The Electric by Steve LeVine — The Information

Every Monday and Thursday

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

The Million-Mile Battery is Really Here. It Will Change Everything

By Steve LeVine · Aug 8, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Dalhousie University professor and Tesla lead battery scientist Jeff Dahn. Photo: Dal UWelcome back! Event alert: Please RSVP here for “The New Iron Age,” the inaugural monthly Live Chat with The Electric. On Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET, I will speak with Yet-Ming Chiang, co-founder of some of the most important battery startups of the last dozen... Dalhousie University professor and Tesla lead battery scientist Jeff Dahn. Photo: Dal UWelcome...

Know anyone who'd like The Electric?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 5, 2021 9:17am PDT

Hi! We’re now a few weeks into The Electric, and I hope you’ve found it valuable so far. The full archive is here.I’m writing with a request. I’m hoping that as many people as possible benefit from the free pilot we’re conducting. Until it ends and the paid beta begins, anyone can sign up and read the weekly deep-dives, receive important flash... Hi! We’re now a few weeks into The Electric, and I hope you’ve found it valuable so far. The full...

The Bad News That Elon Musk Shared and Everybody Missed

By Steve LeVine · Aug 1, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, and battery chief Drew Baglino at Battery Day. Credit: Steve Jurvetson / FlickrLast week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk crowed about the company’s first $1 billion quarterly profit—its eighth consecutive profitable quarter—and seemed to leave behind the relentless specter of imminent corporate bankruptcy that had previously... Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, and battery chief Drew Baglino at Battery Day. Credit: Steve...

The Electric Flash Analysis: Elon Musk’s Shift to Iron-Based Batteries Will Upend EV Industry

By Steve LeVine · Jul 26, 2021 5:14pm PDT

The Electric Flash Analysis: Elon Musk’s Shift to Iron-Based Batteries Will Upend EV Industry

By Steve LeVine · Jul 26, 2021 5:14pm PDT

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by BloombergHappy Monday!The first three issues of The Electric said the electric vehicle industry would likely shift to cheap lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries. Tesla CEO Elon Musk just made it official.Musk said in an earnings conference call on Monday that he ultimately expects most of his electric vehicle and... Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by BloombergHappy Monday!The first three issues of The Electric said...

What Electric Vehicle Makers Don’t Get About BYD’s Game-Changing Battery

By Steve LeVine · Jul 25, 2021 2:09pm PDT

A BYD Dolphin powered by the Blade battery at the Auto Shanghai show in April. Photo by BloombergWelcome back to The Electric! (Our first two issues can be found here.)Save the date: We are excited to announce The Electric's first live video event on Aug. 10 at 11 a.m. PT with Yet-Ming Chiang, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor... A BYD Dolphin powered by the Blade battery at the Auto Shanghai show in April. Photo by Bloomberg...

The Electric Flash Analysis: Why GM’s Bolt Recall Is a Bigger Crisis Than You Think

By Steve LeVine · Jul 23, 2021 2:32pm PDT

By issuing a recall of 69,000 electric Bolts on Friday following a series of battery-induced fires, General Motors was trying to stave off a potential crisis. But the totality of GM’s response to the problem has been so inadequate that it risks a crisis of confidence among its EV customers anyway.GM’s muddled response began in November, when it... By issuing a recall of 69,000 electric Bolts on Friday following a series of battery-induced...

Why Elon Musk Has Bet on Asian Battery Makers Over American Battery Startups

By Steve LeVine · Jul 18, 2021 2:31pm PDT

American battery pioneer John Goodenough in 2019. Photo by APGood evening and welcome to the second issue of The Electric! (The first issue can be found here.)In 1980, John Goodenough, an American professor running the inorganic chemistry lab at Oxford University, discovered the lithium-cobalt-oxide cathode, a battery electrode whose unusual... American battery pioneer John Goodenough in 2019. Photo by APGood evening and welcome to the...

The Electric, Vol. 1: Why Billions of Dollars of EV Battery Investments Are Suddenly at Risk

By Steve LeVine · Jul 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

The Electric, Vol. 1: Why Billions of Dollars of EV Battery Investments Are Suddenly at Risk

By Steve LeVine · Jul 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Henry Ford with the first and ten millionth Ford car, 1924. Credit: Library of CongressThe Electric is a new premium service, from Steve LeVine and The Information, focused on one of the most important and least-covered groupings of industries on the planet—next-generation batteries, electric vehicles and autonomous driving—and how they will... Henry Ford with the first and ten millionth Ford car, 1924. Credit: Library of CongressThe...