Fire at Rivian and Rivian Rewards

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Hello everyone and welcome to Kilowatt, a podcast about electric vehicles, renewable energy,

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_00]: autonomous driving and much, much more.

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: My name is Bodhi and I am your host.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: On today's episode, we are going to talk about news.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: We didn't have much Tesla news, so I'm going to start with Tesla news and then

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: we'll go into the EV news.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: But before we get to that, I do want to say or recommend that you go and listen to the

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: SMR podcast.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: It's one of my favorite podcasts.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: It's hosted by Chris Ashley, Rod Simmons and my cohost on Beyond The Post, Rob Dunwood.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And go and listen to the last two episodes, the August episodes, because there is a lot

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: of EV talk.

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Rod Simmons just got a Rivian R1T and in the second episode in August, it's just

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Rod and Rob and they talk about Rod just getting some full self-driving features for

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: his 2017 Model X.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00]: It's very entertaining.

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_00]: I really enjoyed it, so I am encouraging you to go enjoy it.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll put a link in the show notes as well so you can see that.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, let's start off.

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to start off with Tesla news.

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Looks like there may be a Model Y refresh planned for Q1 2025.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: That's according to those who watch the supply chain in China.

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Whether or not this is true, who knows?

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But we had some rumors of a mid to late 2024 Model Y refresh project Juniper.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: We had some rumors that that was going to happen this year and it didn't.

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And you know what?

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Probably won't happen Q1 2025 either.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But every EV and Tesla podcast is going to be talking about it.

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: So we'll see if it happens.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I wouldn't be surprised if it did, to be honest with you, but I also equally

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: would not be surprised if it did.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Moving right along to the Model X, we talked a little bit about Rod's Model X,

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: but we don't as a general rule talk about the Model S or Model X much on this

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_00]: particular show.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, there is a new promotion if you want to buy a Model X all wheel drive.

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_00]: So in order to get the promotion, you pay the full $8,000 for full self

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: driving and then you can upgrade one of the following for free.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Starting off with premium paint.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Upgraded 22 inch turbine wheels.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Interior color.

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_00]: You can choose between the six or seven seat interior configuration if you so

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_00]: choose, or you can choose to upgrade to the yoke steering wheel.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So you can't choose all of them.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: You can only choose one of those to upgrade.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you were going to pay for a Model X all wheel drive and you were

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: going to buy full self driving anyway, this is a nice little bonus.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how many people are going to jump on this just because of

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: the bonus though.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Tesla is now capable of producing a lot of new features.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: They are now producing 700,000 power walls a year, which is about 10

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: gigawatt hours of storage per year.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Energy storage.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Now I do want to say that doesn't mean that Tesla will produce that many

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: power walls in the first eight years of production.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: They've only produced 500,000 power walls total.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_00]: So they could easily crush that in 2025 if they do produce 700,000.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But that depends on demand as well as parts shortages and that kind of thing.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't get me wrong.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I want Tesla to produce 700,000 of these bad chickens because hopefully at

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: scale that will mean cheaper power walls.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Now I ask you this question.

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Do you think that if Tesla produces 700,000 power walls a year, we'll get

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: a cheaper power wall or do you think it won't matter?

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Send me an email.

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Bodie, B-O-D-I-E at 918digital.com.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And in our final Tesla story, I told you we didn't have much Tesla news.

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Tesla has started taking down documents that are vital to Tesla's history.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So some of the documents that were taken down are the original secret Tesla

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Motors master plan just between you and me that Elon wrote so many years

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: ago about talking about, you know, we're going to start with the roadster and

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: then we're going to go with the very expensive sedan, you know, not as

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: expensive as the roadster.

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And then we're going to go with, you know, eventually that will help us

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: build out and get the more affordable cars, $35,000 car, which happened

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: briefly.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And then there was master plan part due, which talked about the people

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And the Model Y and the Model 3 and Robo taxis.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: All of that is gone from Tesla's website.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Like it was all removed last night.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Basically anything that was published before 2019 is gone.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, last week I was going to mention an article that talked about the

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: articles from 2016.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And in that article, it talked about how going forward, all Teslas would

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: be capable of full self-driving.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And that article was removed.

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And I thought, well, maybe this is just a one off or maybe it's just a

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: mistake.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: But now we're seeing anything published before 2019 is gone.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: So I don't know what's going on with Tesla in this regard.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll just have to see what Tesla has planned.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: There may be a perfectly legit reason to remove all this stuff.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I just don't know what that is.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, before we get to our EV news, I do want to say that this

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: podcast is supported by patrons.

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you want to support the show, you can go to patreon.com forward

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: slash kilowatt or support kilowatt.com.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Or you can look in the show notes and there's a link to a cast plus

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: if you don't like Patreon for some reason, some people don't.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And you can support the show for as little as a dollar a month and for

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: just a one dollar a month.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You can give more if you'd like, but for one dollar a month, you get an

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_00]: ad free experience.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: So if the ads are bugging you for a dollar a month, you can get them

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: removed.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And I always say this, but it really bears mentioning because I

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: legitimately mean it.

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I have a full time job.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: My wife has a full time job.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't use the money that comes from the patron to pay for our

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: bills.

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: The money that comes from Patreon goes right back in a cast plus, goes

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_00]: right back into the show to make the show better.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And that could be audio equipment that could be, you know, paying

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00]: for Riverside, which is not cheap or any of the other services that

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I have to pay for.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: So all of the money that you give through Patreon or a cast plus

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: is what I'm saying.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Goes right back into the show.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: None of the money goes into my own pocket.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I really want to keep that separate and make that very clear.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's move on to our EV news.

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_00]: NIO is opening 100 Envo stores in China next week.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Now Envo, and I'm probably saying that wrong from being honest, but

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Envo is the $30,000 EV that we talked about that will compete

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: with the Model Y and other vehicles in that class.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the interesting things that I found out when I was reading

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: this article and I did confirm it, the Model Y in China starts at

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: $35,000 while the Model 3 starts at $33,000.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So much more affordable there in China or at least affordable by our

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_00]: terms.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Next up, Polestar has a new CEO, Michael Lohscheller.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Lohscheller.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm almost certainly saying his name wrong.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: He is the new CEO.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_00]: He is the former CEO of Opel, Vinfast and Nikola.

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And kind of interesting little side note here is Bart Bushot's

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_00]: new CEO is going to be on next Tuesday to talk about his test drive

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: for the Volkswagen ID7.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_00]: If you remember, Bart was looking for a new EV.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00]: He made this incredibly cool spreadsheet of all the things that

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_00]: he liked about different EVs and didn't like.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And Bart was nice enough to come on the show and share his

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_00]: experiences and his car buying experience.

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And then he decided that the Polestar 2 was the right car for

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: him.

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And then the Polestar, the 2024 Polestar 2 was delayed in Ireland.

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So now Bart is looking again for another EV and he test drove

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_00]: the Volkswagen ID7.

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think we had a pretty fun conversation about the ID7.

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So that episode will come out on Tuesday.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a lot of fun.

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I love hanging out with Bart.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_00]: He is a lot of fun to chat with.

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I think you're going to enjoy it.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_00]: That's all I'll say.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I genuinely enjoy chatting with Bart.

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Moving on, Jamie, who also lives in Ireland as a weird

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_00]: coincidence here, sent me this article.

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Used EVs are getting more affordable in the UK.

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_00]: So for instance, a three-year-old Model 3 costs around 14,000

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: pounds.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And not that long ago, that car would have cost much more.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So this is a relatively new phenomenon of falling EV prices

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_00]: or used EV prices, which is great because up until very

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_00]: recently, EVs or even used EVs were out of reach for many

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: families in the UK.

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And Auto Trader actually said that EVs have reached a near

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: price parity with ICE vehicles.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_00]: So EVs are still a little bit more expensive, but they're

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_00]: within a few thousand pounds of each other.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not like it's out of the range if you were between an

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_00]: EV and an ICE vehicle and you really wanted the EV.

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_00]: In a lot of cases, you could spring the extra money for

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_00]: that EV.

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Not in every case, and I understand that.

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Two of the vehicles that the article really pointed out as

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_00]: being particularly good value were the Kia eNiro EV.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I guess it's just called the Kia Niro EV over here and the

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_00]: MG5.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Both of those were mentioned as good value vehicles.

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, let's move on to Rivian.

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: There was a fire at the Rivian plant in Normal, Illinois.

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Initially when I saw this reported, some of the articles

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_00]: that I saw reported the factory actually being on fire or

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_00]: the fire occurring inside the factory.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That just was not the case.

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_00]: The more that I do this show and when things like

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_00]: accidents or fires occur, I'll typically see it like I

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_00]: could have put it in one of our previous shows, but I

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_00]: wanted to hold off and kind of find out what really

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_00]: happened.

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_00]: It turns out the fire was outside the factory.

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So the factory was not damaged in any way, but a

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_00]: bunch of Rivian vehicles were damaged and you are asking

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_00]: how many?

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_00]: The answer is we don't know.

[00:11:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Rivian hasn't released that information or at least

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I haven't seen it as of yet.

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Inside EVs is reporting that over 50 R1Ss and R1Ts

[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_00]: were burned.

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And there is in one of the articles, there is a

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_00]: link to a video and you can look at the articles in

[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_00]: the show notes and see that video.

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a pretty impressive fire for sure.

[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_00]: As we get more information, I will report it back,

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_00]: but that's where we're at as of right now.

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Sticking with Rivian news, Rivian has launched a

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_00]: referral program.

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So if someone uses your referral code to buy a

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_00]: car, then you will get 750 points.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Each point is equal to one dollar.

[00:12:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So you can go to the gear shop and buy, you

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_00]: can go to the Rivian branded tent or whatever or

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_00]: the kitchen that they're trying to sell.

[00:12:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Or you can go to the R1 shop and the R1 shop is

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_00]: the actual buy a vehicle part of the website.

[00:12:47] [SPEAKER_00]: So you could actually put that $750 or however

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_00]: much you've accrued in your referrals toward a

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_00]: new vehicle.

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's pretty great.

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_00]: If you don't want 750 points, you can take six

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_00]: months of charging, free charging on the Rivian

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Adventure Network.

[00:13:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you don't have a Rivian Adventure Network

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_00]: charging station near you, this is probably not

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_00]: the best way to use your referral rewards.

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_00]: But you know, you make your own choices as an

[00:13:19] [SPEAKER_00]: added bonus.

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_00]: The person who buys the car.

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER_00]: So you give your referral code to Sally and

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Sally buys the car.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Sally is going to get those same reward

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_00]: options.

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So this is good.

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_00]: It's Rivian or yeah, it's Rivian's first entry

[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_00]: into a referral program.

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's pretty simple.

[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_00]: It's not confusing.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So is it a good deal or not?

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Points expire after two years and in this

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_00]: particular version of the referral program, it's

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_00]: only valid until the end of the year and then

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER_00]: they reserve the right to come up with a new

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_00]: referral program.

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And maybe it's better, maybe it's worse.

[00:14:01] [SPEAKER_00]: It kind of depends.

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_00]: There's also another added special bonus for

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_00]: you, the Rivian owner.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00]: If you refer 25 qualifying referrals, so 25

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_00]: people buy a car with your referral code and

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_00]: you're in the first hundred people to do

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_00]: that, they are going to give you a very

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_00]: special Rivian Adventure Weekend.

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean?

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't know.

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_00]: There's no details.

[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_00]: But I did a little math.

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you referred 25 people and they all

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_00]: bought vehicles, that would generate and they

[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_00]: all bought the lowest price vehicles they

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00]: could buy.

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_00]: That would generate one million seven hundred

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_00]: and fifty thousand dollars for Rivian.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Of that, you would get eighteen thousand

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_00]: seven hundred and fifty dollars in reward

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_00]: points and a nice weekend away.

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_00]: It is certainly better than nothing, but it

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_00]: seems like if you generated, you know,

[00:14:57] [SPEAKER_00]: almost two million dollars in revenue for

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_00]: a company, you would see more than eighteen

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_00]: thousand dollars in points.

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Like there needs to be something else.

[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And it can't just be the Rivian Adventure

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Weekend.

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't care how cool that weekend is.

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't make up for the fact that I

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: just gave you almost two million

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_00]: dollars in business.

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: But again, it's better than nothing.

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not going to nitpick it.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Sorry.

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go move on to our next story.

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. has awarded five hundred and

[00:15:34] [SPEAKER_00]: twenty five million dollars in grants that

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_00]: will result in nine thousand two hundred

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: EV charging points.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, there was some story and I don't remember

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_00]: exactly what it said a couple of months

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_00]: back that said there's only been a handful

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_00]: of chargers in the United States that have

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: come from the IRA funds like the five

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_00]: billion dollars that was supposed to be

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_00]: set aside for charging infrastructure.

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, now it looks like the grants have

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_00]: gone out and we should see nine thousand

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: two hundred EV charging points being

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_00]: deployed in the community.

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_00]: So this money was deployed in two

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: different ways.

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Three hundred twenty one million dollars

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_00]: was made for community projects.

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_00]: So there was one for Maricopa County

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_00]: that I'll talk about.

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And then two hundred million dollars was

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: the fund corridor fast charging projects.

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Excuse me.

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And from what I understand, those

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_00]: corridor charging projects, those are

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_00]: along like freeways and stuff or at

[00:16:36] [SPEAKER_00]: least they're supposed to be.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, traveling from one state

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_00]: to another, that kind of thing.

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_00]: There's only ten corridor fast charging

[00:16:44] [SPEAKER_00]: projects that were approved for two

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_00]: hundred million dollars.

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_00]: That means, you know, it's roughly if

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_00]: you average it out, this isn't the case

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: for every one.

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you average it out, that's

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_00]: twenty million dollars a piece, which

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_00]: seems kind of high.

[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk about the one in AZ in

[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Arizona and use that as an example.

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So I actually put a link to the

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_00]: government's website that lays out all

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_00]: of these projects so that you can see

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_00]: what's going on in your area.

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So in Maricopa County, they got fifteen

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_00]: million dollars and the Maricopa County

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Air Quality Department will receive the

[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_00]: fifteen million dollars to install

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_00]: publicly accessible EV charging

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_00]: stations at facilities that participate

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_00]: in the Maricopa County Travel

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Reduction Program, which I think my

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_00]: city does.

[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_00]: This includes schools, businesses with

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_00]: at least fifty employees.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The project will increase the number of

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_00]: publicly available EV charging stations

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_00]: available to Maricopa County residents

[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_00]: and visitors, particularly in areas

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_00]: that have been designed as part of the

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Federal Justice Initiative project and

[00:17:53] [SPEAKER_00]: blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_00]: There's going to be outreach and

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_00]: community meetings.

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Like I said, there's a complete list

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_00]: in the show notes if you want to see

[00:18:00] [SPEAKER_00]: what your state or community is up to.

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Research done by the American Council

[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_00]: for Energy Efficient Economy and their

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_00]: report had a few interesting items.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm just going to read some of

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_00]: the bullet points here.

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to go into the whole

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_00]: report, but making EVs more efficient

[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_00]: could reduce the upfront cost by

[00:18:23] [SPEAKER_00]: five thousand dollars.

[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And that means more efficient means

[00:18:27] [SPEAKER_00]: smaller battery packs, but the same

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_00]: range.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_00]: So that could save you when you buy

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_00]: your next EV five thousand dollars,

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_00]: which is a significant amount of money.

[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_00]: A 40 percent more efficient EV will

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_00]: significantly reduce carbon emissions

[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and pollutants that will directly

[00:18:45] [SPEAKER_00]: affect the health of humans.

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And I would add without any knowledge of

[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_00]: this subject, they would probably also

[00:18:53] [SPEAKER_00]: positively affect the health of

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_00]: animals and plants.

[00:18:57] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we eat some of those

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_00]: animals and plants.

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_00]: We bring some of those animals and

[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_00]: plants into our homes and then we just

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_00]: take pictures of some of those animals

[00:19:06] [SPEAKER_00]: and plants.

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_00]: No matter what political side of the

[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_00]: spectrum you're on, we all want

[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_00]: healthy family members and we all

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_00]: want to be healthy.

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_00]: We all want our animals to be healthy,

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_00]: the food that we eat to be healthy.

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_00]: We all want to go out into nature and

[00:19:20] [SPEAKER_00]: take pictures and hike.

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_00]: So all of this is a positive.

[00:19:24] [SPEAKER_00]: 40 percent more efficient EVs will

[00:19:28] [SPEAKER_00]: significantly reduce those carbon

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_00]: emissions and pollutants.

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_00]: This is great.

[00:19:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Did you found this to be hilarious

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_00]: because I've had on the Daily Tech

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_00]: News show, I defended the GMC Hummer

[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_00]: EV not because it was the most

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_00]: efficient EV out there, but because

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_00]: of some other things.

[00:19:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But the GMC Hummer EV is the most

[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_00]: inefficient EV out there.

[00:19:51] [SPEAKER_00]: 1.4 miles per kilowatt hour,

[00:19:54] [SPEAKER_00]: which is honestly not great.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Ultra luxury SUVs and these newer

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_00]: pickup EVs, they're not quite as

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_00]: efficient either.

[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_00]: They're right around two and a half

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER_00]: kilowatt or two and a half miles

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_00]: per kilowatt hour.

[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And any EV that can achieve three

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and a half miles per kilowatt hour

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_00]: could actually result in a savings

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_00]: of about $680 a year.

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So some financial savings there as

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_00]: well.

[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And then, you know, finally, and we

[00:20:24] [SPEAKER_00]: all kind of know this when we're

[00:20:25] [SPEAKER_00]: talking about EVs and how they're

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_00]: powered, electrical grids are getting

[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_00]: cleaner by and large.

[00:20:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Fossil fuels, you know, they're not.

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_00]: There could be more efficient ways to

[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_00]: get the fossil fuels out of the

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_00]: ground.

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_00]: There could be more efficient ways

[00:20:44] [SPEAKER_00]: for ICE cars to burn that fuel,

[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_00]: but by and large, you know, it's

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_00]: still a pretty good polluter.

[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Necessary in a lot of cases,

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_00]: you know, I happen to drive a fire

[00:20:58] [SPEAKER_00]: truck that is absolutely disgusting

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_00]: when it comes to belching out black

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_00]: smoke, or at least one of the

[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_00]: things I drive is that way, not all

[00:21:08] [SPEAKER_00]: of them.

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_00]: But the point is, is that anything

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER_00]: that we could do to clean up the

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_00]: air, and I'm not even talking about

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_00]: climate change or global warming or

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_00]: anything like that, I'm talking

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_00]: about cleaning up the air so that we

[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_00]: are breathing clean air so that we

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_00]: are staying healthy, our kids are

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_00]: healthy, our animals and plants are

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_00]: healthy, is a good thing.

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So let's bring on the efficiency.

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_00]: All right, everybody, that is it

[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_00]: for me today.

[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you enjoyed this episode.

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Please go listen to the SMR podcast.

[00:21:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll put a link to their show in the

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_00]: show notes, and then I'll also put a

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_00]: link to the previous episodes with

[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Bart in the show notes as well.

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to go back and

[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_00]: re-listen or listen for a first time

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_00]: to the Barts EV adventures,

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I would encourage you to do that.

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, I hope you all enjoyed

[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_00]: this episode.

[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I will talk to you on Tuesday.

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, by the way, have a good weekend.