologies doesn't eliminate the industrial fallout from our consumption."

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How Volvo Landed A Cheap Chinese EV On U.S. Shores In A Trade War

24 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"Vehicles from China currently face a 27.5% tariff and increasingly strident calls for higher trade barriers...Geely and Volvo have created a series of shared platforms allowing Volvo and other Geely brands to share batteries, motors, gears and electric power-management inverters

"Volvo has found a different way around the tariffs for the EX30, through the U.S. duty drawback program, which dates to 1789."

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These Are The Best-Selling Used EVs - And What's Being Traded In For Them

24 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"The top three most popular EVs at CarMax are the Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y, and the Nissan LEAF...The average prices for...top 10 most popular EVs now range from $22,000 to $46,000...average price has dropped by about $26,000 (from 2023)

"SUVs (39%) and sedans (31%) remain the top traded-in vehicle types for EVs...Toyota maintains its No 1 position for being the top traded-in brand for an EV, with Ford and Honda following..."

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'TikTok Generation' Is Getting Enticed With Chinese EV Brands

24 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"While Tesla guts its marketing division, social media is turning younger buyers onto cheaper, cooler EVs from China."

"A new survey shows that American automakers...could potentially be under threat from the increasing awareness of Chinese EV brands...largely in part due to increased consumer awareness thanks to social media platforms like TikTok.

"58% of buyers in the U.S. who said that they were very or moderately likely to adopt the plug for their next vehicle were aware of Chinese EV brands"

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Vertical Flight Society Electric VTOL Directory Hits 1,000 Entries From More Than 430 Designers

23 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"Over the past seven years, designs have been added to the World eVTOL Aircraft Directory at a rapid pace, reaching 100 catalogued concepts by July 2018, 200 by September 2019, 400 by January 2021, 600 by January 2022 and 800 by April 2023.

"The 1,000th entry, the Doroni Aerospace H1-X two-seat personal eVTOL aircraft [pictured], was added this month."

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Buy Or Subscribe Monthly To Tesla FSD? Ross Gerber Says This Option Would 'Not Be A Smart Use Of Money'

23 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

Tesla's "FSD Supervised is now available for $8,000, a significant reduction from the previous pricing of $12,000. Earlier this month, the company took down the monthly subscription pricing for the package from $199 to $99.

Gerber tweeted "$100 a month is $1200 a year. Over 5 years that's $6000...Paying $8k for FSD is not a smart use of money. Pay monthly."

"Some of his social media followers did not deem it as sound advice."

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New Report Tackles Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Challenges and Offers Key Recommendations

23 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

The report highlights key issues customers may face when trying to pay for EV charging...report highlights solutions that can address these challenges, such as conducting site surveys for cellular connectivity, including network component health checks during scheduled maintenance, testing point-of-sale software prior to deployment, and embedding contactless/tap card readers into the electric vehicle supply equipment."

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How Amazon Became The Largest Private EV Charging Operator In The U.S.

23 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"In a little more than two years, Amazon has installed more than 17,000 chargers at about 120 warehouses around the U.S.

"Seattle-based company says its operations emitted about 71 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022, up by almost 40% since Jeff Bezos’s 2019 vow...Amazon is on track to purchase by next year as much electricity produced by solar, wind and other carbon-free sources as it uses to power its operations."

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Bidirectional EV Charging May Give Automakers A Financial Boost

23 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"...there are different types of bidirectional charging: vehicle to home (V2H), vehicle to load (V2L) and vehicle to grid (V2G)...It's V2G that offers the most promise - in the sense that returning excess power to a municipal grid could be somewhat lucrative for EV owners. And, as it turns out, automakers could benefit as well...It remains to be seen what the financial incentives might be to embrace V2G charging - or whether the economics of it can work on a large scale."

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Kia's More Affordable EV2 Is Getting Ready To Undercut Tesla With Purported $15-25K Price Tag

22 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"The Kia EV2, the automaker's small, affordable electric crossover, has been spotted on the street in camouflage. It's the first time the model has been seen in the wild...

"The timing of the sighting is particularly significant given recent news that Tesla may have canned its plans for a $25,000 mass-market 'Model 2' vehicle....the EV2 is not currently confirmed for the US."

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