The Electric by Steve LeVine — The Information

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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

Storing raw manganese. Ian Waldie/Bloomberg

Soaring Metals Prices Are Deepening Western Exposure to China

By Steve LeVine · Oct 24, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric! Tune in to a special pop-up event on Wednesday: Will AI Transform Batteries? Machine learning has unleashed a new age for drug discovery and genomics, but it has barely penetrated battery science. Can it do so this decade? To discuss, I am excited to host a Live Chat with AI pioneer Andrew Ng, founder of... Welcome back to The Electric! Tune in to a special pop-up event on Wednesday: Will AI...

Qichao Hu, CEO of SES. Photo: Courtesy SES

This GM-Backed Startup Could Upend All You Know About Lithium

By Steve LeVine · Oct 17, 2021 2:09pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric.Don't forget to RSVP for Tuesday's Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars: The Establishment vs. The Upstarts. My guest for this super-important discussion of how legacy automakers might win the EV war is Ford Motor's Darren Palmer. Palmer is general manager of Ford's electric vehicle program and a founding member of the... Welcome back to The Electric.Don't forget to RSVP for Tuesday's Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars:...

Elon Musk, at a rave he threw Saturday at the Berlin Gigafactory. Photo: Patrick Pleul/picture-alliance/dpa/AP

Why GM, Ford and VW Should Spin Off Their EV and Battery Units

By Steve LeVine · Oct 10, 2021 2:05pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric.A reminder to RSVP and invite a guest or two of your choice for the next Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars: The Establishment vs. The Upstarts. In the first subscriber-only event, I'm delighted to present a conversation with Ford Motor's Darren Palmer. Palmer is general manager of Ford's electric vehicle program and a... Welcome back to The Electric.A reminder to RSVP and invite a guest or two of your choice for the...

Chile's Atacama Desert, the source of a third of the world's lithium supply. Photo: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg

A Looming New Supply Shortage Threatens the EV Industry’s Hopes for the 2020s

By Steve LeVine · Oct 3, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Chile's Atacama Desert, the source of a third of the world's lithium supply. Photo: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg

A Looming New Supply Shortage Threatens the EV Industry’s Hopes for the 2020s

By Steve LeVine · Oct 3, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to The Electric.A reminder to RSVP for the next Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars: The Establishment vs. The Upstarts. In the first subscriber-only event, I am delighted to present a conversation with Ford Motor's Darren Palmer. Palmer is general manager of Ford's electric vehicle program and a founding member of the company’s “Team... Welcome back to The Electric.A reminder to RSVP for the next Live Chat—Winning the EV Wars: The...

Photo: Cayce Clifford/Bloomberg

Why Investors May Regret Hopping On the E-Bike Sharing Craze

By Steve LeVine · Sep 26, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Save the Date: The Electric Presents: Winning the EV Wars: The Establishment vs. The Upstarts. In the first subscriber-only Live Chat, The Electric is delighted to present a conversation between editor Steve LeVine and Ford Motor's Darren Palmer. Palmer is general manager of Ford's electric vehicle program and a founding member of the company’s... Save the Date: The Electric Presents: Winning the EV Wars: The Establishment vs. The Upstarts. In...

The Whoop 4.0, containing Sila Nanotechnologies' silicon-carbon anode. Image: Courtesy Whoop

The Electric Flash Analysis: The Customers Many Battery Startups Are Overlooking

By Steve LeVine · Sep 23, 2021 4:00am PDT

If you are worth your salt in the lithium-ion battery business, you are working on a new-generation anode, a cathode, an electrolyte—or all three. You are aiming to both break new ground and earn billions of dollars to boot by powering the electric vehicles that are about to swamp the global market. But what if EVs are a buzzy diversion and the... If you are worth your salt in the lithium-ion battery business, you are working on a...

Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Why Elon Musk Should Refund $2.3 Billion to Customers of Full Self-Driving

By Steve LeVine · Sep 19, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Welcome back to the paid beta of The Electric. We're building this for you, so please do let us know what you think. We're eager to hear your feedback, as we aim to create the best source of insight into EVs and battery technology available. Just reply directly to this email. I am always reachable at [email protected]. Why... Welcome back to the paid beta of The Electric. We're building this for you, so please do let...

Ola Electric's launch of its S1 scooter in Bengaluru, India, on Aug. 15. Photo: Samyukta Lakshmi/Bloomberg

Indians Are Snapping Up Electric Vehicles—Just Not the Ones Major Automakers Are Selling

By Steve LeVine · Sep 12, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Ola Electric's launch of its S1 scooter in Bengaluru, India, on Aug. 15. Photo: Samyukta Lakshmi/Bloomberg

Indians Are Snapping Up Electric Vehicles—Just Not the Ones Major Automakers Are Selling

By Steve LeVine · Sep 12, 2021 2:00pm PDT

For three decades, the world’s major automakers have been piling into India, tantalized by a teeming population of consumers with rising incomes and relatively few passenger vehicles. In the new age of electric vehicles, the country’s allure has been even greater, representing the last big and all but untapped EV market on the planet. But all of... For three decades, the world’s major automakers have been piling into India, tantalized by a...

The prize from ore-to-gigafactory processing: cathode powder. Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Congress Has Slashed Biden’s Vaunted $174 Billion Battery Supply Chain. Now What?

By Steve LeVine · Sep 5, 2021 2:00pm PDT

This Wednesday, Sept. 8, at noon ET: The Electric Presents: Making the Forever Battery. In its second live chat, The Electric is delighted to present a conversation between editor Steve LeVine and Sila Nanotechnologies CEO Gene Berdichevsky, who for a decade and a half has helped lead development of some of the world’s most important commercial... This Wednesday, Sept. 8, at noon ET: The Electric Presents: Making the Forever Battery. In its...

Nano One CEO Dan Blondal in his "One Pot" pilot factory. Photo: Courtesy Nano One

These Startups Are Reconfiguring the Lithium-ion Battery. Their Aim Is to Beat China.

By Steve LeVine · Aug 29, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Save the Date: The Electric Presents: Making the Forever Battery. In its second live chat, The Electric is delighted to present a conversation between editor Steve LeVine and Sila Nanotechnologies CEO Gene Berdichevsky, who for a decade and a half has helped lead development of some of the world’s most important commercial batteries. Sept.... Save the Date: The Electric Presents: Making the Forever Battery. In its second live chat,...

Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/AP

EV Hackers Are Coming—and a Fortune Awaits Their Foes

By Steve LeVine · Aug 22, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Starting around 2025, the world’s cyberspace bad actors will suddenly have a gigantic and fast-expanding new arena in which to operate—some 50 million electric vehicles that by then are expected to be plying roads everywhere, with hundreds of millions more to come in subsequent years. All of them will be connected to the internet through dozens... Starting around 2025, the world’s cyberspace bad actors will suddenly have a gigantic and...

The Chevy Bolt, the subject of two GM recalls because of a possible danger of fire. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/AP

The Electric Flash Analysis: GM Bolt Owners Violate Fire Safety Rules Amid Battery Recall

By Steve LeVine · Aug 18, 2021 1:19pm PDT

The Chevy Bolt, the subject of two GM recalls because of a possible danger of fire. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/AP

The Electric Flash Analysis: GM Bolt Owners Violate Fire Safety Rules Amid Battery Recall

By Steve LeVine · Aug 18, 2021 1:19pm PDT

GM is replacing the Bolt's battery modules because of a danger of fire. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/APIn the three weeks since General Motors issued a second recall of Chevy Bolts whose batteries may be in danger of catching fire, new data show that a significant minority of Bolt owners didn’t follow the company’s electric-charging guidelines for... GM is replacing the Bolt's battery modules because of a danger of fire. Photo: Gene J....

Lithium-metal batteries may contain LFP by the end of the decade. Photo: QuantumScape

The Electric Flash Analysis: A Surprising, Potent New Battery Would Marry the Old and the New

By Steve LeVine · Aug 17, 2021 7:56am PDT

Leading battery researchers are talking up the idea of a Goldilocks battery that combines one of the most exotic electrodes under commercial development with one of the cheapest. The objective: a dirt-cheap battery that will take an electric vehicle more than 300 miles on a charge, and thus attract a broad swath of mass-market EV buyers.The idea... Leading battery researchers are talking up the idea of a Goldilocks battery that combines one of...

Photo: Courtesy Tesla

The Age of the EV App Store Has Arrived. Now What?

By Steve LeVine · Aug 15, 2021 2:00pm PDT

Last month, Dan Ives, a technology analyst with Wedbush, added what most would consider a decidedly non-tech company to the stable he covers—General Motors, whose share price he forecast would surge 50% over the coming year. GM was no longer a stalwart of a bygone industrial Detroit, but “a broader disruptive technology play that can start to... Last month, Dan Ives, a technology analyst with Wedbush, added what most would consider a...

At the White House, announcing a national goal to sell 50% electric vehicles by 2030. Photo: AP/Evan Vucci

The Electric Flash Analysis: Democrats Have Suddenly Gone Vague on EVs and Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Aug 12, 2021 3:51pm PDT

Only last week, President Joe Biden yet again put a buildout of the U.S. lithium-ion–battery supply chain and electric vehicle industry at the center of federal policy, lining up with auto industry and labor leaders to push for a surge of EV sales by the end of the decade. But such explicit messaging—and spending—is not clearly spelled out in... Only last week, President Joe Biden yet again put a buildout of the U.S. lithium-ion–battery...

The Electric Flash Analysis: Researchers Resurrect the “Air” Battery, But Cost Remains An Issue

By Steve LeVine · Aug 10, 2021 3:00am PDT

The Electric Flash Analysis: Researchers Resurrect the “Air” Battery, But Cost Remains An Issue

By Steve LeVine · Aug 10, 2021 3:00am PDT

Form co-founder Yet-Ming Chiang. Photo by Bloomberg.Two weeks ago, Form Energy, a Massachusetts startup with celebrity founders and funders, attracted much battery industry attention by publicizing an exotic “iron-air battery,” a long-lasting technology it said was so cheap that it would undercut natural gas in electricity generation.Today, a... Form co-founder Yet-Ming Chiang. Photo by Bloomberg.Two weeks ago, Form Energy, a Massachusetts...

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...