Sunday EV watching

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Property 1

From the mine is bigger than yours department of EV charger envy, an Oregon town in the USA is reporting to be the largest Tesla Supercharger station in the world according to the Oregon Public Broadcasting’s website. This is happening when Siemens wants to battle with Tesla for Supercharger network supremacy according to CarBuzz. They are doing this with fellow German automaker Volkswagon’s Electrify America, the places you can find charging fast. My Take: The EV charging battleground is key to adoption, as it will be a focal point of discussion in US state legislatures who have to address draconian state and federal regulations to avoid what are called EV deserts, large chunks of Interstate highways that cross the USA but where the rules make it hard for an EV charger to get set up.

On the topic of regulation, Venture Beat has a very good and insightful article on that subject.

This paragraph says it all so well:

The auto industry can’t make the same mistake. The stakes are extremely high: Carmakers have not only a business rationale but a legal and ethical one to make sure the new breed of vehicles is safe and deserving of consumers’ confidence.

My Take: As a Silicon Valley startup veteran (and elsewhere) I’m viewing EVs as “Computers on Wheels” not automobiles with a computer on board. The sooner everyone comes to realize that going forward, access to everything but how the car is controlled will be totally different than the automobiles and trucks of the past, the better it will be for all. EV’s are the next open source and open systems universe. But with that will come the need for regulation, especially around data privacy, security and tracking.

There’s a big difference between premium, luxury, supercar and hypercars. But that doesn’t stop the media from bringing to light the super high priced collectibles in the EV market. Just look at the Drago. My Take: Let’s face it. An EV priced between 50,000 and 200,000 will surely payback in gas savings. But will an EV priced in the million dollar range do the same? That’s the reported original price point for the Drago. Yes, there will be buyers, but at that price, you’ll need to do a lot of driving to have it payback.

Electrek is reporting that Tesla had a down quarter. As a long time reader of Electrek it is one of the true bibles of the the electric vehicle business. The New York Times has a similar story.

My Take: Tesla’s numbers ebb and flow based on supply lines. Sales are usually cars delivered, so the logistics pipeline issues affect Tesla just like every other business in the USA. Sunday Funnies: I get a real kick out of their “Weird Ali Baba” vehicle selections.

On the subject of China, it seems EV sales there are on the rise. The South China Morning Post is reporting how NIO and others are growing.

My Take: Not to be a master of the obvious, but in sheer size, China represents one of the largest populations and has a very auto ready adult market. Prices are low. Cars are well made and their EV platforms are rivals or suppliers to all, so this type of information is more expected than unexpected.

Esquire has a really breazy reading summary of last weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed outside of London. Friends who attended had many “good” things to say about it.

My Take: I’ll be there next year, but left out the story is any reference to the number of people who came back from the event with Covid-19. Ouch.

Another site I’ve always kept an eye on is Tom’s Guide. Authored and curated by Tom Pritchard, there’s always something useful there about techy things, and Tom’s continuing his hitting streak with a short and concise “7 things you need to know before you buy an electric car”. My Take: Tom’s depiction of range anxiety and how long it takes to charge a car are very helpful to explain things, as he always does, written in words your grandmother would understand.

Now, it’s time for breakfast.