Donald Trump Loves His New Cybertruck

How Donald Trump Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love Electric Vehicles

It’s a confusing time for the Donald.

The former President can’t tell if Kamala is black or not. cnn.com

He hoped oil companies would give him a billion dollars. washingtonpost.com

If elected, he wants to “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one” in an effort to save “the US auto industry from complete obliteration.” He’s even suggested that proponents of EVs should “rot in hell.” Good times. bloomberg.com

It doesn’t matter that the stuff Trump says about electric vehicles at his rallies is inaccurate. qz.com

But, instead of getting his oil-backed payday, one of his most public and generous supporters became EV-loving Elon Musk, who has committed to donate around $45 million a month to the Trump campaign through his recently formed Super PAC. wsj.com

Adding to the confusion, Adin Ross gave Trump a brand new Cybertruck, complete with an American flag and a picture of Trump himself on the side. nytimes.com

Now Trump says he doesn’t have any choice. He’s gotta support electric vehicles… because… you know… Elon. businessinsider.com, theguardian.com, news.yahoo.com

Trump is still suggesting he’ll end any Biden-era EV targets. However, Elon might object to that if Tesla’s US sales don’t rebound soon. nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com

China’s Automotive Expansion

Xpeng started production of their new Mona (“Made of New AI”) M03 a month after announcing the vehicle. cnevpost.com, electrek.co

BYD had a record sales month in July. cnevpost.com

BYD will launch the 2025 Seal EV and Seal 07 DM-i this month. cnevpost.com

Nio hits 50 million battery swaps. electrek.co

MG Motor plans to build a plant in Mexico. canada.autonews.com

Chinese ride-share company WeRide plans for US IPO. reuters.com

BEVs and PHEVs (or New Energy Vehicles as China likes to call them) outsold ICE vehicles in China (the world’s largest vehicle market) for the first time in July. thedrive.com, reuters.com

Must Know Musk News

SpaceX shows off and then tests their new Raptor 3 engine. nextbigfuture.com, x.com

Neuralink puts a chip in a second patient. theguardian.com

“X”’s Grok AI chatbot falsely says the ‘ballot deadline has passed for several states.’ theguardian.com

“X” sues Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a group of advertisers concerned about their ability to advertise on brand-appropriate platforms, for not advertising. Then, the group shuts down. apnews.com, cnn.com

Elon sues OpenAI again. cnn.com

Tesla launches the Cybertruck in Canada. electrek.co

Tesla tests out Supercharging V4. electrek.co

Tesla’s Optimus robot learns to snowboard. msn.com

Elon continues to struggle to find new Tesla buyers. qz.com

Maybe Elon likes moving. bbc.com

Elon plans to open another school. theguardian.com

I don’t have words to explain what’s going on between Elon and the UK. Whatever it is, it’s not good. cnbc.com

Rise Of The Machines

Robotics company Figure puts OpenAI’s ChatGPT into a humanoid robot body. It speaks. It listens. And BMW tests out the bot in the real world. techcrunch.com, youtube.com, therobotreport.com

Robot dogs go to war. yahoo.com

Robot buoys are being used at the Paris Olympics. therobotreport.com

DeepMind built a new ping-pong robot. techcrunch.com

This robot might help us fight wildfires. therobotreport.com, youtube.com

Three words: robot back rubs. A new, entirely useful application of AI. nytimes.com

Energy

Chargepoint’s new ‘Omni Port’ works on vehicles with either the NASC or CCS charging ports. theverge.com

Saudi Aramco believes oil demand is underestimated. ft.com

Wood Mackenzie estimates that about 24% of the global petrochemical capacity is at risk of permanent closure by 2028. reuters.com

Serbian villagers protest a planned lithium mine. reuters.com

Researchers develop a lower-cost, anode-free, sodium solid-state battery. scitechdaily.com

Scientists at Oxford University have developed a new light-absorbing, ultra-thin, flexible material that can generate electricity without panels. electrek.co

Hey Boralex, leave our caribou alone. cbc.ca

But Wait, There’s More

Introducing the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV. Built in Ontario, Canada. However, it is not readily available in Ontario, Canada. caranddriver.com, theverge.com, motor1.com, cbc.ca, canada.autonews.com

Marissa West, former GM Canada President and recent GM North American president, has left GM. autonews.com

Stellantis to lay off 2,450 factory workers. reuters.com

Hyundai Group’s updated anti-theft software appears to be working. theverge.com

The Hyundai Palisade might have a seat belt problem. reuters.com

VW launches the sporty Volkswagen ID.3 GTX. electrek.co

Jim Farley says Ford has “learned a lot” from VW on EVs. fordauthority.com

Ford gets back into e-bikes (apparently learned nothing from Pedego). electrek.co

Fiat's Grande Panda EV has built-in retractable charging cables. insideevs.com

Quebec aims to ban all ICE vehicles by 2035. canadianautodealer.ca

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund dropped another $1.5 Billion into Lucid in the hope that they can get their Gravity SUV off the ground. insideevs.com

‘Charger hogs’ ruin it for everyone. cnn.com

IMHO, The world could use more lifted off-road Corvettes. thedrive.com

ICYMI

HyperCasket by Titan Casket is the CyberTruck of caskets. Pre-order yours today! #weird instagram.com, titancasket.com, supercarblondie.com

Is the trillion-dollar pursuit of AI worth it? Time will tell. theatlantic.com

Google is declared a monopoly. The remedies might reshape the Internet. theguardian.com, axios.com, theverge.com, ft.com, bloomberg.com

Antarctica had a winter “heat wave”. washingtonpost.com

Kick Out The Jams

New music this week from The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion, Addison Rae, Vin Jay & Krizz Kaliko, Sicily Rose, Shawn Mendes, Katy Perry, The Killers, Skillet, Ice-T + Body Count, Jerry Cantrell, Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Kylie Minogue

Papa Roach & Carrie Underwood do a duet.

St Vincent did an excellent live performance of ‘Reckless.’

Lenny Kravitz refreshed ‘Fly’ with Quavo.

DEVO, Kehlani, The LOX, Phish, Alana Springsteen (no relation to Bruce) and Feist all did Tiny Desk Concerts.

I don’t understand BAND-MAID. I completely dig The Warning. And their super band mash-up ‘SHOW THEM’ is spectacular.

I have a renewed obsession with Die Antwoord

ICYMI: GAWNE might be the fastest rapper ever.