The best way to prevent vandalism of charging stations is to put them at locations that are supervised already like convenience stores and 24 hour gas stations. Also, some restaurants would be good locations that are open 24/7.
If they aren’t 24/7, they need to be so far away from civilization that doing things to them is cost prohibitive, like the unmanned gas stations way out in the country.
Common theme with all these fallen EV Startups, the CEOs, board members want to get rich fast, before the right time and as such, the rest, as you have seen, is history. Love the great work Madame and Mr Tim, much respect, Cheers!
We greatly appreciate your viewership! We hope you'll sign up for the newsletter at www.missgoelectric.com (bottom of page) There are some pretty cool videos and events coming up! -Producer Tim
We do to. Miss GoElectric and I spent most of 2019 and some of 2020 working at Polestar. We were two if for North American product experts. We were trained at HQ in Gothenburg and traveled with PS2 prototypes all over the world educating consumers alongside company executives. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric - what a valuable business GM could use a solid education & awareness program - but first they will need to figure out actual facts about their vehicles & options - the amount of mis-information about each GM EV is incredible.
It is a labyrinth. On the backend GM receives massive public funding. We've reported on at least 10 government programs designed to enrich GM over the last 46 episodes. -Producer Tim
It is sad to see 2024 sales figures decline so heavily from 2023...especially with three times as many products available. Thank you for watching! -Producer Tim
If the EV charger can detect when vandals are cutting the cable, sending a text message is great. But, if they really want to solve the problem, energize the cable.
Super sorry to hear about Canoo. Thought their van had enough interest for them to weather storms. I guess greed and the seemingly anti-ev is a big issue.
They went public. They had the capital to do the job. They got caught with their hands in the cookie jar and lost the trust of investors. The smart money evacuated which collapsed the stock price. With the capital evaporated, they had no ability to buy parts and build vans. -Producer Tim
Another excellent report! I do hope Polestar makes a more affordable EV, I love their designs and really want them to succeed. Also, I would like to see a 500-mile truck but prefer to wait until battery tech advances enough to achieve this with a much smaller and lighter pack.
That logic looks good on the surface, but there are other factors. Advertised range of 500 miles is based on a typical EPA situation of 55mph in fair weather. Real world where it matters is probably highway driving (at least) 75mph. Most of the year, energy will be required to keep the cabin at a relatively nice ambient temperature. A reasonable deficit for these two factors is 30%. Now that 500 number is 350. When road tripping, it can take another 30-40 minutes to get the final 15%, so generally it is prudent to stop charging at 85%. The usable range is now 300 miles. It is a high risk behavior to pass a viable charging station with 10% range remaining while traveling along a highway corridor. That brings us to a real-world figure of 270 miles. At 75mph that is 3.5hrs of driving between stops. Remember, these are trucks. A camper, trailer, or boat can reasonably cut the range down another 50%. Now the range is 135mi or less than 2hrs of driving on an interstate highway between charges. If there are headwinds, extreme temperatures, or precipitation, cut that number down even more. That is why MGE and I do not resist ICE drivers when they say they'd be comfortable with 500 miles of stated EV range. We've conducted about 50,000 EV test drives between the two of us. We've heard that figure a lot from our guests and we look forward to relatively affordable EVs which offer 500 miles of flexibility. There are many other advantages to having excessive range. When I visit relatives in rural Wisconsin, there are no sources of energy for me. 110v outlets at our family's homes yield no usable range overnight. The drive to any fast charger gobbles up a third of our range by itself. I always wish I had more range for out-of-market scenarios. Another reason we like to have extra range is for optionality. Some charging locations are unreliable or in sketchy areas where drivers do not feel safe. It is great to be able to skip those. Some stations are crowded or super expensive. More range onboard solves those problems, too. I have written a lot here, but I'll wrap up with a statement of agreement. I agree that 300 *real world* miles is suitable for most drivers of passenger automobiles. I think pickup trucks and work/camp vans will need closer to 500 range than that in order to be sufficiently attractive to most of the remaining ICE drivers in those categories. -Producer Tim
Most are copper theft. Some are vandalism. -Producer Tim www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/thieves-are-taking-electric-vehicle-charging-cables-for-the-copper-wires-its-another-obstacle-to-selling-americans-on-evs
In Vince Beiser's excellent and brutally honest book Power Metal, about metal/battery resources, there was a chapter on recycling, specifically talking about the local recycling/scrapping industry. No you cannot bring random copper to Home Depot for a return on your deposit. Each region has one or two depots where scrappers go to sell the junk worth recycling for its core elements. Scrap yards have policies about paring back insulated wire vs. buying it with sheathing, and that changes the price per pound or premium you can demand. That's my long way of saying each of these cases where liquid cooled DC Fast Charging cables were taken to scrap yards could and should have been a pain point where the law can step in and penalize the scrap yard or ask them to call law enforcement when a guy in a van tries to sell them there. Sure, the thief can spend hours stripping back the charge leads, but that's not the thought process of those thieves. They're not career scrappers. They're impetuous opportunists, and likely too lazy to know they'll get caught. We already do this with catalytic converters. Ratcheting up criminal policing at that level makes much more sense than uparmoring charge cables.
The motives for vandalization are numerous. Additional deterrents are welcomed including intentional manufacturing choices which limit net returns for scrappers. -Producer Tim
How about a pointy spikes or a moat with alligators and snakes? -Producer Tim Not actually my idea: ruclips.net/video/F6O6u_jbGOA/видео.htmlsi=k2cY_pfF4zSidDLe&t=183
It’s a shame Canoo fell due to greed and improper spending because their designs looked very attractive. The order from Walmart should have propelled them on a success track.
The Walmart offer was non-binding. Sadly, that kind of window dressing only draws investment from unwise investors and gamblers. Impatient and twitchy capital is a kiss of death for startups. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectricyou can only grift so long…isn’t Mullen still in the game, somehow? The Saudis at least picked the best tech with Lucid, keeping them afloat…funded by hydrocarbons 🤔
In this video MGE narrowed in on the EV companies which became publicly traded via SPAC, abused the capital, and abruptly went out of business. Mullen has stayed listed with reverse stock splits. Today a share is worth about fifty cents. Adjusted for these splits, a share was literally worth about thirty five BILLION dollars in July of 2020. The total market cap of Mullen is now less than one million dollars. It is madness: www.google.com/finance/quote/MULN:NASDAQ -Producer Tim
We saw them there. Aptera's leaders have been raising money for 20 years. We hope they survive long enough to build production vehicles. When non-investors stay taking delivery, we will cover them. -Producer Tim
They've gotten very good good at getting paid for two decades without delivering anything. NO REVENUE (lolz): ruclips.net/video/BzAdXyPYKQo/видео.html -Producer Tim
I'm starting to think it might be difficult to make a profitable EV startup. Existing gas car companies that don't make EVS should do a in-house conversion of a popular existing model as was done with Ford Focus ev, Fiat 500e, Chevy Spark EV, EV nerds crap on them but they share a very deep part's bin and can be a very economical way to EV - Mitsubishi for example.
You got it. Batteries are expensive despite cell prices dropping steadily. Tesla, BYD, and LiAuto have been profitable with EVs because they innovated to save costs elsewhere in the manufacturing and selling process AND invested in massive scale. There is no shortcut for other automakers. Even when battery prices get low enough to reach input cost parity with internal combustion, the advantages achieved by the aforementioned will keep the EV leaders ahead. There is no such thing a tip-toeing into the EV sector at scale. Startups, by definition, lack the capital, expertise, and workforce to compete on affordability. Some like Scout or Afeela are not really startups, but brands leveraging & repackaging platforms which have achieved scale outside their operations. Manufacturing behemoths with excess of all three ingredients such as Apple and Dyson bailed out after spending billions of dollars building EV programs. Xiaomi and CATL were able to crack the code and will probably be dominant global automakers by 2030. That said, the commoditization of EV components will make it possible for small manufacturers to maintain healthy businesses. Convertibles, RVs, Motorcycles, ATVs, Sports Cars, and other low volume categories will have a path to electrifcation at some point within the next decade. -Producer Tim
RAM is making the right decision for sure. They will be first to market by a couple years with a range-extender pick up in the U.S. This will win-over a lot of ‘Merica! types that aren’t ready to go full electric any time soon.
After having heard the hooting and hollering from the audience when Scout unveiled the Harverster in Tennessee earlier this year, we suspect you are correct. Demand might be robust for a big-battery plugin hybrid pickup truck. -Producer Tim
Canoo seems to have a really good product and utility EV that should do well. It’s a shame to see them file for bankruptcy and hope they can be resurrected.
We think Kia improved upon all of the Canoo ideas and we made a video about that product line which launches this year: ruclips.net/video/cUO8MX_UASU/видео.html -Producer Tim
I'm working on some new standup material and I'd like to try it out right now: tap tap...is this thing on? (microphone feedback) Producer Tim hesitantly shuffles into the spotlight What the real danger of investing in Canoo? Market CapSize -Producer Tim
I think ditching the super jumbo battery version was a reasonable decision. It's suitable only for extremely niche cases, in spite of all the hype. EV market maturation hasn't reached the point where such extreme niches can be profitablity addressed. Actual users will find that the efficiency and charging curve are the key.
Those of us who live in cold climates and tow regularly value high energy capacity. Casual drivers can get by with less. Thanks for sharing your perspective. -Producer Tim
Polestar is just one more brand of Chinese made cars. Canoo and SION of Sono Motors were two genius ideas showing the potential of electric cars. It’s a pity that they did not make it. Hopefully APTERA at least will make it. Cross fingers!
Mr Fambro at Aptera has been raising funds for 20 years. In the recent Munro video they said they'll probably need another $100M to reach volume production of 10-20k annually Variety is welcome but survival is not easy. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric To date no one has stepped up to provide Aptera the necessary capital they need. If you’re an investor, I would see this a sign to divest immediately!
Aptera has collected many millions from regular people. The stock is not traded publicly so how do those retail investors liquidate their positions? Is there any window through which they can escape? -Producer Tim
@ray Aptera has collected reservation money. I'm taking about the investment money Aptrera has separately collected from retail investors. Individuals have contributed but I'm not sure there is actually any mechanism which facilitates liquidity. -Producer Tim
One big point is that legacy automakers are not asking the right questions. They are saying that they cannot build and sell a full sized pickup with a 500 mile range (at a profit) for under $100,000. But they should shift their focus to building a mid-sized EV pickup with a 300 mile range for under $50K.
We know that Ford's T3 Project aims to address the market squarely, but they can't move until battery pack prices come down. We understand they expect to get costs where they need to be when their new battery factories come online. Hopefully they'll turn it around in 2027. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Again, they are worried about building with cheaper batteries because it takes 200kWh+ battery packs to move giant 7,500lb brick/trucks over 300 miles on a charge. Ford could/should use their Mach-E drivetrain in their Maverick, Bronco, and Ranger, with the 68/88kWh LFP battery packs. The battery pack prices have fallen dramatically in recent years, but Ford was in denial about the need to build their own battery factories years ago, which cost them dearly. T3 is a solid project, but competitors are not going to be waiting until 2027+ to innovate and advance their product lines (except maybe Japanese automakers and Stellantis).
Ford does not use 200kWh packs. The efficiency of the F150 Lightning is not far off from smaller Rivian trucks of the same era. Of course, fabulous efficiency is preferable to the heft and cost associated with a larger battery pack. -Producer Tim
I drive thr polestar 2, love it, but I think the strategy to prioritize more expensive models was a mistake. They want to be a luxury brand for some reason
Survival depends on profit margin. Scale takes time and requires demand. That is why no newcomer can build a low cost EV first. The Polestar 2 now delivers over 360mi of range starting at $50k. They are moving in the right direction, but perhaps not fast enough. Their objective has always been to complete squarely with Porsche. Porsche is unable to sell their own EVs at the moment. Interest rates coming down could be very helpful to Polestar and other premium brands. -Producer Tim
@MissGoElectric I just get the sense these companies and analysts look at these numbers but miss consumer psychology here. I probably spent more than I would have because I wanted a non tesla but decent ev - but if the Equinox was around I definitely would have done that instead. Most people like me are just waiting for the prices to drop. So choices were made here: the Hummer EV years took investment away from the Equinox; model 2 vs Cybertruck; F150 vs...etc. - we can't get these years back, now the tax breaks will end....
I agree. Although Polestar is an independent electric performance car brand, it leverages Geely's resources and platforms. Polestar and Volvo should consider lower-cost EVs in the USA.
@@Carl_in_AZ EX30 sells for, what, $40K in Europe? And Trump will [put a 100% tariff on it. They could build it at the Volvo plant in SC at a reasonable price and have the market to themselves.
We will see if the current administration adds a new tariff to vehicles exported from European factories. Speculation about possible policy changes seems pointless at this point. Industry players are waiting for the new rulebook. Once they have it, game on! -Producer Tim
Right now, range extended EVs are all the rage. This will fade as pure EV range increases and more charging stations are built. And, as owners get tired of doing maintenance on both the gas engines and electric systems.
You missed that Canada's federal EV rebate has been stopped so now we will get to see if depreciation was mostly an artifact of the rebates or if people just don't want to buy them, and we will see if sales plummet now that the vehicles have to compete on price.
We often read reports about how depreciation is bad. We think affordability is a key ingredient for EV adoption and welcome it in order to advance society. With over 30 million EVs on the road and global prices for brand new EVs starting under $10k, we think it is time to stop using taxpayer dollars to fund automobile production (regardless of powertrain) -Producer Tim
@MissGoElectric It does seem pretty consistent that the only places that EVs are popular either use effectively slave labor to make them cheap or some combination of government force or government incentives to manipulate people in to buying them. I was hoping to get in to an Ioniq 5 but now that the rebates are gone it doesn't seem so attractive. I'll probably end up in either a PHEV again or just a cheaper gas car next time I do a purchase now, and I'm very pro EV. I even got a 240V circuit and outdoor plug installed recently so when I switch I'll already have decent charging ready, but now the car would be so expensive compared to similar sized and equipped vehicles but without all the drawbacks it's hard to say what I'll do now.
Did you know that the Tesla Model Y (made here in America, in Germany, and in China) is the best selling car in the world? It has been for two years in a row. No slave labor. Even without any federal tax credit, the cost of the Model Y is on par with the average vehicle selling price in the USA. The reason BYD and ONVO are able to build outstanding cars at very low prices is not because they use cheap slave labor content. They do not. The reason is that they have *very little* labor content. Unlike many American companies which are obligated to hire large numbers of human beings in order to qualify for government subsidies and/or satisfy union labor demands...many international automakers rely upon simplified processes and robots. High levels of automation and massive scale are responsible for low prices. -Producer Tim
I was telling them they'd need to have better range, someone in the company responded to me on Instagram disagreeing. I guess I was right. an adventure vehicle needs more than 230 miles of range.
What polestar needs to do to achieve success is to stop emulating Tesla in its interiors and door handles: bring back physical switches and dials, offer all-metal roofs, offer ways to “close off” glass roofs, stop using vertical iPad-glued-to-dashboard infotainment screens (embed vertical screens into the dashboard), keep large embedded instrument panels, and go back to normal door handles … As for vandalism at charging sites, the best answer is to copy the gas-station model and have full-time attendants at all charging stations …
@@MissGoElectricI am certain that if polestar did these things, and used smaller wheels and ditched air suspension and high-end sound systems as standard, they could bring the prices down a LOT, and they’d be more appealing to the masses and sell a lot more. If they continue on this Tesla/Chinese-car path, they’ll go bankrupt soon…
@@MissGoElectric seriously though... multi-language tracks are all over youtube in the last few weeks (seems like since the Zelensky interview) Did something happen recently that made multi-language audio way easier than before?
Does the next generation Mazda CX-5 hybrid is a range extender gas engine with electricity generator attached to provide electricity to battery/ electric motor?. Any news about it?
All Mazda CX-5s come with a gastank and an exhaust pipe, so we don't cover them. Occasionally plugin hybrids get mentioned on our channel if they have a fully electric sibling. Scout Harvester and RAM are examples. -Producer Tim
Some do have cameras. Considering the astronomical cost of deploying DC Fast Chargers ($80k per dispenser on average) ... and the liabilities associated with massive electrical current...we are surprised that DC hardware is generally less supervised than the aisle of candy bars at a convenience store -Producer Tim
Surely they use a third party video production company and the edits are done by a marketing team. We commonly see technical unit errors from automakers with limited EV experience. -Producer Tim
Induction charging would have been a better solution than cable charging, let's hope it is not too late. For vandalism, but also for the public acceptance of the infrastructure especially in cities. Not to mention the convenience of a "park and charge" zero intervention process. And of course it is the only way with future robotaxis.
Wireless technology is great, but we know that the 30 million EVs already on the roads do not support it. We showed a zero intervention wired solution recently in this video: ruclips.net/video/2lYcRR7tQhY/видео.html We demonstrated wireless EV charging a few years ago in this video: ruclips.net/video/3F7aTZAS3uE/видео.html and we showed off an American battery swapping station in this video: ruclips.net/video/sPf1U0OAVEg/видео.html We think all three solutions will be required in order for EVs to displace internal combustion automobiles. -Producer Tim
As I understand it, the 2WD Polestar 2 is switching away from front wheel drive and *TO* real wheel drive. As a performance brand, we think RWD makes good sense. www.caranddriver.com/news/a46077389/2024-polestar-2-rear-wheel-drive-vs-front-drive/ -Producer Tim
Stellantis has about 300,000 employees but only a small percentage of those are engineers. We often see marketing and PR departments publish unit errors related to technical specifications. Even so, it is particularly egregious when an error like that survives on a promotional video in big bold text! -Producer Tim
Sad that Ram is pulling back on the EV trucks. I've been waiting for a mid size EV pickup truck with a solar bed cover and sunroof. I'm hoping for a 2 door version. We don't all want, need or are willing to pay for heavy back seats, doors, windows or an expensive folding mid-gate. All I need is a comfortable, regular cab with a flat floor and a 3 seat bench with a fold down arm-rest. Make it in the USA, give it a nice list of options and make it affordable and I'd sell my 2 door Silverado for one.
Ram's CEO said he wants to make a mid size truck but I don't know if it will be electric. We expect an R2 based pickup truck from Rivian which might fit that bill...but not until 2028 or 2029. Perhaps Ford will surprise us. -Producer Tim
Do the people at RAM even understand the difference between battery energy capacity and power? The clip of their video shows “92 kW battery + 130kW generator.” MGE said the pack had 92 kWh capacity, and I think she understands a lot more than RAM does. If the pack was only capable of 92 kW discharge power the truck would be a real dog, as the 122 hp from the battery would be about 100 hp at the wheels.
This has been mentioned elsewhere in the comments. We frequently see technical unit errors in marketing materials like this which are created by the production companies hired by automakers. Mistakes are much more common from brands like RAM who have very little experience with EVs. Until then we will do as we have always done... gently correct for the audience. They'll catch on eventually. -Producer Tim
Polestar has my interest. Sadly, the LYRIQ equivalent PS3 is priced out of the market due to the U.S. policy of protectionism against China. The PS3 could be 20% - 30% less expensive than the LYRIQ, but due to tariffs, it has been knee caped. Too bad. I am sure the folks in europe will enjoy these vehicles.
The Polestar 3 is built right here in the USA by Americans, so there is no tariff. If the tax credit survives, hopefully they'll get a new battery supplier and qualify for the federal credit. If the tax credit does not survive, the playing field will level out a bit for Polestar. -Producer Tim
Geely has more than a dozen sub-brands vying for market share with variations on the same product. Each decides the design, ethos, regions, and marketing strategy. The winner is Geely. Sub-brand success will ebb and flow. Some will die like Saturn, Scion, and Pontiac did. Volvo is not marketed as a pure (EV Only) progressive, performance brand. That is Polestar's set of differentiators. Ohlins manual dampers, snug seating, tight handling are Polestar attributes you can feel from the driver's seat. Volvo pushes pragmatism, safety, and comfort. Volvo sells mostly combustion vehicles today. They share Scandinavian design with roots in Thomas Inganlath design language. -Producer Tim
You are right that EV startup survival will be much easier with cheaper battery technology. We will get to see all kinds of interesting, affordable stuff in a few years. -Producer Tim
I don’t think the $100K plus market for a 500 mi EV pickup is big enough to pursue. ICE trucks are more appropriate until battery prices diminish and EV version falls below 6 figures.
That Silverado WT Max is $77k with 492 miles of advertised range. If I were hauling things, that would be my pick today. In a few months, Cybertruck extended battery should be available. That should give Tesla buyers an option around 450mi for 86k total. I suspect we will see many 500mi EVs at the $50kb price point by 2030. Our view is that will work game over for ICE dominance. -Producer Tim -Producer Tim
Tim, isn't WT only available to commercial buyers? In other words, Chevy loses more profit on that one but makes up the difference with volume losses. 🙄 CT range extender was a marketing last ditch effort, vaporware. Tesla will not make money on them or will add an extra cost to install it. In the end, since it's a money loser they'll discontinue it. Remember when Musk took govt. money for the sham battery swapping program that never existed? I do. It's ridiculous that no one is talking about the emissions impacts of EV trucks. They're nearly as bad as ICE cars for lifetime emissions, even before you use the actual production emissions that are far worse than Argonne Labs GREET 2 model predicted they'd be. Rivian R1T = 424 g CO2e/mile according to their own impact report. Camry is 454 g CO2e/mile according to GREET2. The production emissions for an R1T is 39+ tons CO2e. No one's even aware. downloads.rivian.com/2md5qhoeajym/1B94cwRuIpsdG3zQuiUREG/8c925a8ea8f19bc34ce14af57659ccee/Rivian_2022_Impact_Report.pdf (pg 22)
It costs $100 and takes about ten minutes to create an LLC if somebody wants to buy a 492 mile Silverado WT. They have plenty of fleet inventory here: www.gmenvolve.com/fleet/electric-vehicles/chevrolet-silverado/ Twelve years ago Tesla abandoned battery swapping because they put one in service and watched the real world utilization by customers. They recognized that owners were more prone to plug in for 20 minutes with the freedom to leave the car to eat and use the restroom than to remain captive for five minutes. Since then, NIO and CATL have solved all of those problems and they've learned how to monetize the bank of batteries through leases to customers *AS WELL AS* peaker plant supply to the electric utility providers. Over 50 million battery swaps have been performed in Europe and Asia by customers. We know that swapping makes EVs viable for a certain percentage of the population and will be a required element here in the USA at some point. We covered that in this video: ruclips.net/video/sPf1U0OAVEg/видео.html Tesla Swapping Demonstration: ruclips.net/video/H5V0vL3nnHY/видео.html The emissions figures you've cited fail to account for the reality that EV trucks will be in service much longer than internal combustion counterparts. They also fail to consider the savings which will take place when several hundred pounds of valuable metals in the battery pack are reclaimed at the end of life, rather than mining and shipping new material from all over the world. We have various form factors because they serve functions. Why would we entertain a comparison between a Toyota Camry and a mid sized pickup truck like the R1T? A Toyota Camry cannot perform the work which needs to get done in order to keep the economy moving. Lets look at trucks: A combustion truck will use about 10,000 gallons of of oil refined into fuel over its lifetime. The political and environmental consequences of that are enormous. An EV uses domestic energy which could include up to 100% zero-emissions hydroelectric, solar, wind, or nuclear. Even when there are emissions such as goal power, those emissions are scrubbed and pushed high into the atmosphere away from the mouths of pedestrians and streetside residents. A combustion vehicle (truck or Camry) dumps the poisonous gas right there in the garage and streetside. Look at any road in America and you'll find a slipper path of leaked oil and filth in the center of both lanes. The aggregate public health and environmental affects of those local pollutants are staggering and can be eliminated by driving an EV. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Swapping might be the answer for apartment and urban street parkers. The plus is that you can still charge on the road where there's no swap stations. But there must be some standardization and that is always a cat-herding project. In Africa, battery swapping (by hand) works for motorcycles.
We have frequently reported about two swapping standards in Asia. Two weeks ago we talked about CATLs platform with over 30 EVs signed up. Several other times we reported about NIO's network and the standard which they've licensed to several partner brands. In our battery swapping video which I linked to in my comment above, we demonstrated and detailed AMPLE's standard including a demonstration. There are about a half a dozen stations in the San Francisco bay area currently operational as well as a few other markets globally. -Producer Tim
I predict in just 5 short years from now, we'll see ''long battery hover drones'' that appear 15 ft above charging station's, and the privacy VS theft/vandalism/security/ argument we'll hit a whole new level , (my guess is this technology likely exist almost now, but the appetite for this by the public is rather low, law enforcement officials would love this, and that's part of the problem right there) one solution: the live stream of the hover done has to be made open to the public in real time, (via WIFI or Cellular Service, etc..) to keep the public from freaking out these 'hover drones'' are not recording society's comings and goings outside of single purpose EV charging,
A pole is cheaper to operate and more reliable in all conditions than a perpetually hovering surveillance drone. Of course you are right that technological advancements will make autonomous dones and other robots an easy, flexible, and affordable choice for companies and individuals to keep an eye on valuable assets. -Producer Tim ruclips.net/video/BDP9jA6k_UE/видео.htmlsi=B2Uiv8DqpY1kFVVC
@@MissGoElectric Try to put yourself in the mindset of a criminal for a moment, because if the camera is within 50 feet of a high performance paint gun, on some pole, it can be easily disabled silently, (such equipment is easily obtained in criminal circles through the Dark Net)
Polestar is a strange, unloved, Geely subsidiary. Is Geely pushing Zekeer harder. I have the Volvo XC40 (Polestar2) equivalent and apart from its very poor economy love it. But how many competing brands do Geely want in a market, when they are taking sales from each other.
The CMA based Geely EVs were a good start. Geely is a large corporation with manufacturing expertise. To win in that domain, *SCALE* is everything. They need to produce insane volumes. Their strategy is brilliant. They give some autonomy to more than a dozen brands which find different ways to decorate and market Geely hardware. Geely wins when any of those companies win but damage to Geely is fairly minor if a given sub-brand falls flat. When one sub-brand finds a winning strategy from a design, functionality, software, retail, or service perspective...Geely can spread that around to their other sub-brands. The winner is Geely. The sub-brands have escalating quotas to meet. As we've seen with Polestar, failure to grow on schedule can result in a loss of autonomy if Geely decides to replace sub-brand leadership. Some brands which sell Geely platforms include Smart, Lynk & Co, ZEEKR, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Lotus, London Electric Vehicle Company, Farizon, RADAR, Geometry, Galaxy and Cao Cao Mobility. Zeekr is not available in the USA, but they did sell 220k vehicles in 2024. That represents about 10% of Geely vehicles sold last year. -Producer Tim zgh.com/overview/
If you want to skip RUclips ads, you can pay RUclips for a subscription. If our channel gets big enough perhaps we can offer a direct subscription to skip ads. Either way, money has to come from somewhere to pay for the data center and bandwidth costs of providing HD and 4K video content to your computer screen. -Producer Tim
So long CANOO, RIP. You cant make fleet sales until you have a tried & true bulletproof vehicle having proven itself on public roads in the hands of many many many consumers torturing it in daily driving of the vehicle on all kinds of roads in all kinds of weather. CANOO knew this but refused to open their order books to the thousands of eager consumers who was drooling at the prospect of owning one of their new vehicles. One in the hand is worth 2 in the bush you know. CANOO, you let it all slip thru your fingers. Tesla got its start with consumer sales as did Rivian & Ford Motor co too. You were too greedy. The CANOO vehicles are very innovative I hope a well heeled maker snaps up all the hardware & software & intell property & whatnot and builds the CANOO vehicles in their own factory. !
Canoo had a binding order for 9300 commercial fleet vehicles with KingBee. They had a non-binding order from WalMart for at least 4,300. Canoo lost investor confidence by behaving badly. When investors took their money to other places where management was trusted, Canoo lacked the resources to fulfill the orders. Fleet or retail...Canoo squandered their ability to serve any market. -Producer Tim
We've personally worked with some of the people who have been directly responsible for bleeding EV startups. They say everybody has a price. Those SPACs create an awfully big cookie jar in a short amount of time. -Producer Tim
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Love the ChargePoint cut resistant cables. Brilliant 👏
Defensive engineering is important. -Producer Tim
The best electrification content. Period. Thanks for the link to your newsletter, I have been missing some content.
We are very happy that our coverage is helpful to you. Thank you for your encouragement!
-Producer Tim
The best way to prevent vandalism of charging stations is to put them at locations that are supervised already like convenience stores and 24 hour gas stations. Also, some restaurants would be good locations that are open 24/7.
You are correct. Best to put charging stations where people want to gather and spend time. With cameras monitoring the area.
Good point.
A charger location is probably also unsafe for visitors when its cables are vulnerable to undetected attacks. -Producer Tim
I always thought that the cable should be inside a secure enclosure that can only be opened with an app or credit card.
I always thought the cable should be in a secure enclosure that can be opened with an app or credit card.
If they aren’t 24/7, they need to be so far away from civilization that doing things to them is cost prohibitive, like the unmanned gas stations way out in the country.
Common theme with all these fallen EV Startups, the CEOs, board members want to get rich fast, before the right time and as such, the rest, as you have seen, is history. Love the great work Madame and Mr Tim, much respect, Cheers!
We greatly appreciate your viewership! We hope you'll sign up for the newsletter at www.missgoelectric.com (bottom of page)
There are some pretty cool videos and events coming up! -Producer Tim
Hope Polestar make it. They are good EV & look good.
We do to.
Miss GoElectric and I spent most of 2019 and some of 2020 working at Polestar. We were two if for North American product experts. We were trained at HQ in Gothenburg and traveled with PS2 prototypes all over the world educating consumers alongside company executives.
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric - what a valuable business GM could use a solid education & awareness program - but first they will need to figure out actual facts about their vehicles & options - the amount of mis-information about each GM EV is incredible.
It is a labyrinth. On the backend GM receives massive public funding. We've reported on at least 10 government programs designed to enrich GM over the last 46 episodes. -Producer Tim
Gm,Ty Miss GoElectric. Informative video as usual.
Good morning! Thank you for your kind words, Sasha
-Producer Tim
Great job in giving us the EV news. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for joining us!
-Producer Tim
There are quite many Polestars on the road in Europe, didn’t know they were in trouble
Great reporting, thanks
It is sad to see 2024 sales figures decline so heavily from 2023...especially with three times as many products available. Thank you for watching! -Producer Tim
Lots of great news ..some disappointing when EV comp goes belly up.. enjoyed the update Miss !
Thank you for joining us, Steve!
-Producer Tim
If the EV charger can detect when vandals are cutting the cable, sending a text message is great. But, if they really want to solve the problem, energize the cable.
You aren't wrong. :)
-Producer Tim
Maybe a stern scolding
@@rp9674 If that's too harsh, they could experiment with various voltages. 🙂
Thanks for the news update.
Thank you for watching and commenting! -Producer Tim
Super sorry to hear about Canoo. Thought their van had enough interest for them to weather storms. I guess greed and the seemingly anti-ev is a big issue.
They had demand, but no supply. Thanks for sharing your condolences :)
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Yes how did it take so long to actually get some out there from the prototypes.
They went public. They had the capital to do the job. They got caught with their hands in the cookie jar and lost the trust of investors. The smart money evacuated which collapsed the stock price. With the capital evaporated, they had no ability to buy parts and build vans. -Producer Tim
Another excellent report! I do hope Polestar makes a more affordable EV, I love their designs and really want them to succeed. Also, I would like to see a 500-mile truck but prefer to wait until battery tech advances enough to achieve this with a much smaller and lighter pack.
We completely agree on both points. Thanks for joining us this week! -Producer Tim
500 miles is too much, waste of time, money & weight. 7.5 hours driving w/ no break? Not heathy or fun.
That logic looks good on the surface, but there are other factors.
Advertised range of 500 miles is based on a typical EPA situation of 55mph in fair weather. Real world where it matters is probably highway driving (at least) 75mph. Most of the year, energy will be required to keep the cabin at a relatively nice ambient temperature. A reasonable deficit for these two factors is 30%.
Now that 500 number is 350. When road tripping, it can take another 30-40 minutes to get the final 15%, so generally it is prudent to stop charging at 85%.
The usable range is now 300 miles. It is a high risk behavior to pass a viable charging station with 10% range remaining while traveling along a highway corridor.
That brings us to a real-world figure of 270 miles. At 75mph that is 3.5hrs of driving between stops.
Remember, these are trucks. A camper, trailer, or boat can reasonably cut the range down another 50%.
Now the range is 135mi or less than 2hrs of driving on an interstate highway between charges.
If there are headwinds, extreme temperatures, or precipitation, cut that number down even more.
That is why MGE and I do not resist ICE drivers when they say they'd be comfortable with 500 miles of stated EV range. We've conducted about 50,000 EV test drives between the two of us. We've heard that figure a lot from our guests and we look forward to relatively affordable EVs which offer 500 miles of flexibility.
There are many other advantages to having excessive range. When I visit relatives in rural Wisconsin, there are no sources of energy for me. 110v outlets at our family's homes yield no usable range overnight. The drive to any fast charger gobbles up a third of our range by itself. I always wish I had more range for out-of-market scenarios.
Another reason we like to have extra range is for optionality. Some charging locations are unreliable or in sketchy areas where drivers do not feel safe. It is great to be able to skip those. Some stations are crowded or super expensive. More range onboard solves those problems, too.
I have written a lot here, but I'll wrap up with a statement of agreement. I agree that 300 *real world* miles is suitable for most drivers of passenger automobiles. I think pickup trucks and work/camp vans will need closer to 500 range than that in order to be sufficiently attractive to most of the remaining ICE drivers in those categories.
-Producer Tim
Tim, my thoughts exactly. Thanks.
It's just an estimate, but Chevy Equinox EV gets close to its estimated range EV, for example, so did Chevy bolt EV
I’m curious if most cable cutting results in theft of the cable, or if many are just cut and left behind?
Most are copper theft. Some are vandalism. -Producer Tim
www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/thieves-are-taking-electric-vehicle-charging-cables-for-the-copper-wires-its-another-obstacle-to-selling-americans-on-evs
In Vince Beiser's excellent and brutally honest book Power Metal, about metal/battery resources, there was a chapter on recycling, specifically talking about the local recycling/scrapping industry. No you cannot bring random copper to Home Depot for a return on your deposit. Each region has one or two depots where scrappers go to sell the junk worth recycling for its core elements. Scrap yards have policies about paring back insulated wire vs. buying it with sheathing, and that changes the price per pound or premium you can demand. That's my long way of saying each of these cases where liquid cooled DC Fast Charging cables were taken to scrap yards could and should have been a pain point where the law can step in and penalize the scrap yard or ask them to call law enforcement when a guy in a van tries to sell them there. Sure, the thief can spend hours stripping back the charge leads, but that's not the thought process of those thieves. They're not career scrappers. They're impetuous opportunists, and likely too lazy to know they'll get caught. We already do this with catalytic converters. Ratcheting up criminal policing at that level makes much more sense than uparmoring charge cables.
The motives for vandalization are numerous. Additional deterrents are welcomed including intentional manufacturing choices which limit net returns for scrappers. -Producer Tim
Dye packs
How about a pointy spikes or a moat with alligators and snakes?
-Producer Tim
Not actually my idea: ruclips.net/video/F6O6u_jbGOA/видео.htmlsi=k2cY_pfF4zSidDLe&t=183
Happy weekend! Nice work!
Thanks for joining us!
did you join the mailing list at www.missgoelectric.com ?
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Done and done! Looking forward to it.
It’s a shame Canoo fell due to greed and improper spending because their designs looked very attractive. The order from Walmart should have propelled them on a success track.
The Walmart offer was non-binding. Sadly, that kind of window dressing only draws investment from unwise investors and gamblers.
Impatient and twitchy capital is a kiss of death for startups. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectricyou can only grift so long…isn’t Mullen still in the game, somehow? The Saudis at least picked the best tech with Lucid, keeping them afloat…funded by hydrocarbons 🤔
I agree, and I had no idea how many OTHER EV companies had similar fates for similar reasons. Truly sad.
@@PrescottResidentThere have been hundreds of short lived auto companies in the past 30 years. MGE just listed a few of the more recent ones.
In this video MGE narrowed in on the EV companies which became publicly traded via SPAC, abused the capital, and abruptly went out of business.
Mullen has stayed listed with reverse stock splits. Today a share is worth about fifty cents. Adjusted for these splits, a share was literally worth about thirty five BILLION dollars in July of 2020. The total market cap of Mullen is now less than one million dollars. It is madness:
www.google.com/finance/quote/MULN:NASDAQ
-Producer Tim
Have you looked at or into Aptera? They were voted best at recent CES for 2024/2025. It’s a solar / electric 3 wheeled auto cycle.
We saw them there. Aptera's leaders have been raising money for 20 years. We hope they survive long enough to build production vehicles. When non-investors stay taking delivery, we will cover them. -Producer Tim
I don’t see how Aptera can make it. They literally have no cash!
They've gotten very good good at getting paid for two decades without delivering anything.
NO REVENUE (lolz): ruclips.net/video/BzAdXyPYKQo/видео.html
-Producer Tim
@
Pretty much! 😂
I'm starting to think it might be difficult to make a profitable EV startup.
Existing gas car companies that don't make EVS should do a in-house conversion of a popular existing model as was done with Ford Focus ev, Fiat 500e, Chevy Spark EV, EV nerds crap on them but they share a very deep part's bin and can be a very economical way to EV - Mitsubishi for example.
You got it.
Batteries are expensive despite cell prices dropping steadily. Tesla, BYD, and LiAuto have been profitable with EVs because they innovated to save costs elsewhere in the manufacturing and selling process AND invested in massive scale.
There is no shortcut for other automakers. Even when battery prices get low enough to reach input cost parity with internal combustion, the advantages achieved by the aforementioned will keep the EV leaders ahead. There is no such thing a tip-toeing into the EV sector at scale.
Startups, by definition, lack the capital, expertise, and workforce to compete on affordability. Some like Scout or Afeela are not really startups, but brands leveraging & repackaging platforms which have achieved scale outside their operations.
Manufacturing behemoths with excess of all three ingredients such as Apple and Dyson bailed out after spending billions of dollars building EV programs. Xiaomi and CATL were able to crack the code and will probably be dominant global automakers by 2030.
That said, the commoditization of EV components will make it possible for small manufacturers to maintain healthy businesses. Convertibles, RVs, Motorcycles, ATVs, Sports Cars, and other low volume categories will have a path to electrifcation at some point within the next decade. -Producer Tim
It's inevitable, despite disinformation, slow minds & finance
RAM is making the right decision for sure.
They will be first to market by a couple years with a range-extender pick up in the U.S.
This will win-over a lot of ‘Merica! types that aren’t ready to go full electric any time soon.
After having heard the hooting and hollering from the audience when Scout unveiled the Harverster in Tennessee earlier this year, we suspect you are correct. Demand might be robust for a big-battery plugin hybrid pickup truck. -Producer Tim
Sorry, I couldn't figure out which link is the newsletter that was mentioned in the podcast
missgoelectric.com
Bottom of front page
-Producer Tim
Saw a canoo on the road some months ago (I live not far from faraday future and Canoo hqs)
Bummer.
One of our most popular short form videos is a Canoo sighting. RIP
ruclips.net/user/shortsBYg7njuFbtg
-Producer Tim
Canoo seems to have a really good product and utility EV that should do well. It’s a shame to see them file for bankruptcy and hope they can be resurrected.
We think Kia improved upon all of the Canoo ideas and we made a video about that product line which launches this year:
ruclips.net/video/cUO8MX_UASU/видео.html
-Producer Tim
Fisker Coda canoo, coming soon
Canoo! Ohh no.
I'm working on some new standup material and I'd like to try it out right now:
tap tap...is this thing on? (microphone feedback)
Producer Tim hesitantly shuffles into the spotlight
What the real danger of investing in Canoo?
Market CapSize
-Producer Tim
I think ditching the super jumbo battery version was a reasonable decision.
It's suitable only for extremely niche cases, in spite of all the hype.
EV market maturation hasn't reached the point where such extreme niches can be profitablity addressed.
Actual users will find that the efficiency and charging curve are the key.
Those of us who live in cold climates and tow regularly value high energy capacity. Casual drivers can get by with less. Thanks for sharing your perspective. -Producer Tim
Polestar is just one more brand of Chinese made cars. Canoo and SION of Sono Motors were two genius ideas showing the potential of electric cars. It’s a pity that they did not make it. Hopefully APTERA at least will make it. Cross fingers!
Mr Fambro at Aptera has been raising funds for 20 years. In the recent Munro video they said they'll probably need another $100M to reach volume production of 10-20k annually
Variety is welcome but survival is not easy. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric
To date no one has stepped up to provide Aptera the necessary capital they need. If you’re an investor, I would see this a sign to divest immediately!
Aptera has collected many millions from regular people. The stock is not traded publicly so how do those retail investors liquidate their positions? Is there any window through which they can escape? -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric
I would think that any deposit would be refundable
@ray Aptera has collected reservation money. I'm taking about the investment money Aptrera has separately collected from retail investors. Individuals have contributed but I'm not sure there is actually any mechanism which facilitates liquidity. -Producer Tim
One big point is that legacy automakers are not asking the right questions. They are saying that they cannot build and sell a full sized pickup with a 500 mile range (at a profit) for under $100,000. But they should shift their focus to building a mid-sized EV pickup with a 300 mile range for under $50K.
We know that Ford's T3 Project aims to address the market squarely, but they can't move until battery pack prices come down. We understand they expect to get costs where they need to be when their new battery factories come online. Hopefully they'll turn it around in 2027. -Producer Tim
ANOTHER EV pickup?!
We have reported about T3 several times here on The Current.
Here is the most recent update: ruclips.net/video/iNJ9jzdVImU/видео.html
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Again, they are worried about building with cheaper batteries because it takes 200kWh+ battery packs to move giant 7,500lb brick/trucks over 300 miles on a charge. Ford could/should use their Mach-E drivetrain in their Maverick, Bronco, and Ranger, with the 68/88kWh LFP battery packs. The battery pack prices have fallen dramatically in recent years, but Ford was in denial about the need to build their own battery factories years ago, which cost them dearly. T3 is a solid project, but competitors are not going to be waiting until 2027+ to innovate and advance their product lines (except maybe Japanese automakers and Stellantis).
Ford does not use 200kWh packs. The efficiency of the F150 Lightning is not far off from smaller Rivian trucks of the same era.
Of course, fabulous efficiency is preferable to the heft and cost associated with a larger battery pack. -Producer Tim
I drive thr polestar 2, love it, but I think the strategy to prioritize more expensive models was a mistake. They want to be a luxury brand for some reason
Survival depends on profit margin.
Scale takes time and requires demand. That is why no newcomer can build a low cost EV first.
The Polestar 2 now delivers over 360mi of range starting at $50k. They are moving in the right direction, but perhaps not fast enough.
Their objective has always been to complete squarely with Porsche. Porsche is unable to sell their own EVs at the moment.
Interest rates coming down could be very helpful to Polestar and other premium brands. -Producer Tim
@MissGoElectric I just get the sense these companies and analysts look at these numbers but miss consumer psychology here. I probably spent more than I would have because I wanted a non tesla but decent ev - but if the Equinox was around I definitely would have done that instead.
Most people like me are just waiting for the prices to drop. So choices were made here: the Hummer EV years took investment away from the Equinox; model 2 vs Cybertruck; F150 vs...etc. - we can't get these years back, now the tax breaks will end....
I agree. Although Polestar is an independent electric performance car brand, it leverages Geely's resources and platforms. Polestar and Volvo should consider lower-cost EVs in the USA.
@@Carl_in_AZ EX30 sells for, what, $40K in Europe? And Trump will [put a 100% tariff on it. They could build it at the Volvo plant in SC at a reasonable price and have the market to themselves.
We will see if the current administration adds a new tariff to vehicles exported from European factories. Speculation about possible policy changes seems pointless at this point. Industry players are waiting for the new rulebook. Once they have it, game on! -Producer Tim
Right now, range extended EVs are all the rage. This will fade as pure EV range increases and more charging stations are built. And, as owners get tired of doing maintenance on both the gas engines and electric systems.
Right. Plugin hybrids are having their time right now. -Producer Tim
You missed that Canada's federal EV rebate has been stopped so now we will get to see if depreciation was mostly an artifact of the rebates or if people just don't want to buy them, and we will see if sales plummet now that the vehicles have to compete on price.
We often read reports about how depreciation is bad. We think affordability is a key ingredient for EV adoption and welcome it in order to advance society.
With over 30 million EVs on the road and global prices for brand new EVs starting under $10k, we think it is time to stop using taxpayer dollars to fund automobile production (regardless of powertrain)
-Producer Tim
@MissGoElectric It does seem pretty consistent that the only places that EVs are popular either use effectively slave labor to make them cheap or some combination of government force or government incentives to manipulate people in to buying them.
I was hoping to get in to an Ioniq 5 but now that the rebates are gone it doesn't seem so attractive. I'll probably end up in either a PHEV again or just a cheaper gas car next time I do a purchase now, and I'm very pro EV. I even got a 240V circuit and outdoor plug installed recently so when I switch I'll already have decent charging ready, but now the car would be so expensive compared to similar sized and equipped vehicles but without all the drawbacks it's hard to say what I'll do now.
Did you know that the Tesla Model Y (made here in America, in Germany, and in China) is the best selling car in the world? It has been for two years in a row. No slave labor.
Even without any federal tax credit, the cost of the Model Y is on par with the average vehicle selling price in the USA.
The reason BYD and ONVO are able to build outstanding cars at very low prices is not because they use cheap slave labor content. They do not. The reason is that they have *very little* labor content. Unlike many American companies which are obligated to hire large numbers of human beings in order to qualify for government subsidies and/or satisfy union labor demands...many international automakers rely upon simplified processes and robots. High levels of automation and massive scale are responsible for low prices.
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Are you saying that the UAW and IG Metall lie?
@@shazam6274 You're not going to tell us that politicans lie either??
I was telling them they'd need to have better range, someone in the company responded to me on Instagram disagreeing. I guess I was right. an adventure vehicle needs more than 230 miles of range.
No matter what you type into the comments section there is somebody who will emphatically object. :)
-Producer Tim
No there isnt! lol -Producer Tim
What polestar needs to do to achieve success is to stop emulating Tesla in its interiors and door handles: bring back physical switches and dials, offer all-metal roofs, offer ways to “close off” glass roofs, stop using vertical iPad-glued-to-dashboard infotainment screens (embed vertical screens into the dashboard), keep large embedded instrument panels, and go back to normal door handles … As for vandalism at charging sites, the best answer is to copy the gas-station model and have full-time attendants at all charging stations …
Hmmm.
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectricI am certain that if polestar did these things, and used smaller wheels and ditched air suspension and high-end sound systems as standard, they could bring the prices down a LOT, and they’d be more appealing to the masses and sell a lot more. If they continue on this Tesla/Chinese-car path, they’ll go bankrupt soon…
Polestar's target competitor is Porsche. They were not engineered to compete with Honda. -Producer Tim
I was watching the video this morning and then halfway through it it switched to Spanish
Bueno! -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric seriously though... multi-language tracks are all over youtube in the last few weeks (seems like since the Zelensky interview)
Did something happen recently that made multi-language audio way easier than before?
Oh si?
If you want to build and unstable car company, name it after an unstable watercraft. What could possibly go wrong?
Would the outcome have been different if they didn't change their from Evelocity? (*EVIL*ocity) ? -Producer Tim
Does the next generation Mazda CX-5 hybrid is a range extender gas engine with electricity generator attached to provide electricity to battery/ electric motor?.
Any news about it?
All Mazda CX-5s come with a gastank and an exhaust pipe, so we don't cover them.
Occasionally plugin hybrids get mentioned on our channel if they have a fully electric sibling. Scout Harvester and RAM are examples.
-Producer Tim
Chargers should have 360° cameras & lights, basic & cheap old tech... & dye packs!
Some do have cameras.
Considering the astronomical cost of deploying DC Fast Chargers ($80k per dispenser on average) ... and the liabilities associated with massive electrical current...we are surprised that DC hardware is generally less supervised than the aisle of candy bars at a convenience store
-Producer Tim
Haha, Ram says they have a 92kW battery pack? What is that... its max charging speed? It was nice of Lacee to seamlessly correct their gaffe.
Surely they use a third party video production company and the edits are done by a marketing team. We commonly see technical unit errors from automakers with limited EV experience. -Producer Tim
Induction charging would have been a better solution than cable charging, let's hope it is not too late. For vandalism, but also for the public acceptance of the infrastructure especially in cities. Not to mention the convenience of a "park and charge" zero intervention process. And of course it is the only way with future robotaxis.
Wireless technology is great, but we know that the 30 million EVs already on the roads do not support it.
We showed a zero intervention wired solution recently in this video:
ruclips.net/video/2lYcRR7tQhY/видео.html
We demonstrated wireless EV charging a few years ago in this video:
ruclips.net/video/3F7aTZAS3uE/видео.html
and we showed off an American battery swapping station in this video:
ruclips.net/video/sPf1U0OAVEg/видео.html
We think all three solutions will be required in order for EVs to displace internal combustion automobiles.
-Producer Tim
@MissGoElectric Sure, but what is the percentage of EVs on roads ? So I would say it is not too late.
We think all three solutions will be required in order for EVs to displace internal combustion automobiles. -Producer Tim
That's one upside to induction charging I hadn't thought of
I like Polestar heard they are doing away with the RWD not sure that was a good idea. I do like Canoo to bad it was run by greedy clowns. Great show
As I understand it, the 2WD Polestar 2 is switching away from front wheel drive and *TO* real wheel drive. As a performance brand, we think RWD makes good sense.
www.caranddriver.com/news/a46077389/2024-polestar-2-rear-wheel-drive-vs-front-drive/
-Producer Tim
7:17 RAM seems not to be even capable to understand the difference between kW and kWh 🙄.
Stellantis has about 300,000 employees but only a small percentage of those are engineers. We often see marketing and PR departments publish unit errors related to technical specifications. Even so, it is particularly egregious when an error like that survives on a promotional video in big bold text! -Producer Tim
The EV space is not childs play.
Few industries with a $2B minimum investment barrier to entry are operated by children. :) -Producer Tim
Sad that Ram is pulling back on the EV trucks. I've been waiting for a mid size EV pickup truck with a solar bed cover and sunroof. I'm hoping for a 2 door version. We don't all want, need or are willing to pay for heavy back seats, doors, windows or an expensive folding mid-gate. All I need is a comfortable, regular cab with a flat floor and a 3 seat bench with a fold down arm-rest. Make it in the USA, give it a nice list of options and make it affordable and I'd sell my 2 door Silverado for one.
Ram's CEO said he wants to make a mid size truck but I don't know if it will be electric.
We expect an R2 based pickup truck from Rivian which might fit that bill...but not until 2028 or 2029. Perhaps Ford will surprise us. -Producer Tim
Do the people at RAM even understand the difference between battery energy capacity and power? The clip of their video shows “92 kW battery + 130kW generator.”
MGE said the pack had 92 kWh capacity, and I think she understands a lot more than RAM does. If the pack was only capable of 92 kW discharge power the truck would be a real dog, as the 122 hp from the battery would be about 100 hp at the wheels.
This has been mentioned elsewhere in the comments.
We frequently see technical unit errors in marketing materials like this which are created by the production companies hired by automakers. Mistakes are much more common from brands like RAM who have very little experience with EVs.
Until then we will do as we have always done... gently correct for the audience.
They'll catch on eventually.
-Producer Tim
Polestar has my interest. Sadly, the LYRIQ equivalent PS3 is priced out of the market due to the U.S. policy of protectionism against China. The PS3 could be 20% - 30% less expensive than the LYRIQ, but due to tariffs, it has been knee caped. Too bad. I am sure the folks in europe will enjoy these vehicles.
The Polestar 3 is built right here in the USA by Americans, so there is no tariff. If the tax credit survives, hopefully they'll get a new battery supplier and qualify for the federal credit. If the tax credit does not survive, the playing field will level out a bit for Polestar. -Producer Tim
Just because it ends in ISM doesn't mean it's bad
I don’t understand Polestar/ Volvo’s strategy. There is too much overlap between the brands - they’re chasing the same consumer with similar products.
Geely has more than a dozen sub-brands vying for market share with variations on the same product.
Each decides the design, ethos, regions, and marketing strategy. The winner is Geely. Sub-brand success will ebb and flow. Some will die like Saturn, Scion, and Pontiac did.
Volvo is not marketed as a pure (EV Only) progressive, performance brand. That is Polestar's set of differentiators. Ohlins manual dampers, snug seating, tight handling are Polestar attributes you can feel from the driver's seat.
Volvo pushes pragmatism, safety, and comfort. Volvo sells mostly combustion vehicles today.
They share Scandinavian design with roots in Thomas Inganlath design language.
-Producer Tim
These companies were too ahead of existing battery technology.
You are right that EV startup survival will be much easier with cheaper battery technology. We will get to see all kinds of interesting, affordable stuff in a few years. -Producer Tim
I don’t think the $100K plus market for a 500 mi EV pickup is big enough to pursue. ICE trucks are more appropriate until battery prices diminish and EV version falls below 6 figures.
That Silverado WT Max is $77k with 492 miles of advertised range. If I were hauling things, that would be my pick today.
In a few months, Cybertruck extended battery should be available. That should give Tesla buyers an option around 450mi for 86k total.
I suspect we will see many 500mi EVs at the $50kb price point by 2030. Our view is that will work game over for ICE dominance.
-Producer Tim
-Producer Tim
Tim, isn't WT only available to commercial buyers? In other words, Chevy loses more profit on that one but makes up the difference with volume losses. 🙄
CT range extender was a marketing last ditch effort, vaporware. Tesla will not make money on them or will add an extra cost to install it. In the end, since it's a money loser they'll discontinue it. Remember when Musk took govt. money for the sham battery swapping program that never existed? I do.
It's ridiculous that no one is talking about the emissions impacts of EV trucks. They're nearly as bad as ICE cars for lifetime emissions, even before you use the actual production emissions that are far worse than Argonne Labs GREET 2 model predicted they'd be. Rivian R1T = 424 g CO2e/mile according to their own impact report. Camry is 454 g CO2e/mile according to GREET2. The production emissions for an R1T is 39+ tons CO2e. No one's even aware.
downloads.rivian.com/2md5qhoeajym/1B94cwRuIpsdG3zQuiUREG/8c925a8ea8f19bc34ce14af57659ccee/Rivian_2022_Impact_Report.pdf (pg 22)
It costs $100 and takes about ten minutes to create an LLC if somebody wants to buy a 492 mile Silverado WT. They have plenty of fleet inventory here:
www.gmenvolve.com/fleet/electric-vehicles/chevrolet-silverado/
Twelve years ago Tesla abandoned battery swapping because they put one in service and watched the real world utilization by customers. They recognized that owners were more prone to plug in for 20 minutes with the freedom to leave the car to eat and use the restroom than to remain captive for five minutes. Since then, NIO and CATL have solved all of those problems and they've learned how to monetize the bank of batteries through leases to customers *AS WELL AS* peaker plant supply to the electric utility providers. Over 50 million battery swaps have been performed in Europe and Asia by customers. We know that swapping makes EVs viable for a certain percentage of the population and will be a required element here in the USA at some point. We covered that in this video:
ruclips.net/video/sPf1U0OAVEg/видео.html
Tesla Swapping Demonstration: ruclips.net/video/H5V0vL3nnHY/видео.html
The emissions figures you've cited fail to account for the reality that EV trucks will be in service much longer than internal combustion counterparts. They also fail to consider the savings which will take place when several hundred pounds of valuable metals in the battery pack are reclaimed at the end of life, rather than mining and shipping new material from all over the world.
We have various form factors because they serve functions. Why would we entertain a comparison between a Toyota Camry and a mid sized pickup truck like the R1T? A Toyota Camry cannot perform the work which needs to get done in order to keep the economy moving.
Lets look at trucks: A combustion truck will use about 10,000 gallons of of oil refined into fuel over its lifetime. The political and environmental consequences of that are enormous. An EV uses domestic energy which could include up to 100% zero-emissions hydroelectric, solar, wind, or nuclear. Even when there are emissions such as goal power, those emissions are scrubbed and pushed high into the atmosphere away from the mouths of pedestrians and streetside residents. A combustion vehicle (truck or Camry) dumps the poisonous gas right there in the garage and streetside. Look at any road in America and you'll find a slipper path of leaked oil and filth in the center of both lanes. The aggregate public health and environmental affects of those local pollutants are staggering and can be eliminated by driving an EV.
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Swapping might be the answer for apartment and urban street parkers. The plus is that you can still charge on the road where there's no swap stations. But there must be some standardization and that is always a cat-herding project.
In Africa, battery swapping (by hand) works for motorcycles.
We have frequently reported about two swapping standards in Asia. Two weeks ago we talked about CATLs platform with over 30 EVs signed up. Several other times we reported about NIO's network and the standard which they've licensed to several partner brands. In our battery swapping video which I linked to in my comment above, we demonstrated and detailed AMPLE's standard including a demonstration. There are about a half a dozen stations in the San Francisco bay area currently operational as well as a few other markets globally.
-Producer Tim
I predict in just 5 short years from now, we'll see ''long battery hover drones'' that appear 15 ft above charging station's, and the privacy VS theft/vandalism/security/ argument
we'll hit a whole new level , (my guess is this technology likely exist almost now, but the appetite for this by the public is rather low, law enforcement officials would love this,
and that's part of the problem right there) one solution: the live stream of the hover done has to be made open to the public in real time, (via WIFI or Cellular Service, etc..) to keep the public from freaking out these 'hover drones'' are not recording society's comings and goings outside of single purpose EV charging,
A pole is cheaper to operate and more reliable in all conditions than a perpetually hovering surveillance drone. Of course you are right that technological advancements will make autonomous dones and other robots an easy, flexible, and affordable choice for companies and individuals to keep an eye on valuable assets. -Producer Tim
ruclips.net/video/BDP9jA6k_UE/видео.htmlsi=B2Uiv8DqpY1kFVVC
@@MissGoElectric Try to put yourself in the mindset of a criminal for a moment, because if the camera is within 50 feet of a high performance paint gun, on some pole, it can be easily disabled silently, (such equipment is easily obtained in criminal circles through the Dark Net)
...or camera on a pole. Could put an "AI" sticker on it to make it cool and current
Polestar is a strange, unloved, Geely subsidiary. Is Geely pushing Zekeer harder.
I have the Volvo XC40 (Polestar2) equivalent and apart from its very poor economy love it.
But how many competing brands do Geely want in a market, when they are taking sales from each other.
The CMA based Geely EVs were a good start.
Geely is a large corporation with manufacturing expertise. To win in that domain, *SCALE* is everything. They need to produce insane volumes. Their strategy is brilliant. They give some autonomy to more than a dozen brands which find different ways to decorate and market Geely hardware. Geely wins when any of those companies win but damage to Geely is fairly minor if a given sub-brand falls flat. When one sub-brand finds a winning strategy from a design, functionality, software, retail, or service perspective...Geely can spread that around to their other sub-brands. The winner is Geely.
The sub-brands have escalating quotas to meet. As we've seen with Polestar, failure to grow on schedule can result in a loss of autonomy if Geely decides to replace sub-brand leadership.
Some brands which sell Geely platforms include Smart, Lynk & Co, ZEEKR, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Lotus, London Electric Vehicle Company, Farizon, RADAR, Geometry, Galaxy and Cao Cao Mobility.
Zeekr is not available in the USA, but they did sell 220k vehicles in 2024. That represents about 10% of Geely vehicles sold last year.
-Producer Tim
zgh.com/overview/
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If you want to skip RUclips ads, you can pay RUclips for a subscription. If our channel gets big enough perhaps we can offer a direct subscription to skip ads. Either way, money has to come from somewhere to pay for the data center and bandwidth costs of providing HD and 4K video content to your computer screen. -Producer Tim
I keep forgetting Polestar is Chinese owned.
you bet
zgh.com/overview/?lang=en
-Producer Tim
So long CANOO, RIP.
You cant make fleet sales until you have a tried & true bulletproof vehicle having proven itself on public roads
in the hands of many many many consumers torturing it in daily driving of the vehicle on all kinds of roads in
all kinds of weather. CANOO knew this but refused to open their order books to the thousands of eager
consumers who was drooling at the prospect of owning one of their new vehicles. One in the hand is worth 2
in the bush you know. CANOO, you let it all slip thru your fingers. Tesla got its start with consumer sales as
did Rivian & Ford Motor co too. You were too greedy. The CANOO vehicles are very innovative I hope a well
heeled maker snaps up all the hardware & software & intell property & whatnot and builds the CANOO
vehicles in their own factory.
!
Some Canoo vans are being sold at auction. I'd consider buying one for posterity. -Producer Tim
Or they could just sell to fleets, purpose-built
Canoo had a binding order for 9300 commercial fleet vehicles with KingBee. They had a non-binding order from WalMart for at least 4,300. Canoo lost investor confidence by behaving badly. When investors took their money to other places where management was trusted, Canoo lacked the resources to fulfill the orders. Fleet or retail...Canoo squandered their ability to serve any market. -Producer Tim
So much greed, shameful.
We've personally worked with some of the people who have been directly responsible for bleeding EV startups. They say everybody has a price. Those SPACs create an awfully big cookie jar in a short amount of time. -Producer Tim
she's married to andre of tfl truck
Incorrect. -Producer Tim