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The Electric

By Steve LeVine

The Electric is a publication from Steve LeVine and The Information focused on crucial industries for the energy transition, including next-generation batteries, electric vehicles and autonomous driving. The newsletter is only for subscribers of The Information.

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Recent Editions

Windrose founder Wen Han. Photo by Windrose via PR Newswire

China’s Windrose Needed U.S. ID Numbers. So It Borrowed a Georgia Address

By Steve LeVine · Jul 20, 2026 7:30am PDT

The last thing a consumer pondering the purchase of a new electric truck might think about is the origin of the 17-digit vehicle identification number that vehicle authorities everywhere use to keep track of cars and trucks. For Chinese long-haul truck startup Windrose Technology, though, the VIN numbers put on a handful of its trucks shipped to... The last thing a consumer pondering the purchase of a new electric truck might think about is the...

Windrose Technology's long-haul electric truck, parked outside Laredo, Texas. Photo: Harold Keller

Exclusive: The Time Trevor Milton Made a Low-Ball Offer to Windrose Technology

By Steve LeVine · Jul 13, 2026 9:00am PDT

Windrose Technology's long-haul electric truck, parked near Laredo, Texas. Photo: Harold KellerIn 2023, when Jason Roycht, then a senior executive with Nikola, first spoke with Wen Han, the founder of a new Chinese electric long-haul truck startup called Windrose Technology, his eyes widened. At the time, Nikola was struggling to commercialize... Windrose Technology's long-haul electric truck, parked near Laredo, Texas. Photo: Harold KellerIn...

Windrose employees working on an electric truck assembly line. Photo via Getty Image

Electric Truck Startup Windrose Has Stiffed a Slew of People

By Steve LeVine · Jul 12, 2026 11:00am PDT · 4 comments

Since its launch in 2022, Belgium-based electric long-haul truck startup Windrose Technology has raised some $400 million from Chinese banks and other investors, according to CEO Wen Han, who also says he plans to take the company public in the U.S. and Europe this year at a $2 billion valuation. Windrose has also sponsored a professional... Since its launch in 2022, Belgium-based electric long-haul truck startup Windrose Technology has...

XPeng's robot Iron. Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty

Carmakers Seek a New Revenue Stream in Hot Technologies

By Steve LeVine · Jul 6, 2026 9:00am PDT

XPeng's robot Iron. Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty

Carmakers Seek a New Revenue Stream in Hot Technologies

By Steve LeVine · Jul 6, 2026 9:00am PDT

Consumers are putting a strain on automakers almost everywhere by buying fewer new cars, instead fixing up and holding on to the wheels they have or buying used vehicles. Now, to make up for the shortfall in demand, carmakers are falling back on a traditional strength that has turned out to be in rare global supply—the ability to manufacture... Consumers are putting a strain on automakers almost everywhere by buying fewer new cars, instead...

Volkswagen's new electric ID.Unyx.08, designed with China's XPeng for the Chinese market. Photo: Johannes Neudecker/picture alliance/Getty

In China, Volkswagen Decides It Already Knows How to Make EVs As Fast as the Locals

By Steve LeVine · Jul 2, 2026 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

In Beijing recently, Lan Shanbin, a China-based senior manager of strategy and planning for Volkswagen, was showing off the company’s plush new electric vehicle, which went on sale in mid-April. Dubbed the ID.Unyx 08, it was the first product of a joint venture between VW and a local Chinese startup it had cozied up to—premium EV maker XPeng. In Beijing recently, Lan Shanbin, a China-based senior manager of strategy and planning for...

BYD's premium Denza Z9 GT, which charges to 98% of capacity in 9 minutes. Photo: Anadolu/Getty

How China Got EVs That Charge in 5 Minutes, and Why the U.S. Likely Won’t

By Steve LeVine · Jun 29, 2026 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

As carmakers around the world have attempted to persuade motorists to give up their gas guzzlers and buy electric vehicles, one of the primary hesitations among consumers has been range anxiety. That is, drivers worry they will run out of juice on the road late at night. EV makers have mostly addressed that concern with widely available 300-mile... As carmakers around the world have attempted to persuade motorists to give up their gas guzzlers...

Lithium refining equipment at Lithium Americas' Thacker Pass mine. Photo: Courtesy Lithium Americas.

A Coming Lithium Mine Breaks the Logjam in U.S. Metals Production

By Steve LeVine · Jun 22, 2026 9:01am PDT

As the U.S. seeks to reverse the country’s long aversion to mining and reduce its reliance on Chinese materials, Jon Evans is in the rare position of sitting on a large deposit of metals used in high tech, defense and industrial products. As the U.S. seeks to reverse the country’s long aversion to mining and reduce its reliance on...

A BYD car carrier offloads vehicles in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty

Chinese EV Makers Are Profiting From the Iran War

By Steve LeVine · Jun 15, 2026 9:01am PDT

A BYD car carrier offloads vehicles in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty

Chinese EV Makers Are Profiting From the Iran War

By Steve LeVine · Jun 15, 2026 9:01am PDT

Australians have a reputation for favoring big, tough-guy combustion pickups and SUVs. Not recently, though. In May, for the first time, Australia’s top-selling car was an electric vehicle—the Tesla Model Y, whose sales grew 57% year on year, soaring past ordinarily favored combustion vehicles. Australians have a reputation for favoring big, tough-guy combustion pickups and SUVs. Not...

Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/Getty

GM Doubles Down on Next-Gen Batteries in a Move on AI Data Centers

By Steve LeVine · Jun 9, 2026 2:00pm PDT

For a year, General Motors has been talking up plans to commercialize a next-generation manganese-based battery that would help it bypass China’s dominance of the electric vehicle and battery industries. For a year, General Motors has been talking up plans to commercialize a next-generation...

Beta Technologies' eVTOL. Photo: Courtesy Beta.

A Bit of Moxie Helps to Push Beta Technologies to the Lead in Flying Cars

By Steve LeVine · Jun 8, 2026 9:00am PDT

Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy boarded an early-stage helicopter-like aircraft ordinarily accessible only to test pilots. He went on to fly as a passenger for 22 minutes in the noncertified electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy boarded an early-stage helicopter-like aircraft...

The new electric Chevy Bolt, released after its prior cancellation. Photo: Josh Lefkowitz/Getty

Exclusive: With Some 100 Rehired Cruise Employees, GM Pursues Eyes-Off Autonomous Cars

By Steve LeVine · Jun 4, 2026 9:00am PDT

Eighteen months after killing off Cruise, its independent robotaxi subsidiary, General Motors has hired back more than 100 members of the unit’s former team, including senior managers who have moved back into their old roles. Eighteen months after killing off Cruise, its independent robotaxi subsidiary, General Motors has...

An attack drone made by Neros Technology, a leading company in the Pentagon's Drone Dominance competition. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty

Drone and Battery Stocks Have Surged on Trump's Escalating Drone Push

By Steve LeVine · Jun 1, 2026 9:01am PDT

An attack drone made by Neros Technology, a leading company in the Pentagon's Drone Dominance competition. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty

Drone and Battery Stocks Have Surged on Trump's Escalating Drone Push

By Steve LeVine · Jun 1, 2026 9:01am PDT

Investors are piling into the shares of drone and next-generation battery startups as the Trump administration seeks to jump-start a U.S. drone manufacturing industry that hasn’t kept up with its international rivals. Investors are piling into the shares of drone and next-generation battery startups as the Trump...

The Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia. Photo: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg/Getty

The AI Data Center Boom Ignites a Tear in Lithium Shares

By Steve LeVine · May 28, 2026 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Investors fled the stock of lithium mining companies in 2022 and 2023, when the metal’s price plunged about 90% and mines shut down globally. Now they have piled back into the category. The reason: a boom in lithium-ion batteries used to power AI data centers and the electricity grid, and the possibility that high gasoline prices will trigger a... Investors fled the stock of lithium mining companies in 2022 and 2023, when the metal’s price...

Attendees to CATL Tech Day in Beijing in April. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: The Pentagon Advocates Long-Shot Batteries to Leapfrog China

By Steve LeVine · May 25, 2026 9:01am PDT · 1 comment

The Pentagon, pushing back against China’s dominance of the batteries used in electric vehicles, AI data centers, weaponry and almost everything else, is bolstering U.S. efforts to leapfrog well ahead of Chinese battery technology. The Pentagon, pushing back against China’s dominance of the batteries used in electric vehicles,...

An AI data center under construction in Michigan for Oracle and OpenAI. Photo: Jim West/UCG/Universal/Getty

Exclusive From The Electric: AI Data Center Demand Could Finally Spur a Battery Boom

By Steve LeVine · May 21, 2026 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

Western battery makers, which have scaled back plans for new factories amid tepid consumer demand for electric vehicles, have found a smaller but much needed stream of income from their ability to quickly deploy backup power for AI data centers. Western battery makers, which have scaled back plans for new factories amid tepid consumer demand...

Musk at a banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty

The Electric: Enduring Chinese Hero Worship for Musk Bolsters Sales of the Tesla Model Y

By Steve LeVine · May 18, 2026 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

Musk at a banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty

The Electric: Enduring Chinese Hero Worship for Musk Bolsters Sales of the Tesla Model Y

By Steve LeVine · May 18, 2026 9:00am PDT · 2 comments

With their no-frills, spartan interiors, Tesla’s electric vehicles pale in comparison to plush Chinese-made models, which are typically replete with luxury and tech extras. And the technology that Tesla considers its singular distinguishing feature—its Full Self-Driving software—is heavily restricted in China. With their no-frills, spartan interiors, Tesla’s electric vehicles pale in comparison to plush...

The BYD Denza Z9GT, on display at the Beijing Auto Show, with a silicon carbon anode. Photo: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty

The Electric: China Steals a Manufacturing March on Another American-Made Technology

By Steve LeVine · May 14, 2026 9:00am PDT · 1 comment

For 15 years, Gene Berdichevsky, CEO of silicon carbon battery developer Sila Nanotechnologies, has been working to commercialize a battery that would charge much faster and power electric vehicles much further than conventional batteries. In September, Berdichevsky, a Tesla veteran, finally began test production at his first commercial plant,... For 15 years, Gene Berdichevsky, CEO of silicon carbon battery developer Sila Nanotechnologies,...

A CATL battery swapping station in Ningde, China. Photo: Steve LeVine

The Electric: China's Biggest Battery Maker Is Quickly Expanding Its Rental Business

By Steve LeVine · May 11, 2026 9:00am PDT

As they attempt to lower the cost of their electric vehicles, major Western automakers have mostly struggled with a single component: the battery, which can be up to 40% of an EV’s cost. As they attempt to lower the cost of their electric vehicles, major Western automakers have ...

At the Beijing Auto Show, the Xiaomi Gran Turismo concept EV. Photo: VCG/Getty

The Electric: In Beijing, a Sign That Chinese EV Makers Aren't Invulnerable

By Steve LeVine · May 7, 2026 9:06am PDT · 5 comments

One thing no one tells you about going to China is that it’s pretty easy to obtain a temporary local driver’s license. With some help from electric vehicle maker XPeng, I got mine at Beijing Capital International Airport on the way to the Beijing Auto Show, which ended this week. One thing no one tells you about going to China is that it’s pretty easy to obtain a temporary...

In Ford's Long Beach, Calif. Skunk Works. Photo: Courtesy Ford

The Electric: Inside Ford's Southern California Skunk Works

By Steve LeVine · May 5, 2026 6:30am PDT

In Ford's Long Beach, Calif. Skunk Works. Photo: Courtesy Ford

The Electric: Inside Ford's Southern California Skunk Works

By Steve LeVine · May 5, 2026 6:30am PDT

In recent months, Ford has dramatically retreated from its bet on electric vehicles and returned to a full-bore lineup of large gasoline pickups and SUVs. There’s one exception: a California skunkworks that aims to build a $30,000 EV that beats Tesla and Chinese juggernauts such as BYD and Xiaomi. In recent months, Ford has dramatically retreated from its bet on electric vehicles and returned...