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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

CATL shows off its 375-mile Shenxing Plus battery at the Beijing Auto Show. Photo by Zhou Chengfeng/VCG/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: Should Iron-Based Batteries Be a National Security Priority?

By Steve LeVine · May 6, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments
Last week, the Biden administration released its final rules attempting to cut China out of the U.S. battery supply chain and encourage American companies to build battery and electric vehicle manufacturing capacity in the U.S. It left one conspicuous opening for Chinese companies: For two years, they could continue to supply graphite to U.S.... Last week, the Biden administration released its final rules attempting to cut China out of the...
Tesla watchers expect the company to release a gussied-up Model 3 as a "low-cost" EV over the next year. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: Musk Has Promised New Low-Cost EVs, but Tesla Has None

By · May 2, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments
On April 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company would deliver “new vehicles, including more-affordable models” as soon as the end of the year. But people familiar with the matter said that Tesla has only one future model sufficiently developed to meet that time frame—the $25,000 compact SUV dubbed the Model 2 that Musk shelved... On April 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company would deliver “new vehicles,...
Photo by Getty
The Electric

The Electric: A New Database of 90 Tesla Veterans Running Other Companies

By · Apr 29, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment
When Tesla’s head of powertrain, Drew Baglino, resigned this month, along with Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy, and Martin Viecha, vice president of investor relations, they joined hundreds of senior and midlevel executives who have left the company over the years. As we show in the searchable Tesla Diaspora Database we are... When Tesla’s head of powertrain, Drew Baglino, resigned this month, along with Rohan Patel, vice...
SES joined the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Photo: Sipa/AP
The Electric: In a Deal With Hyundai, SES Widens Lithium-Metal Lead
By Steve LeVine · Apr 25, 2024 4:30am PDT
SES joined the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Photo: Sipa/AP
The Electric

The Electric: In a Deal With Hyundai, SES Widens Lithium-Metal Lead

By Steve LeVine · Apr 25, 2024 4:30am PDT
Next-generation battery developer SES AI pushed further ahead in the race to commercialize lithium-metal anodes, moving to the B Sample qualification stage with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor. The automaker has not committed to deploying the anodes in its electric vehicles, but the deal sets SES on the path of putting its anodes in Hyundai test... Next-generation battery developer SES AI pushed further ahead in the race to commercialize...
Graphite processing in Hegang City, China. Photo: Xie Jianfei/Xinhua/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: A Driving Range Booster, Silicon May Also Ease China’s Iron Grip

By Steve LeVine · Apr 22, 2024 4:30am PDT
Chinese companies dominate the processing of virtually every metal in an electric vehicle battery and make more batteries and EVs than anyone. But in no area of the battery and EV industries are they more dominant than in the production and processing of graphite, a material used in every commercial EV battery anode on the planet. China produces... Chinese companies dominate the processing of virtually every metal in an electric vehicle battery...
The Electric Newsletter
An exclusive publication covering the nascent battery and electric vehicle revolutions.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Photo: Shutterstock
The Electric

The Electric: Wall Street Analysts Press Musk to Get Back on Script

By · Apr 18, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is vowing accelerated development of the fully driverless Robotaxi, brushing aside calls from analysts and investors to walk back his abrupt postponement of a long-awaited $25,000 electric vehicle. “Going balls to the wall for autonomy is a blindingly obvious move,” Musk said in a tweet Tuesday. “Everything else is like... Tesla CEO Elon Musk is vowing accelerated development of the fully driverless Robotaxi, brushing...
Former President Donald Trump and Jigar Shah, director of the Loan Programs Office in the U.S. Energy Department. Photo: Shutterstock; Energy Department.
The Electric

The Electric: Under Trump, a Possible Welcome Mat to China

By · Apr 15, 2024 4:30am PDT
Virtually no one expects Donald Trump—should he win election in November—to be able to fulfill his threat to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs supporting the U.S. electric vehicle and battery industries. But Trump’s history and recent statements suggest he might flip the script on the EV transition, slowing the Biden... Virtually no one expects Donald Trump—should he win election in November—to be able to fulfill...
Wright Electric CEO Jeff Engler, whose company is a contestant in Arpa-E's competition to invent a 1,000 watt-hour per kilogram battery. Photo: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg/Getty
The Electric: 13 Teams Compete to Invent the Most Powerful Superbattery
By Steve LeVine · Apr 11, 2024 4:30am PDT
Wright Electric CEO Jeff Engler, whose company is a contestant in Arpa-E's competition to invent a 1,000 watt-hour per kilogram battery. Photo: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: 13 Teams Compete to Invent the Most Powerful Superbattery

By Steve LeVine · Apr 11, 2024 4:30am PDT
Amid grave investor doubts about the viability of next-generation batteries, a half-dozen U.S. companies and seven universities are competing in a government-sponsored contest to quadruple the energy density of the world’s best commercial electric vehicle batteries. Amid grave investor doubts about the viability of next-generation batteries, a half-dozen U.S....
Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai America. Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: Hyundai’s U.S. CEO Criticizes Rivals for EV Pullback

By Steve LeVine · Apr 8, 2024 4:30am PDT
For three years, General Motors, Ford and other automakers were all elbows, seeking to outdo one another in their commitment to electric vehicles, backed by tens of billions of dollars each in promised spending. But over the last five or so months, most did a U-turn: They had gotten EVs wrong, many said—customers were not lining up for them in... For three years, General Motors, Ford and other automakers were all elbows, seeking to outdo one...
Photo: Bloomberg/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: Five Things Tesla Needs to Do—Now

By · Apr 4, 2024 4:30am PDT
In November, Tesla released its long-promised, Matrix-styled Cybertruck pickup, and two months later a refurbished Model 3 sedan that Motor Trend called “something to get excited about.” Next year, the company aims to release a new version of its high-end Roadster that CEO Elon Musk calls a cross between a car and a rocket ship. And in case... In November, Tesla released its long-promised, Matrix-styled Cybertruck pickup, and two months...
The Electric Newsletter
An exclusive publication covering the nascent battery and electric vehicle revolutions.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Photo: Getty
The Electric

The Electric: ‘Good Enough’ Batteries Threaten Lithium-Metal Startups

By · Apr 1, 2024 4:35am PDT
In 2020, a mania erupted around next-generation electric vehicle batteries, especially lithium-metal batteries that promised 500 miles of driving range, twice as far as most EVs could go on a charge at the time. Investors mobbed QuantumScape, a California lithium-metal battery developer, whose share price rose almost sixfold in the month... In 2020, a mania erupted around next-generation electric vehicle batteries, especially...
The electric Lightning LS-218, with Enevate's dominant metallurgical silicon anode. Photo: Courtesy Lightning Motorcycle
The Electric: The First Commercial Silicon-Dominant Battery Powers This Motorcycle
By Steve LeVine · Mar 28, 2024 4:30am PDT
The electric Lightning LS-218, with Enevate's dominant metallurgical silicon anode. Photo: Courtesy Lightning Motorcycle
The Electric

The Electric: The First Commercial Silicon-Dominant Battery Powers This Motorcycle

By Steve LeVine · Mar 28, 2024 4:30am PDT
California-based Lightning Motorcycle has released a new electric bike that it says accelerates from zero to 60 mph in two seconds, delivers 335 miles of range, and adds about 200 miles of charge in 12 minutes. The secret behind Lightning’s LS-218 is the first commercial electric vehicle battery anode dominated by silicon, a material that... California-based Lightning Motorcycle has released a new electric bike that it says accelerates...
In March 2023, Musk and his 16 top executives on Tesla Investor Day. Photo: Via YouTube
The Electric

The Electric: Thinking the Unthinkable—Tesla Without Elon Musk

By Steve LeVine · Mar 25, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment
For months after Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, investors voiced increasing concerns about his capacity to juggle the leadership of both the social media platform and Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer where he is CEO. So in March 2023, Musk organized a live demonstration of why he could effectively run both companies: At Tesla’s... For months after Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, investors voiced increasing concerns...
Photo: Shutterstock
The Electric

The Electric: A Sign of EV Regulatory Easing to Come

By · Mar 21, 2024 4:30am PDT
In a first sign of a softening of electric vehicle mandates, the Biden administration and the state of California this week both eased the way for carmakers to meet stringent emissions and EV rules, extending timelines and allowing companies to sell plug-in hybrids to comply with regulations. The moves align with a general slowing of the... In a first sign of a softening of electric vehicle mandates, the Biden administration and the...
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty
The Electric

The Electric: In Slashing EV Production, Carmakers Jumped the Gun

By · Mar 18, 2024 4:30am PDT
In 2021, Western auto and battery companies seemed headed toward a massive convergence: As I reported at the time, major automakers said that by 2025 or 2026 they would each be selling dozens of models of electric vehicles each, many of them powered by next-generation batteries that would cut the price of the vehicles, charge fast and take the... In 2021, Western auto and battery companies seemed headed toward a massive convergence: As I...
The Electric Newsletter
An exclusive publication covering the nascent battery and electric vehicle revolutions.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Harbinger's first commercial electric chassis for RV maker Thor Industries. Photo via Harbinger/PR NewsWire.
The Electric: Investors Remain Interested in Commercial EVs
By Steve LeVine · Mar 14, 2024 4:30am PDT
Harbinger's first commercial electric chassis for RV maker Thor Industries. Photo via Harbinger/PR NewsWire.
The Electric

The Electric: Investors Remain Interested in Commercial EVs

By Steve LeVine · Mar 14, 2024 4:30am PDT
Amid increasing Wall Street skepticism toward the makers of passenger electric vehicles, investors are still funding companies making commercial EVs. Among them, California-based Harbinger Motors last week delivered the first of its stripped-down electric chassis to recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries, which will design and install... Amid increasing Wall Street skepticism toward the makers of passenger electric vehicles,...
The Electric: Why Tesla Veterans Dominate the EV and Battery Industries
The Electric

The Electric: Why Tesla Veterans Dominate the EV and Battery Industries

By Steve LeVine · Mar 11, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment
In 2013, Landon Mossburg, then 29, was hired by Tesla to work on its supply chain team. Tesla threw him into negotiations with the senior executives of cellphone, internet and tech companies to secure internet connectivity deals that would feed Tesla’s over-the-air software updates. Mossburg had a bachelor’s degree in business and had worked as... In 2013, Landon Mossburg, then 29, was hired by Tesla to work on its supply chain team. Tesla...
Battery making in Germany. Photo: Getty
The Electric

Exclusive From The Electric: A Battery Startup Proposes Souped-Up CT Scans to Prevent Fires

By · Mar 7, 2024 4:30am PST
Two Tesla veterans have formed a startup to apply X-ray technology to one of the biggest problems for the makers of electric vehicle batteries: finding defects in the batteries as they’re made—and before they cause bigger problems. Two Tesla veterans have formed a startup to apply X-ray technology to one of the biggest problems...
Cuberg founder and ex-CEO Richard Wang. Photo: Getty
The Electric

The Electric: Why Next-Gen Battery CEOs Are Dropping Like Flies

By · Mar 4, 2024 4:30am PST
On Feb. 16, Paolo Cerruti, co-founder of Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt, visited the company’s California-based subsidiary, lithium-metal battery developer Cuberg. In recent years, Northvolt had racked up $55 billion in orders for conventional electric vehicle batteries and broken ground on three gigafactories. But Cerruti was displeased... On Feb. 16, Paolo Cerruti, co-founder of Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt, visited the...
A CATL battery pack in a chassis at the Munich Motor Show. Photo: Getty
The Electric: China Digs In With Iron-Based Batteries, Wrong-Footing Western Automakers
By Steve LeVine · Feb 29, 2024 4:30am PST
A CATL battery pack in a chassis at the Munich Motor Show. Photo: Getty
The Electric

The Electric: China Digs In With Iron-Based Batteries, Wrong-Footing Western Automakers

By Steve LeVine · Feb 29, 2024 4:30am PST
A new, ultracheap battery, a $233,000 electric supercar and a big five-year deal for iron-based batteries all deliver a single, pointed message—a fresh threat to Western auto and battery manufacturers already struggling to compete with their Chinese rivals. A new, ultracheap battery, a $233,000 electric supercar and a big five-year deal for iron-based...