Podcast: Tesla Fremont factory situation, Hyundai Ioniq 5, WD ID.4, and more
– Feb. 26th 2021 3:34 pm ET
This week on the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including the current situation at Tesla Fremont factory, Hyundai Ioniq 5, WD ID.4, and more.
The Electrek Podcast is me, Fred Lambert, editor-in-chief of Electrek, and Seth Weintraub, founder and publisher of Electrek and the 9to5 network, discussing all our top stories of the week while taking questions from our readers and highlighting the most insightful comments on the site.
The show is back live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel. As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast today:
- Tesla stops taking orders for cheapest Model Y in hard-to-follow updates
- Tesla Model Y Standard Range is still available ‘off menu,’ but Elon Musk doesn’t like the range
- Tesla shuts down Model 3 production line for 2 weeks amid chip shortage
- Elon Musk confirms ‘high demand’ for updated Tesla Model S/X, factory restarts after parts shortage
- Elon Musk says Tesla is shifting more electric cars to LFP batteries over nickel supply concerns
- Hyundai unveils Ioniq 5 electric car: Out-of-the-box EV loaded with attractive specs and features
- USPS announces postal fleet replacement contract, doesn’t even go all-electric
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
Transcription
Fred Lambert: We are alive for a new result of the electric podcasts. I’m Fred Lambert, your host, and as usual I’m joined by set. When job are you doing today? I’m good. All right. You’ve been okay. The VW ID for, for a while now, you were able to test it for a week a week. We weren’t supposed to be able to talk about it.
[00:00:19] We don’t have a post to reference for, for, for you guys to go read because the, the, the embargo was supposed to be later this weekend or early next week, Monday. On day and, but it was broken for some reason. And then the illustrator journal screwed up. They speed it
[00:00:36] Seth Weintraub: up. I think they put it in the print.
[00:00:37] So you can’t take it back? No, you can’t take that back.
[00:00:41]Fred Lambert: So, so we’re going to be able to talk about that. We’re going to do it later on in this show, even though, like I said, the post is going to be coming probably this weekend and a video and the video too. All right. And then you went on that bolt, you.
[00:00:54] Just a UV or did you get the new Evie too? Well, they were
[00:00:57] Seth Weintraub: both there, but we weren’t allowed to drive the bolt Evie, which is weird because you know, it’s been around for five years. But we got to drive the boat EEV and it was pretty insane.
[00:01:07] Fred Lambert: All right. That is Virgo though. So it’s not interesting.
[00:01:11] It’s just blank. You cannot say anything about it, right? On Phil Monday, right? Monday,
[00:01:16]Seth Weintraub: One o’clock I think.
Tesla stops taking cheapest Model Y orders
[00:01:17] Fred Lambert: All right. So we’re going to discuss that on the next episode next week, but you’re going to be able to read about it on Monday. Of course, if you follow electric we got to start with our testing and use as per usual, and we going to stop with something that happened last weekend, and then we add some more information this week that that came up and that’s the mobile wise standard range.
[00:01:39] So last week we discussed the price changes and everything, a good $2,000 a half. The standard range. I was like, all right, this is interesting stuff. And we’ll just a month into the vehicle being launched already at $2,000 price cut. Now the model Y is less than $40,000. Interesting stuff. Then it just disappeared this weekend, this weekend, they took it off.
[00:02:01] They took it off the configurator and people were like, Hey, well what’s happening? Is it cancel? Or they just stop to take orders. We don’t know. We didn’t know. But that was very surprising just a month into watching it. And then a few days into cutting the pricing effectively. And then this week Ilan commented on the, on the issue.
[00:02:20] He said that it’s still available, but. Of the menu. So we know what that means. We know that what happens with that generally means that it’s it’s, it’s going away. That’s what happened with them all three salmon range. And it’s, it’s a weird thing just to, to have an existing 3m of your vehicle. Just, we don’t tell you that it’s there, unless you like you’re in the know if you will.
[00:02:43] Seth Weintraub: Yeah. I’ve got some questions about that because you can’t just have a battery configuration. Like, are they going to still have the battery that battery size or are they going to like software limit? The long range battery.
[00:02:59] Fred Lambert: Well, the way I see it is that the standard Mo wide standard range was really a standard Amal as the same powertrain as a model three standard range, plus really call it a standard range because there was no standard range to be a plus though.
[00:03:14] The same thing is true now for them all three. So they could, you could also change that. But it, so if that’s the case, then. I assume it’s not that big of a deal to just use the military center drainage plus power train and build them all wire around it. Or like you said, if it’s really low, I mean, I felt like there was going to be a popular vehicle.
[00:03:32] So if it, if it’s to be popular, if it’d been a lot of people gonna order it, I don’t, I don’t think they cannot. I D I just don’t think the, the, the, they would stop for a lucky, with a bigger batch of bag, because then you’re you deliver more value for a smaller price?
[00:03:46] Seth Weintraub: Yeah, I agree. It’s weird. I don’t get it.
[00:03:49] Yeah. It’s that AI is that AI pricing.
[00:03:53] Fred Lambert: I think it’s Ian, because Ian said that you said in many driving condition as yet to meet a Tesla’s standard of excellence. So it goes back to originally why we were surprised in the first place last month when this law shit, because you had said that it was canceled.
[00:04:08] So, if we go back to the beginning of the history of the military standard range, it was announced all the way back at the launch of 2019 and the March doesn’t 19 of them. The more why. And it was part of the configurations that this was planning to make available at last, the 250 miles of range back then.
[00:04:26] And then later on like a year later, I think, you know, and said that yeah, we’re not going to launch it because it’s going to have less than 250 miles of range, which we, we w we find unacceptably low. And yet a few months after that, they ended up launching it with 244 miles of range, which is. I think it’s good for that price.
[00:04:46] Like, I think it makes sense though. He is fair when he says to be fair, he does mention in many drive conditions. So, right. Like in, in, in Canada, for example, or in places where you have a lot of snow, you have cold temperature. Yes. I mean, two 44 miles range will be a lot closer to one 50 miles range in very cold conditions.
[00:05:09] So with snow tires and everything. Yeah. Yeah. So at that point, yes. It, it’s not, maybe not opposite Tesla standards. Yeah. You got
[00:05:19] Seth Weintraub: to make it between superchargers.
[00:05:22] Fred Lambert: Yes, exactly. But but in, in plenty of other markets, do I think it would be, would have made a ton of sense. Like it’s still up with with the incentives too and everything like it’s, it is, it becomes a very attractive vehicle, but.
[00:05:34] And they decided not to do
[00:05:35] Seth Weintraub: that. Yeah. I mean, like right now. So if you order one of those in, let’s say a month, if they’re still around in a month via phone, is that going to have a battery, like a small battery pack? I guess it’s the battery pack, like you said, that goes into the model three and they have the model three standard range plus, but that battery pack isn’t like normally, like most model wise, they’re going to have a long range battery pack.
[00:06:02] So it would, it’s just a weird thing to have, like, like I’m sure the call volume isn’t high. So it’s just a weird thing to do.
Tesla switching to LFP batteries over nickel supply concerns
[00:06:12] Fred Lambert: Yeah. Well, this is, we’re speaking about that. I think it might be worth noting when Elan said yesterday about the LFP batteries. Yes. Making it to standard range vehicle at Tesla, because you just said standard range.
[00:06:24] He didn’t say cars, didn’t say mole three. So you said that Nicole is our biggest concern for scaling leads to my onsite production. That’s why we were shifting standard range car to plenty of irony. And leads him exclamation Mark. So we know already that the Mo three standard range plus produced in, in shin guy and the operation guy in China is using an
[00:06:50]And then if the chemistry
[00:06:52] Seth Weintraub: that’s from cattle, right.
[00:06:54] Fred Lambert: CATL yeah, I think so. So I run phosphate is known to be to have that as much energy density as Hi, Nicole cattle. Am I on with like NCA or NCM? Nicole manganese or just very high density? Nicole. So. There wasn’t as much used in, in passenger cars though in China, it was a bit more popular with, with cheaper vehicles.
[00:07:18] Cause it is cheaper to, and so a lot of people were saying the white Tesla was bringing that to the standard arrangement. All three it’s not necessarily because they were saying that the energy density has improved enough and it has improved, but it’s also obviously a cost situation here. The standard range plus is this is cheapest vehicle and People weren’t too worried about it because it’s just for China, the Chinese market, it sounds like, and people already a lot more used to it than China, but then they launched it in Europe.
[00:07:44] They brought that vehicle to Europe. Now this thing arranged model three is produced in Shanghai for the European market. And then in Europe, people are starting to know this, Oh, it’s not as good as the version with a nickel Kitto because the, the charging speed all a bit slower. And also in winter conditions, when it’s colder, not as efficient, doesn’t get as much range.
[00:08:07] So. People were a bit worried about that, but what was interesting? Yeah, his comment is that that’s where we are shifting standard range car to an iron ghetto. So he’s implying that the shift is, is ongoing, the are shifting right now. So that might be meaning that the mode three standard range plus produced in in Fremont for the U S market and North American market.
[00:08:29] And then everybody, everything else. Could also be shifting to LFP battery cells, which would be interesting. Yeah. And maybe they are waiting for that shift to happen in order to launch a model Y standard range. There you go. Because again, it’s not just about range, it’s also margin. This shoots also cost issue, and that might make more sense for them a little while at $40,000, if it has that battery.
[00:08:55] Seth Weintraub: Also, we should note that I think iron phosphate is a little bit safer. Like you know, you puncture the battery, it doesn’t have the runaway. Okay. It’s not as explosive.
[00:09:03] Fred Lambert: Yeah. Thermal runaway, thermal runaway. Yeah. So yeah, I thought it was interesting too. Yeah, that’s a good connection in to that, that poster, but now let’s let’s go back to what’s happening at Fremont this week.
Tesla shuts downs Model 3 line for 2 weeks
[00:09:15] So there was a report. Yesterday from Bloomberg stating that a bunch of employees on a mole, three production line were told not to show up to work until March 7th. Because there was they were shutting down the production line. It wasn’t clear why, but we speak later that it could be because of the Industry-wide microchip shortage that the automotive sector is experiencing right now because why we speak to did that.
[00:09:40] But first of all, if someone is an automaker is announcing not that this announced anything. Of course, people had to find out by looking good, but yeah. The if for the filmmakers announcing production out or, or deceleration of production, it is generally because of that microchip shortage right now.
[00:09:56] I mean, GM for Nissan Toyota in Subaru. Yeah. Christ are, they all announced at least deceration of some production line and in some cases, a complete alt of the production due to the shortage. So. With that in mind and with the fact that what happened in Texas last week, and we know that Samsung is in Texas and Austin with a big factory that, that lost power and that factor is, is part of the supply chain for Tesla for Tesla is a chip that goes into the hardware 3.0 computer.
[00:10:27]We just made one this morning through and it would make sense that it affected this as inventory and they would eventually have to outside their own production capacity. Now what we learn after that, Ilan commented later on yesterday that it was indeed, there was indeed the production shut down, but it wasn’t exactly that it was actually a broader shut down than we expected.
[00:10:50] It was just one production line. It was actually the whole factory that shut down for two days, started back up a day before yesterday. A lot of people assume all that means that the Bloomberg report was was nonsense. I w I wouldn’t go as far as saying that, like, W what Elan actually said is that it was even bigger than that.
[00:11:07] The whole factory was shut down. They said it’s already getting back up. So it’s not going to be shut down for, for two weeks. Like like Bloomberg stated, but Bloomberg was just talking about one specific production line that, that production, I might really take two weeks to bring back up. Like the factory is not just a switch.
[00:11:21] You just. Go on and off. So it could, it could very well be the case. He didn’t confirm it’s for a microchip shortage, but did say some some parts supply issue. So I think that’s very likely at this point, but in that email that we obtain You also mentioned a few other interesting things, especially regarding the model S and X to upgrade.
[00:11:41] So when, when does the launch the refresh that’s? The next thing was, it was really, it was saying that it was going to be deliveries in the next few weeks by the end of February. And we we haven’t really seen that. So, so far it looks like it might have been pushed a little bit. And in the email you wrote Maul S and X production liner almost done with the retooling.
[00:12:00] So. Implying that these two are going to be a few more days needed to start ramping up production and started deliveries. We will be aiming for max production next quarter. So that’s encouraging and then he added, there is high demand. So we are going to need to go back to two shifts even ask employees to recommend France for recruiting.
[00:12:20] So it’s been a while since the all S the next lines of I’ve been on two shifts. We, we noted of course, cells have been declining a lot in the last few years as the program became sort of stale and, and the, the store was focusing of course, on all three middle Y. So, so yeah, it looks like a, the, the refresh did it.
[00:12:38] Breed some, some life into the, the vehicle programs. And now they’re going to have to ramp up production to society.
[00:12:46] Seth Weintraub: Yeah. So the original email March 7th, what do you think that person who got that email is that guy or woman, is he, or she. Fired now, or like what, what
[00:12:58] Fred Lambert: I mean, it was, it was a whole production line, so I assume it was a lot of people would be like track it down.
[00:13:03]There was some people that were stating today that they were told to come back to work now. So, so maybe the, the ripping up faster, or maybe they’re going to be used to do the maintenance, the retooling, like they said that they’re going to do two on more, few more wise. So.
Hyundai unveils Ioniq 5 EV
[00:13:20] Yeah, I doubt anyone’s called fired, but you never know. I’m sure they’re looking. Yeah. All right. We’re already a very, do you want with two tests news use pretty quick. So let’s move on to ya. I think personally, what I think was the biggest news of the week here, the good news. It got me the most excited was the Hyundai ionic five official on dealing.
[00:13:41] We sort of equal and full on the 23rd. And it hit the Mark for me. It hit the Mark. Pretty, pretty good. I
[00:13:49] Seth Weintraub: was also pretty excited
[00:13:50] Fred Lambert: about it. Yeah. Design wise. I mean, look at that car. Yeah, it’s for everyone. It’s definitely a step forward and not again, like it is so, so like anything like you need to change like any more like drastic design.
[00:14:02]Do I, I would argue it’s not that drastic. It’s not like BMW high three, eight years ago drastic, but it, it is forward. But in my opinion, like a lot of automakers dropped the ball in term of design when it comes to the front hand. I don’t think that’s the case here. I mean, the headlights are very new, like this old square thing.
[00:14:23] It’s not usual, but it works very well into the design, the hood. And then, yeah, this thing here and the middle, there’s a little line here. It just works for me. It works. Yeah. Let’s go on no need for a fake grill or anything like that. Just, they don’t
[00:14:39] Seth Weintraub: even have the charge board in the front anymore.
[00:14:41] Yeah.
[00:14:43] Fred Lambert: I mean, that was the Nero. Oh
[00:14:46] Seth Weintraub: yeah. That was key and Monday. Yeah. Cause it, the solar DB had that too.
[00:14:52] Fred Lambert: Did the, yeah, the soul and. So the Cola doesn’t have it is it’s only the
[00:14:58] Seth Weintraub: Negro. Yeah. I think that Kona has a normal one.
[00:15:00] Yeah.
[00:15:01] Fred Lambert: Maybe not. I don’t know. I mean, I know the Niro as it from Kia and that pissed me off, but yeah, I think it works like it’s and here’s the thing that’s interesting with it.
[00:15:13] That thing is basically the same size as an ID for VWR D four. It’s actually a little bigger than ID for, in everything except the eyes of the car. So, because if you look at it that it looks like a hatchback, they call it a CUV, but looks like almost a hatchback, but it’s actually the size of a CUV again, except from the height.
[00:15:32] And of course their height also contribute to your volume cargo volumes. So technically the ID four has slightly bigger or even decently bigger cargo volume, but that’s because of the height, the actual space in terms of width and the length is is slightly bigger for the ionic five, which I found really interesting.
[00:15:55] And then you’ll you, you look into all the interior as well as some of these, I know it’s got to get in there clean. Yeah. The, they didn’t over complicate things. They, they they’re still buttons. Of course it didn’t go full Tesla, but it it’s, it’s minimal. I like it. It’s not a big fan while there’s an extent as much, but still pretty good.
[00:16:16]The seats look. Very comfortable to me. Like of course that’s just like, from what I can stand
[00:16:21] Seth Weintraub: built in Ottomans. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:16:23] Fred Lambert: Yeah. That’s a, that’s like a lazy boy. Yeah. That’s luxury right there. Like, I’ve seen that in, in luxury car before, but I mean, I guess the, the Hyundai is going like a Honda as a Genesis for its luxury brand.
[00:16:35] But I think with ionic, they’re trying to like, it’s going to be a higher hand too. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, the panoramic roof. Yep. Which they didn’t mention in the launch an option for a solar roof? I don’t know how it’s going to work though. Is it, is it going to be cells embedded in the glass or is it going to be, Oh, you’re going to have a full metal roof with cells on it.
[00:16:55] I don’t know how it’s going to work, but yeah. Apparently is going to be an option. I mean, look at that. Isn’t that look like comfort. Yeah, it’s
[00:17:01] Seth Weintraub: crazy. I mean, Th they, they did some crazy stuff there. Not only, I mean, notice the, for the floor and the front is flat. Like, that’s almost a problem. Like if your kids are, you know, put their volleyball down at their feet, like any, you know, make a sharp right.
[00:17:18] Fred Lambert: Turn, look, look, look, this, this is a cool thing too. Is that it goes back and forth. Yeah. The center console, when you’re driving, like, no, right now I don’t know what she’s doing. Like she’s just thinking of having in her car for some reason, but she lives there. Yeah. Maybe very, very stylish person for being homeless, but still.
[00:17:36]That that center console is much forward. I don’t know if it’s for both. I assume it’s for both seats, but when, when you recline a Cedar or push it back, the, the whole center console goes back. So those are through the dashboard once once you’re in driving position I, I don’t, I don’t maybe a ball of some kind could still roll from the passenger side too, though.
[00:17:59] Driver’s side. I do understand your concert, but I also look at that center console right there. Does that mean you want some volleyballs put them there? Yeah, exactly.
[00:18:07] Seth Weintraub: Yeah. You got your laptop case and they’re your briefcase. They got room for everything right there. Yeah. I
[00:18:13] Fred Lambert: mean, it’s kind of a reminiscent of like the early mole SNX when there was like two seats and everything.
[00:18:20]Yeah. In terms of the powertrain. A few interesting functions. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. I mean, that’s, that’s, that’s the key word really options. You do get two wheel drive all wheel drive two battery packs, and they are both available on boats options. So unlike Tesla, like if you want all wheel drive, you have to go with long range and everything.
[00:18:38] Honda that doesn’t push that on you. The standard range is 58 kilowatt hour battery pack again, all wheel drive, two wheel drive which is 125 kilowatt for the two wheel drive, which is a real driver. Yeah, rear wheel drive, I think, and 173 for the all wheel drive. So it’s not a big bump that you get with the front motor, but still you’re going through snow.
[00:19:02] Yeah. Decent enough for, for things like Hi-C conditions. No, we conditions. And then if you want to go with the long range, you get a 72.6 kilowatt hour for the European market. And th this is a trend that we’re starting to see Hyundai is going, like why not? Or they want more range. They want more, not only do you want more range, the PE standard is, is more difficult to achieve a longer range.
[00:19:25] So it’s easier to look like you have a higher range on the w LTP. So the, the actually going to offer a 74.7 7.42 other a backpack for the North American market. So almost five. More kilowatt hour that you’re going to get in North America. Yeah, that’s right. And then you still get the two wheel drive option, which is going to give you the longest range option of them all.
[00:19:46] When combined with the long range battery pack and an all wheel drive all wheel drive, we’ll give you two 25 kilowatts. So you’re starting to get like a petty level, a little car there. And that goes zero to a hundred kilometer an hour, which is 62 miles power in 5.2 seconds. Respectable. Yeah, it’s not bad.
[00:20:02] Like you gotta have some fun with that. Like off of a red light or something. So range wise. I mean, they didn’t release the EPA, but did they? No. Okay. The w LTP is four 70 for the longest range version. Do you want me to read so two 92 miles. But then, so that’s on the 72.6 gold or a pack. So I had the former kilowatt hour.
[00:20:27] I mean, I know normally, like you’re on the, see if you get to 92 miles on WTP, you’d be lucky to get like two 40, two 50 right off of APA, but with the fire Marshall at hour. And like we noticed, I mean, two 50, at least maybe up to two 70, I think. Yeah. Of course that’s for the longest range version and everything.
[00:20:48] So that’s longer long range battery pack
[00:20:50] Seth Weintraub: too. It probably has to have more than the Kona. Like they have to maybe that’s why they, I don’t know, but like the Kona’s at like two 60 or two, two 55 or something like that. So it’s probably just over that.
[00:21:06] Fred Lambert: Yeah. That, that, that would make sense. Cause it’s going to be probably like, like I said, that that’s all we’ll get to the pricing, but I’m charging.
[00:21:14] 400 volt, 800 volt works on the infrastructure up to three 50 kilowatt charging.
[00:21:21] Seth Weintraub: But that doesn’t mean it’s an 800 volt system. It just it has the 800 volts.
[00:21:27] Fred Lambert: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you can, you can, you can take up to hit on a wall chart right here, though. I mean, it’s crazy that that’s good. Like, I mean,
[00:21:37] Seth Weintraub: real world is not going to be like that.
[00:21:38] Fred Lambert: Yeah. Most of the time, like you’re going to need to have a three 50 kilowatt charger, which are not, they’re not that many, but they’re getting more. But I mean, like if you want a three 50 kilowatt charging you want to tie in or something like that, or GT ADI GT. Or the Hummer and the heart Palmer, I mean, but those are all a hundred thousand dollars plus cars.
[00:21:57] This thing again, I’m going to get to the pricing. We don’t know yet, but we’re going to speculate about Honda. They said that you’re going to be able to charge from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes. So of course that’s awesome. Yeah. That’s crazy early.
[00:22:11] Seth Weintraub: Yeah. That’s it like, that’s pretty close to like gas. Yeah, I mean is, you know, 10 minutes tops, but we’re getting so close.
[00:22:20] It doesn’t, it almost doesn’t make.
[00:22:21] Fred Lambert: And again, you’d only need to do that when you’re actually doing like long distance travel, right? I’m like this isn’t charging is not even in your mind. We already talked about the ionic coming with the vehicle. Now they are calling a vehicle to load so that the vehicle to grid vehicle to home thing and everything.
[00:22:36] That’s, that’s what they’re called to talk about. No, you’re talking, you’re calling his vehicle to load.
[00:22:41] Seth Weintraub: This is the best thing for me. I think like finally, somebody is doing
[00:22:44] Fred Lambert: this. Yeah. Added that already. No compromise, like everything looks great. And then this is like a good headed value to have that through 3.6 kilowatt capacity that you can get all of it.
[00:22:56]There’s, there’s a port that is under any the second row seats. That as a regular power off bet on it. So, so you can like plug it into your laptop if you’re in the back or something and just use that as you drive or whatever which is not like unusual for cars, but there’s also, you can literally use a bi-directional charger into the charge port of the vehicle and get access to that vehicle load capacity.
[00:23:20] Seth Weintraub: Do you get the 3.6 kilowatts out of the, the plug, do you think, or do you have to use the bi-directional for that?
[00:23:29] Fred Lambert: They don’t specify it here. They do say that the V two L board is located under the second receipt and it connects within when the vehicle is on another V2. Port is like the other charging port on the vehicle exterior.
[00:23:42] Seth Weintraub: Hmm. Cause they did a little video and they had you know, it was a European plug, which is two 40 already, but to be 3.6 kilowatt, it would have to be about a 20 amp. Output, which is be a lot of power, but that’d be cool. And then they showed it like powering refrigerators and TVs and a bunch of other stuff like camping, like, but you know, 3.6 kilowatts, this is an important thing.
[00:24:10] Like you can back up your house with that. Like you know, those generator ports that you know, people build into their houses and they have the separate fuse boxes and all that, that that’s, that’s the kind of power that, that those things need. You know, a typical house, like, you know, I probably could look at my house right now, but our typical house runs at like two kilowatts or less.
[00:24:30] So, you know, as long as you’re not doing like, you know, laundry and cooking at the same time, you can probably backup your house with this thing, which is a huge added incentive because you know, the cost of that you know, if you’re buying a generator which is dirty or you’re buying power walls, which are like 10 grand, like that’s a.
[00:24:49] Big value, add that nobody seems to be talking about.
[00:24:52] Fred Lambert: Yep, definitely. Yeah, we do the solar roof thing already talked about it. Didn’t really mention any type of range that you can get all of it, but I wouldn’t expect much to, to the surface of the vehicle
[00:25:03] Seth Weintraub: here. Mostly just the vampire drain elimination.
[00:25:06] Fred Lambert: They have the latest heads up display here. I need to find a video of their, of Hyundai’s ends of this Lakers. I mean, I’ve seen the one in the corner, which I wasn’t really impressed with. Not, not really one of the best, but they said it’s a new one with augmented reality capabilities. So I’m really curious to see what standard Alec is.
[00:25:23] That could be good because I’ve seen some very good ones with augmented reality. So I’m going to look into that if I could get a video because. I’m sure people would want to see that. And then the, the smart sense, which is the driver has to suit of a Hyundai that you get, I guess, equivalent like of a autopilot, if you will.
[00:25:40]Yeah. And it’s coming this summer. The first app available in selected regions starting in the first half of 2021. So, so like that the regions, I would assume that South Korea, some are repairing markets. I wouldn’t expect it in North America and then the second half, and now in term of the pricing. So they already released some pricing in Europe starting at like 40,000 euros, which should be expensive, but that includes the, that, so maybe a little bit cheaper.
[00:26:11]In North America, I don’t know. Some people were saying, Oh, the base base version could be starting at 30,000. I’d be surprised. But something around 40,000 would be, would be, would be interesting. I think. Yeah, if they
[00:26:25] Seth Weintraub: can get below 40, they still have the $7,500 tax credit, then all of a sudden that’s a $30,000 car.
[00:26:34] That’s, that’s, that’s tempting, you know, that’s like a. You know, I don’t know, like it’s hard to, it’s hard to think about like a VW ID or ID for a Chevy, a Chevy bold. EEV a Mustang. Like this thing has all those little extra things that are pretty sweet. And if it’s around the same price, it’s going to be hard to think about those things with this thing around.
[00:27:00] Yeah.
[00:27:01] Fred Lambert: I might become a Hyundai owner again. I was on the horn at some point with my super Superman. How was that? I like it to run. I mean, I mean, I was a kid when I bought it, but it was like a very cool looking sports car that you could actually afford. Like I paid, like I bought it used, but I paid like $10,000 and $10,000 for it.
[00:27:21] It was a cool looking little, two doors, a sports car. So, and it worked well. I liked it.
[00:27:30] Seth Weintraub: I’ve never owned a Hyundai or any
[00:27:32] Fred Lambert: Korean car, Korean cars. All right. The USBs. Okay. We’re going to discuss this piece of news right here. And then we’ll talk a bit about said’s experience with the ID four, and then we’re going to take questions.
USPS’s new fleet no all-electric
[00:27:43] So if you have any questions, put them in the comment section below especially if you have questions about the ID for, I guess. Then didn’t write a post, anything yet, like you could help him like formulate some kind of thought and idea of what you guys really want to know about the core. Be fun. So USBs the announced their, their fleet renewal contract this week.
[00:28:04] So they are replacing the 160 some thousand cars in their, in their fleet. And they’re not even going all electric with it is kind of crazy because, I mean, if you remember just last month, One of the first thing Biden did when he came into office, it’s like the old federal government fleet is going all electric.
[00:28:21] Like every all vehicle in the government is going in. All the Trico were what period of time and all, no, but the made it like a priority. And then a month later, what the federal government fleet, like the most interesting one, like the biggest one, the biggest part of it, the USDS, the announced the renewal of the fleet.
[00:28:42] And like, we’re going to have some. Did your car, some internal combustion in general, we are working very hard to promote alternative fuels. I mean, I read the announcement that I was like, what are they talking about? And then a day later Mr. To boss of that thing, what was it called? Yeah, the joy was by the way, was elected by Trump was pointed like, huh.
[00:29:05] Or under the Trump administration. I’m not sure if Trump is even know that guy is, but. It was under Trump. He was appointed committed to only 10% of those of that fleet. 160 some thousand vehicles, garbage going all electric, which is what shows a complete lack of leadership, complete lack of vision. I mean, Those those vehicles are so primed for electrification.
[00:29:31] Like it makes so much sense. Although SPE stopping, starting all the time it that’s all of the things that EVs are super good at as opportunity. Yeah. Super efficient at. And Nope, they’re not doing it also. They gave the contract to some defense contractor for it. Yeah.
[00:29:50] Seth Weintraub: Wisconsin. We thought it was going to go to work
[00:29:53] Fred Lambert: horse.
[00:29:53] Right. I mean, I wasn’t like, I wasn’t old, then I have any like favorite or anything like that. But I mean, a defense contractor, like these guys make pinks or whatever, maybe that thanks. But like military vehicles. Yeah.
[00:30:07] Seth Weintraub: Somebody got paid off. I’m
[00:30:09] Fred Lambert: sure. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised about that, but like this, th this, this needs to be made by a of theory, like a myth, every contractor that deliver mails, like
[00:30:18] Seth Weintraub: we’ve been kind of nice.
[00:30:20] That thing is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. I mean, it’s a post office, like thing you wouldn’t expect it to look amazing, but that looks like it was drawn by like, you know, a third grader, something, it looks like Homer Simpson design.
[00:30:34] Fred Lambert: Yeah. Yeah, it doesn’t have that egg at the front end. Exactly. This Elmer Simpson designed vehicle.
[00:30:40] But yeah, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t care a lot of these items just, yeah,
[00:30:45] Seth Weintraub: I’m more upset about the electrification, but like, if we’re going to go back to the thing, like at least like, if, if they’re going to do in current internal combustions, they should make it at least look decent and they didn’t. So it’s a
[00:31:00] Fred Lambert: zero.
[00:31:00] Yeah. And I mean, after the announcement, the next day Biden announced that was, it was able to appoint three more chairs of the, of the board of the ESPs. So he did that, which gave majority to the Democrats for the board. But I don’t know if that’s going to be able to do anything to reverse the decision and why Nike, they gave a contract already to contractors.
[00:31:25] Officially cost. So like, can they do anything up? I don’t know. I mean, I
[00:31:30] Seth Weintraub: guess I could tweak the 10% into 90%. Yeah. Yeah. But, and, and we should note the vehicle itself is supposed to be able to be upgraded from. Combustion to electric at some point later.
[00:31:46] Fred Lambert: Did it say that, but then why like, yeah, it’s not, it’s not like, Oh, we have like a battery constraint and everything.
[00:31:53] 160,000 vehicles is going to be a big problem. It’s over 10 years people. So the upgrade is over 10 years. Did they gave the contract now for 10 years? So that means that in eight, nine years under that contract, you could still be delivering and talk about engine vehicles. Which w can you imagine the in 20, 28 and buying a brand new and talk about an engine vehicle that you ordered 10 years ago?
[00:32:21] Seth Weintraub: I got it. And knowing them and knowing that the post office and the government, they’re probably like backloading the EVs. So they’re, they’re going to make a hundred percent internal combustion for like the first five years. And then, Oh, we’ll throw in some electric vehicles in 10 years.
[00:32:36] Fred Lambert: It’s just, I was very disappointed by that because you’re not in the market.
[00:32:41] Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, yeah, I know, I know if the us does it too, because of Biden’s announcement last, but no, I agree because of the USBs actually gave contracts to a bunch of companies, including like workhorse and like a few of those, like to, to, to build like prototypes and everything, like to show that they can do it and whatnot.
[00:33:00] So it’s not like, not, it’s not like. No one could do it. So they gave the contract to the Oscars, like make most of the internal combustion engine. It’s like something weird happened in that, that the joy guys is plenty. I’ve never met him, but I would safely assume that easy to a moron or yeah, some vested interest in like three or three years from now.
[00:33:24] He gets a cushy little job on the Oskarshamn board. For some reason. I wouldn’t be shocked by that. Yeah.
[00:33:32] Seth Weintraub: 5 million a year consultant bastard.
Seth’s experience in the VW ID4
[00:33:35] Fred Lambert: All right. So let’s talk about something a little better. Did you find the ID for it’s a great
[00:33:41] Seth Weintraub: car? You know, there’s, there’s trade offs, always and Volkswagen you know, they have three tiers, they have the Volkswagen Audi and Porsche inter you know, in Volkswagen’s kind of the people’s car.
[00:33:52] And I think, you know, overall they have a saying, I guess, It’s not for millionaires it’s for the millions. So they, they took some, you know, it doesn’t charge at 150 kilowatts. It charges at one 20 or one 10 or whatever. It’s not super fast, like I got a rear wheel drive version in the snow it’s sucked in the snow.
[00:34:11] Like I’ve had, they told me it was snow tires and I was like, this is, you know, barely made it up. My driveway, I got stuck twice. I had to shovel it out a couple of times. So it’s a great car.
[00:34:21] Fred Lambert: All wheel drive version is all the
[00:34:23] Seth Weintraub: all wheel drive version is coming late summer. Hopefully we’ll get invited to that after the summer.
[00:34:29] Yeah, just in time for the summer, they have a two wheel drive just in time for the winter. Smart. But what’s cool about the all wheel drive one. We are a North American is they’re making it here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So, you know, maybe, maybe it’s, if you’re, if you’re into that car, maybe it’s a good thing to wait.
[00:34:44]But this was the first edition. And we got it for three days or no, sorry, we got it for 36 hours. And that I got it for an hour. I took it, you know, did my. Waterfall pictures and whatever. Went shopping for some groceries, came back snowstorm for about 24 hours. And then the snow turned into rain and then I had another, like three or four hours.
[00:35:06] So at the imagery and the videos, aren’t going to be great. And I didn’t get to take it to Vermont. Like I did the Mustang, which I couldn’t put on
[00:35:13] Fred Lambert: knowledge on it really.
[00:35:14] Seth Weintraub: Yeah, I really couldn’t drive it because, you know, in the snow, like the row, even though like, even if you can get out of my driveway, which is not that easy, the roads were just horrible.
[00:35:25] So with a two wheel drive car, I just didn’t trust being able to get up Hills and, and stay, you know, stay on the road. But that said like the car is really pleasant. Like it’s a great drive, you know, BWS, German engineered. It feels great inside it, it it, it was like somewhere between like the Mustang level of luxury and a Tesla, like the, you know, when you hit a bump, it didn’t make a loud noise.
[00:35:49] Like my model, why does, but it also didn’t like totally softened it like Mustang dead, which is weird because I don’t think of the Mustang as like a luxury vehicle. Yeah. I mean, inside, it was really nice. It wasn’t you know, we talked about like Tesla, no buttons, it wasn’t, or even Mustang didn’t have very many buttons and it had the screen, it was very much more like a traditional car.
[00:36:11]You know, like if you want to know where the. The door handle is you don’t have to like search around and try to figure out what Tesla or Ford was doing. It’s just a normal door handle inside and out. They did of course make the gear shifter. I don’t know why this is impossible for people to understand, but like they made the gear shift or super weird.
[00:36:29]It’s a, it’s like it’s on the dashboard. It’s like, it’s like the BMW thing. It’s a dial on the dashboard. And of course, if you want to go into region mode or one pedal driving is everybody calls it. You got to go twice into drive, just like the Chevy bolt or everything else, which is super annoying.
[00:36:46] I asked them if they’re going to upgrade that, they said, you know, we’re thinking about it, but it could be upgraded over, over the air where, you know, you can switch that or change. That one thing was really disappointing. I took it to a Electrify America, the same kind of thing that I took the Mustang too.
[00:37:04] And the Mustang has plug-in charge. So you just plug it in. It does a thing for like 15, 20 seconds. And then you’re charging kind of like a Tesla Volkswagen who owns electrify America and has the ID for took it to the station, plugged it in. Ask for my credit card. So I gave it my credit card that didn’t work.
[00:37:27]I did Apple pay that didn’t work. I signed up for an electrify America account, which I’ve had, well, I had one, I just couldn’t remember the password I signed up again. That didn’t work. So maybe it was the station, you know, like, you know, we shouldn’t know electrify America has been a great partner for electric and it works more times than it doesn’t.
[00:37:48] But in this particular case, it was quite frustrating that I had a Volkswagen and their charging system didn’t work. And I asked them about plugging charge. Like guys, Like do that. Ford’s got this, your other company you
[00:38:01] Fred Lambert: own you own
[00:38:03] Seth Weintraub: electric. Yeah. America, you have a car, you know, on the other side of the, the company that’s doing pug and charge already called those engineers, like just download that software, do whatever you have to do.
[00:38:15]But they said a plugin charge is coming via software update at a later date. So that’s good. That’s something to look forward to, I think like from now on like, if it doesn’t have in charge, Like they gotta, they gotta just go back to the drawing
[00:38:29] Fred Lambert: board. Yeah. I mean it, it, I feel like it’s going to be a quick standard to be applied to the whole industry and it
[00:38:35] Seth Weintraub: just totally makes it a much better experience.
[00:38:37] Fred Lambert: I mean, it’s like that stuff was, was smart to do like their home thing start with their own charging, that work. Cause they were able to apply that easily if it’s with their own network. It’s not as easy though. It should be for Volkswagen. This would just described, but. I mean, they they’re doing it like Ford is doing it.
[00:38:55] So yeah. I would
[00:38:56] Seth Weintraub: assume if Ford can do it on Volkswagens chargers Volkswagen can do
[00:39:00] Fred Lambert: it. Yeah. I mean, officially there’s a whole Chinese wall between the different American was Vegas, completely different company and everything, but still.
[00:39:08] Seth Weintraub: Yeah. So I don’t, you know, that was one bad thing I have to say.
[00:39:11] Like overall though, I was really impressed with the inside. The interior, the drive was great. You know, when you’re not on snowy roads Like, you know, he kind of wonder like, all right, so am I just getting used to these electric vehicles? Like the Mustang was really good. The, you know, even the Chevy today also good.
[00:39:30]And this thing, like baddie Ford, like, it was just great. Like it just flies down the road. Not, not crazy fast. I don’t even think as fast as the Mustang that I had, but it gets there and, you know, You accelerate onto the freeway. You’re not like wanting for any more acceleration. You’re not pinning people back like a Tesla will, but I like Volkswagen says this is for the millions.
[00:39:52] So I think it’s a very appealing design. I think women and men who aren’t necessarily electric vehicle nerds like us, they’re going to be really comfortable in this kind of car. So. For me, it’s a big winner. They do have some work to do, you know, all wheel drive getting the the and charge working.
[00:40:12] But I think it’s going to be a popular car.
[00:40:15] Fred Lambert: Yeah, let’s go. Sorry. I’m supposed to get one for a while, right. For a week for a full review. Do we know when that’s
[00:40:21] Seth Weintraub: gonna happen? I mean, I don’t know if it’s going to be all the way until. Late summer, but Oh
[00:40:27] Fred Lambert: yeah, I was
[00:40:28] Seth Weintraub: coming up. No, I hope so. I dunno when
[00:40:31] Fred Lambert: whatever we though.
Q&A
[00:40:32] All right. Let’s, let’s jump into the comments. What do you guys are saying right now? All right.
[00:40:38] Seth Weintraub: So Jonathan whirling says the boat. Evie is interesting. LOL. I think it is. I, I I’ve owned a boat Eby for three years. I, I loved that car. So the EVs. Kind of interesting, but I can’t say why. All right. Matt, Oh, what are your predictions for model two $25,000 car price upon delivery.
[00:40:59] Do you see anything below 50,000 Canadian out the door is 25 K too optimistic? Well, I don’t think it’s going to be called the model two.
[00:41:08] Fred Lambert: Yeah. I mean either, but I don’t, I don’t understand that quick. Would it be bill 50,000 Canadian? I mean, wouldn’t it be? Yeah. I mean, there’s no, there’s no con artists ourselves right now.
[00:41:21] And in Canada, that is twice the amount that it’s sold in the, in the us on that’s the saying that maybe it won’t be $25,000 in the U S eater, which might or might not be like the Headspace glacier, because it’s the, has had some issue delivering on pricing before. So yeah, mean maybe. But yeah, we’ll, we’ll see about that car.
[00:41:40] W w we’ll see when we get there. So very speculative right now, it’s probably still like three or three years away. So I don’t know,
[00:41:45]Seth Weintraub: In terms of the chip shortage station two 40 says Tesla also use a lot of chips from Texas instruments who are in Texas also
[00:41:53] Fred Lambert: good point. Yeah. It’s Texas instrument, Texas.
[00:41:56] I think
[00:41:57] Seth Weintraub: so. Green gold Tesla needs to figure out what models and prices they want and stick with it. This is in regard to the pricing. That would be nice for sure. I wonder if they’re trying to create some like nervous energy with potential buyers saying it’s at a good price. Now I should buy it before they raise the price or do something weird.
[00:42:17] Fred Lambert: I mean, we would hell no is like test as it’s so weird pod that for so long now and in the U S with the whole tax credit thing that like looms around everything too, is it’s getting a bit confusing. Yeah, we didn’t talk about that. I should mention this. There’s a, there’s a, like a competing reform for the tax credit has been introduced to we talked about the green act last week or the week before that was introduced.
[00:42:41] Gives 400,000 more cars to Tesla and all the auto makers of the hidden threshold at $7,000, a dollar tax credit, the electric cars act, which was actually introduced in 2019, but of course was shut down under the Trump administration and the Republicans still have the Senate and whatnot. Now bringing that back and that one, if that one makes it instead of the.
[00:43:03] Green act. That would be a big deal because first of all, it’s retroactive through through the year. So it would start in 2021. So every car that was delivered in 2021 would apply to still 7,500, so $500 more. Who’s going to complain about 500 or more in their pockets. Big deal here. Big, big deal. At the dealership, you can get it at the dealership on the sticker price.
[00:43:28] So not a tax rate. It can be a tax fee too. And if you want it as a tax rate, it can be over five years. So if you don’t have $7,500 of tax liability at the federal level you should have it over five years, especially if you’re buying a new car. So. That’s good, but then again, you probably, the most people won’t do that.
[00:43:46] If you can apply it to the, at the dealership at the sticker price. So some
[00:43:49] Seth Weintraub: people, I don’t know why you would anyway,
[00:43:53] Fred Lambert: I’m not a tax lawyer, accountant. Maybe, maybe they would have a reason for it. But I I’m on the same page as you on that. And then the, of course the biggest thing of them all, they remove the cap.
[00:44:04] There’s no capital it’s on a 10 year period. It’s crazy. Yeah. Which is crazy. But I feel like that’s more of a, like a negotiating standpoint, maybe like we asked for that. And then we like five years would be plenty. And then between you and me, like 10 years is a, is a long time, like by 10 years, like it’s either, he’s going to be way more competitive on pricing than any gas or cars.
[00:44:26] I mean, I would have
[00:44:27] Seth Weintraub: to say this out loud in public, but like Tesla is already competing pretty well without a tax credit. Yeah. My thing is like, all right, take all that energy and, and all that. Stuff and carbon tax, like, or a carbon dividend. I mean, I know that’s not popular and never going to be popular, but like not at the station at the well, like
[00:44:46] Fred Lambert: I dunno.
[00:44:47] Yeah. But I mean, even though that the electric cars act sounds a bit crazy it’s easier to do I’m sure than the car with AXA. Right.
[00:44:57] Seth Weintraub: All right. David authors, as sorry if I missed it. But did you guys ever discuss the Apple TV plus show long way up? It included reveal and truck driving up from South South of South America to LA quite a feat.
[00:45:10] We did discuss it. Micah did a couple posts on it in conjunction with nine to five Mac, which covers Apple TV plus. It’s pretty interesting. I only watched some highlights, but it was also with two Harley Davidson Livewire electric motorcycles. So go Google it. We’re the
[00:45:26] Fred Lambert: focus on the show?
[00:45:27] Really? Any does comes up a few times cause they were the support vehicle to the, but it’s really just a motorcycle drive Molson.
[00:45:36] Seth Weintraub: All right. Kevin, do you have pictures of all the nine colors as being offered in? Was that in regard to the Hyundai or.
[00:45:43] Fred Lambert: Tesla. I don’t know, but yeah, I mean, we, we should do that.
[00:45:47] People always love those posts. Like we should probably do that with the high-end Nick in the ID for and post all the colors available.
[00:45:55] Seth Weintraub: All right. When, if do you think LFP equip Teslas will make it to North America? Well, they’re not going to make it, they’re going to make made in North America. But it could be, I mean, if Yuan’s kind of hinting at it, now, it could be happening as we speak.
[00:46:10] Fred Lambert: Could be, but I have no idea
[00:46:14] Seth Weintraub: we might not ever have it. Electric car market is finally heating up great for customers. I was just thinking the same thing. Like, you know, we’re reviewing the Baldy UV, the ID for the Mustang model wise here, and they’re finally catching up to demand. That’s great.
[00:46:29] Yeah.
[00:46:31] Fred Lambert: If there was like the standard rainbow, why competing with diet before competing with the ionic five competing with the Mustang Nike all the same year, that would be like crazy. It’s pretty much what’s happening though. Standard rainbow wise is kind of up in the air.
[00:46:45]Seth Weintraub: Green gold also asks is SCC investigating Ilan again.
[00:46:50] Fred Lambert: That was a first Quoc, the Newswire financial news wire, which generally is pretty early on those news. So I think it was the one that they break the news to for the last ACC the station on Ilan. But yeah, probably they are, we don’t know, they didn’t ever come into an active investigation. So we very hard to permit by union is asking for it.
[00:47:12] That for the news came out, he was, he went on Twitter and was like, I only do it will be Duke.
[00:47:17] Seth Weintraub: That’s like when the the diver was like, when to Sue you, he was like, do it,
[00:47:23] Fred Lambert: but you want that one? So that’s true. You didn’t want the sec though, you could argue that he kind of won and we reported it like the deal that he had to buy more shares for Tesla.
[00:47:32] You actually made money on that. So you could have done that anyway, though. Yeah, that’s true. Like it wasn’t, it
[00:47:37] Seth Weintraub: Manda whole says Ilan for president Andrew Yang would have made the mail trucks, EVs, no doubts, man, probably.
[00:47:46] Fred Lambert: Well, you know, or Andrew for, for president, he left for president, but Andrew Yang would have
[00:47:51] Seth Weintraub: made it, I guess Andrew would have been at Yuan’s.
[00:47:54] Fred Lambert: Yeah. I said, I wasn’t, I wasn’t really prefer Andrew Yang as as president than Elan. I mean, I love the guy
[00:48:02] Seth Weintraub: you on should be making cars. Yeah. How is Oshkosh qualified to offer EVs? I know they make kids overalls. How are they going to make a EVs?
[00:48:14] Fred Lambert: I mean, I think that’s a different division,
[00:48:17] Seth Weintraub: different, different company, probably entirely.
[00:48:19] All right. Wayno says you have to look at the quality of people working for the post office. Most drivers of Subpart. If that who cares, what does it, what does the driver have to do
[00:48:29] Fred Lambert: with it? Like morons going to drive electric vehicles right now. Yeah, it’s easy to enlist a few. If you want.
[00:48:36] Seth Weintraub: We have a couple of good videos on the channel.
[00:48:38] Alright, Chris, 50 fives stop. Well, Biden dropped $15 minimum wage and then bomb Syria. So that this doesn’t surprise me. Yeah. I don’t know. I don’t want to wait too much into politics. Is giving did joy the hook news today. Oh, we got an exclusive from MDC 4runner. So I guess the joy has gone according to a YouTube commenter, Chris 55 stop.
[00:49:06] That would be nice. All right, Mike Metcalf, Fred, you mentioned mining companies you’re invested in. Can you share which ones, any other investments you’re excited about? Disclaimer, time.
[00:49:16] Fred Lambert: Yeah, I’m not a financial advisor or a stock picker or anything like that, but I can discuss my own investment if you want.
[00:49:22] I mean, I’m very high on Nicole. I mean, Elan’s concerns I think are warranted. Like the diamond is coming for Nicole from the battery industry is truly immense. Like it’s hard to overstate. It just all big it is. And it’s starting to get reflected into the price of Nicole. But it’s not just about the price of the, of the actual commodity.
[00:49:48] Like it it’s about having new mining projects that are sustainable. And that’s why I’m looking into like, things that are not contributing to the problem, but they’re just a part of the solution. And also, also The the, the, the, the, the closer to the supply chain, too. It would be nice, like not going like too far deep into the wild and whatnot.
[00:50:10] So, yeah, there’s a few projects that I like. Well, the, the giga metals, a Vancouver based company that has been rumored to be working with Tesla on a potential Nichole mining project and vested in that there’s another company that I like that is related to giga metals. That could be an interesting exposure to, to nickel is a conic metals, but I think they’re changing their name right now.
[00:50:33] It’s not going to be kind of mills and anymore, but that company is very interesting where the invest, the, the buy steaks and nickel projects and that’s all they do. So they’re there and they’re not a mining company. They invest in mining companies with small stakes and a bunch of different them with a focus on nickel and so, so that gives you exposure to Nicole really, but with a wide variety of projects.
[00:50:54] And so if you invest in legal metals, for example, it’s, it’s a riskier project because if it doesn’t come to fruition, well, that’s it, you lose your investment, but if you have a bunch of different projects like that, it makes more sense. So Connie metals, they are invested in, in the gold medals. For example, they have a small stake in the company.
[00:51:10] So if it does succeed great for them, they have a small stake in the, in the. And another functioning mine in. I want to say Papua New Guinea. I might be mistaken, but one of those places that are big and they go producer. So they own like an 8% stake in.com that mind that’s already producing. So that’s revenue for a company and then they invest.
[00:51:33] That revenue and to acquiring steaks in smaller like junior mining companies and that, that are looking into Nicole. And then if those projects come to fruition, then the company grows and everything. So I think that’s a good exposure, I think, but look into it, like do your own due diligence. Yeah. There’s plenty of opportunity for bashing materials, mining.
[00:51:55] Seth Weintraub: All right. So moving back into the comments the ID for all wheel drive is the one to get, or the iconic five all wheel drive. We talked about those. When does the all wheel drive ID for arrive and the summer coming out of Chattanooga? We’ll, we’ll be there for the, a bunch there. Hopefully hopefully it codes over Nanda holds them back saying cyber truck is going to decimate these soft first time entries.
[00:52:20] Nothing else will make sense. Good. Glad to hear from the Tesla fan club here sat in the ID for it’s barely bigger than our least narrow E V. That’s true. It’s not huge. And it looks like an ice under the hood. It doesn’t have a Frank that’s also true build quality was tops true, but they missed the Mark.
[00:52:39] Okay. It would be funny if one of the Elon sons will be the CEO of Tesla someday.
[00:52:44] Fred Lambert: I mean the isn’t the whole, this like 13 years old or something right now. Yeah. If that would be like, you’re talking about a 50,000 people company right now. It’s not like you earn like 30 or something and like, ah, I can run the company
[00:52:58] Seth Weintraub: anymore.
[00:52:58] That’s a very South Korean like mindset. Like why would it? Yeah,
[00:53:02] Fred Lambert: well, it’s like a foreign mindset to maybe also like Ian might not be the best person to run the test though right now. So why would his son be the best person to run the company? And also which
[00:53:13] Seth Weintraub: son, like they’re going to all fight over it.
[00:53:14] There’s like, and they’re all like, The same age, because
[00:53:17] Fred Lambert: we don’t know any of them we’d have to toot the horn leadership or anything like that. Because like I said, I, I’m not saying that I don’t like even running the company, but I’m seeing like at this stage of Tesla, I, there’s definitely an argument that could be made for Elan stepping into like a chairman role and then like a product architect, role boat role, but the already older Tesla and then leaving the CEO role to somebody else.
[00:53:42] I mean, It worked pretty well for companies like Apple, for example, like Tim cook is as I’m pretty good, even though people said that not as innovative as it used to be, but at the same time Apple, I didn’t have a jobs to stick around cancer took him away, but if he can have you to stick around and have someone as a CEO that, that I think that would be.
[00:54:05] I think the optimals iteration.
[00:54:06] Seth Weintraub: I mean, he’s really not the CEO anyway, like he’s, you know, in the traditional sense, he’s a chief like architect or whatever, you know, whatever you want to call, like the head engineer or whatever. He’s not doing a typical SEO CEO, sorry role where he’s taking meetings and doing all that stuff.
[00:54:23] Especially since he’s got two companies going or 15 companies all right. Okay, Nana holes. Again, the only reason Tesla up the model Y price was to get some of the government cheese on one spite in GMB, $7,000 credit’s head. It will be the best value at that point. I don’t get that logic. You get the same 7,000 on a cheaper one.
[00:54:45] Maybe we’ll skip those for now. All right, Tom gearing says instead of model to what follows Elan’s joke. Name convention, the sexy would have been sexy except for it on the E I’m guessing the next C six models. Okay. All all right. So sorry. Shane was Sullivan. It’s a bit surprising that Ford didn’t go with the heat pump in the Maki.
[00:55:07] Did they reverse engineer the model three and decided to copy them? Or there is a lot of similar similarities with the Maki and Tesla’s vehicles. Heat pumps. It’s not a new technology it’s been around for awhile. I don’t, I mean, I know Tesla did like the OCHA valve, which is supposed to be interesting, but if they wanted to, they could’ve probably put a heat pump.
[00:55:27] I think it’s just a cost and size constraint. All right. Moving on, Kevin for the ionic five colors of the ionic five. Oh yeah. So I guess we’ll have to dig around. Maybe we’ll get one of our artists. To mock up some cool
[00:55:44] Fred Lambert: stuff. I think they released a bunch of them that might, there might be a configurator in Germany open or something.
[00:55:50] Okay.
[00:55:51] Seth Weintraub: I’ll look into that. All right. Jose Dela Cruz asked if the Maki had a heat pump, it would increase its real-world range and the winter for sure
[00:56:01] Fred Lambert: can argue. Yeah, I did test the Nike though in the winter and I was impressed by it. So just set that same. So yeah,
[00:56:07] Seth Weintraub: we drove to Vermont in like single digit.
[00:56:10] And it was fine. All right. Our Panasonic and LG chem getting into LFP seems like NMC is on a downward trend due to nickel cobalt. Yeah.
[00:56:22]Fred Lambert: I don’t know exactly the product roadmap for pass and I can in LG, but yeah, I mean, Desola is laid out. It’s planned like four hour or shorter range vehicle are gonna use.
[00:56:38] ILS, the mid range are going to use in an MC. I’m not getting these nickel and then high nickel for, for, for long range or demanding product, like the cyber truck and the Tesla semi and whatnot. And I think the broader industry is going to have to adapt to that. That means dish surprising if they don’t.
[00:56:59] Seth Weintraub: All right. Tristan ward asks any guesses on the ionic five price. So we, you know, rewind. We, we did a lot of guessing there. Some thinking it’ll be between the ionic and Kona. Nope. It’s going to be above the Kona looking great. 60 mile charge in five minutes, et cetera. Yeah. Kona. Kona is I mean, it’s just dead in the water really.
[00:57:19] I mean, I, I think
[00:57:21] Fred Lambert: it depends on if the price is still better, you might, you know, it might go with that, but. Also some people might it’s too radical, maybe the design, but I feel like it hit the Mark for me. Like it’s, it’s, it’s new potentially radical, but it still works well. It’s okay.
[00:57:39] Seth Weintraub: It’s the only car I’m kind of like, like really thinking about right now, but you know, obviously thinking about cyber trucks and Roadsters, but you know, ones that are going to be produced this year.
[00:57:51] All right. Moving on Shannon Sullivan in Europe, ABB is providing a lot of the hardware to the identity network, which is what electrify America is called here. What is the predominant DC charge point? Electrify America is mostly ABB. They do most of the chargers, even ego, I think is. Mostly ABB
[00:58:08] Fred Lambert: I think at different, like if we had four different ones, they diversified
[00:58:13] Seth Weintraub: a little bit,
[00:58:14] Fred Lambert: they went to their site a lot though I, it is not really what the age of farm America is.
[00:58:21] I mean, it’s a coalition. I on a T in Europe, I think, I think Hyundai is it is. One of the big owners in Ford is too Fagen is for sure. But a department guy is Volkswagen is the sole owner. Perfect.
[00:58:34] Seth Weintraub: Yeah. And I think this was in regard to my comments about how I wasn’t able to initiate a charge with credit card.
[00:58:39] I think that’s more like that. I don’t think that has to do with ABB. I think that’s more like the payment processing stuff, the credit card stuff and the communications, which I don’t think ABB is a part of, they might be. And then we’re at our last question from Shane. O’Sullivan a nice trend is all wheel drive.
[00:58:55] But with the front wheels driven by a low speed, high torque motor, just for snow or off road driving. That’s actually interesting because GM talked about that at their battery day in March or not battery day, but whatever they did. What was that called? Was it the battery then?
[00:59:10] Fred Lambert: The one last year? Yeah, last year.
[00:59:12] Yeah, that was the easy
[00:59:13] Seth Weintraub: day, I think almost a year ago. Some of their cars are going to have a very low power, high torque front wheel. Well, you know, all wheel drive motors, just for that time, you know, three or four times a year when you’re stuck in the snow, which I think is really smart.
[00:59:31] There’s really, you know, that’s kind of, a lot of people are just buying all wheel drive for those particular times. And I think it’s smart. I mean, you can do that with a luxury. You can’t really do that with gas. You have, you know, you’re either running a axle, like the length of the car or you’re not.
[00:59:45] So this is kind of a cool thing. I don’t know if anybody else’s, you know,
[00:59:51] Fred Lambert: I don’t know. I mean also he’s, he’s, he’s talking about front wheel drive. I mean, it’s not all the people doing front wheel drive and the EVs of people doing real drive now.
[01:00:01] Seth Weintraub: Yeah.
[01:00:02]Fred Lambert: Ionic, I think is real. The two wheel option has to be real drive, I
[01:00:05] Seth Weintraub: think.
[01:00:05] Yeah. So basically the, the wheels that aren’t normally driving the car.
[01:00:12] Fred Lambert: Oops. Did I lose you right now? All right. If I, if I lost you, I’ll I mean, that’s it for today’s episode of the electric podcast people. I think we lost set right now, but thanks a lot for listening. If you like the video or on YouTube, you can leave us a likeness, subscribe on your podcast app.
[01:00:30] You can give us a review. So I always appreciated, and we’re going to see you next time. Kind of get one, everyone.
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