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

The Mercedes-Stellantis gigafactory in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France. Photo courtesy ACC.

The Electric: Half the West’s Planned Gigafactories Are Uncertain to Be Built

By Steve LeVine · Jun 10, 2024 4:30am PDT

Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories they were building through a joint venture. The companies want to take a fresh look at the plants in hopes of reducing the price of their electric vehicles, driven in large part by the cost of the batteries, the most expensive component in an EV. If... Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis last week froze construction of two European battery gigafactories...

Photo: Getty

The Electric: Mercedes Goes to Advanced Tests of Factorial’s Solid State Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jun 6, 2024 4:31am PDT

Mercedes-Benz, aiming to introduce next-generation solid state batteries into its electric vehicles by 2026, said it has moved into advanced tests of a battery developed by Massachusetts-based Factorial Energy. The move comes amid increasing industry and investor skepticism about the mass-market potential of most next-gen EV batteries. Mercedes-Benz, aiming to introduce next-generation solid state batteries into its electric...

China's CATL displays a sodium-ion battery at a Beijing exposition in December. Photo: Li He/Xinhua/Getty

The Electric: AI Chatbots Get a Boost From a Sodium-Ion Battery

By Steve LeVine · Jun 3, 2024 4:30am PDT

Artificial intelligence chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini consume several times as much power as an ordinary Google search, and the insatiable tech companies are demanding yet more from them at a scale that can overwhelm the grid. Artificial intelligence chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini consume several...

The $9,600 Byd Seagull. Photo: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty

The Electric: A U.S. Official Plots a $16,000 U.S.-Made Electric Vehicle

By Steve LeVine · May 30, 2024 4:30am PDT

The $9,600 Byd Seagull. Photo: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty

The Electric: A U.S. Official Plots a $16,000 U.S.-Made Electric Vehicle

By Steve LeVine · May 30, 2024 4:30am PDT

For a year, one electric vehicle has stood out as an emblem of China’s yawning lead in EVs and batteries—the Byd Seagull hatchback, which at $9,650 in China has made some U.S. industry watchers worry whether the West can ever catch up. Now, a program manager for the Department of Energy’s technology incubator says U.S. entrepreneurs should stop... For a year, one electric vehicle has stood out as an emblem of China’s yawning lead in EVs and...

Freyr's plant in Mo-i-Rana, Norway. Photo: Courtesy Freyr

Exclusive From The Electric: Two Battery Startups Shade the Truth on Their Progress

By Steve LeVine · May 27, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Six months ago, Freyr Battery announced that the next-generation battery it was developing had hit a snag: The equipment it had ordered to automate production wasn’t working properly, and it wasn’t clear when it would be. So Freyr wouldn’t begin to sell batteries—and generate revenue—as soon as it had planned. Investors walloped Freyr’s shares,... Six months ago, Freyr Battery announced that the next-generation battery it was developing had...

CATL's lithium-iron-phosphate Shenxing battery. Photo: Zhou Chengfeng/VCG/Getty

The Electric: China’s Iron-Based Batteries Are Even Cheaper Than We Thought

By Steve LeVine · May 23, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

On Monday, we reported that the going rate for iron-based batteries in China had plunged to an astonishing $56 per kilowatt hour, 40% below last year’s average outside the country. But we have since learned that the average price is even lower—$47/kWh, half as much as such batteries outside China, according to a survey last month by... On Monday, we reported that the going rate for iron-based batteries in China had plunged to an...

A Chinese worker stores electric vehicle batteries. Photo: Getty

The Electric: How the China Playbook Has Changed the Rules in EVs and Batteries

By Steve LeVine · May 20, 2024 4:30am PDT

In January, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the world’s largest battery manufacturer, slashed the price of its iron-based battery cells 40% below the global industry average. Western battery industry veterans told me at the time that the price had to be a one-off promotion for CATL’s best customers. It was not possible to make... In January, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the world’s largest battery...

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announces tariffs on China. Photo by Getty.

Exclusive From The Electric: Biden to End Tariff Exemption on Synthetic Graphite from China

By Steve LeVine · May 16, 2024 4:30am PDT

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announces tariffs on China. Photo by Getty.

Exclusive From The Electric: Biden to End Tariff Exemption on Synthetic Graphite from China

By Steve LeVine · May 16, 2024 4:30am PDT

In a new move meant to protect the nascent U.S. electric vehicle battery industry, the Biden administration will announce a 25% tariff on Chinese-made synthetic graphite later this month, to be imposed in stages over the next two years, a U.S. official said. In a new move meant to protect the nascent U.S. electric vehicle battery industry, the Biden...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo: Getty.

The Electric: The Tesla Model 2 Was Nearly Ready for Production When Musk Scrapped It

By Steve LeVine · May 13, 2024 4:30am PDT · 4 comments

Early this year, a team of Tesla engineers was working out stubborn kinks in the Model 2, the company’s long-awaited $25,000 electric vehicle, which was to be ready for pilot production later this year and high-volume manufacture in 2025. The engineers believed they would surmount the technical difficulties, including with the car’s signature... Early this year, a team of Tesla engineers was working out stubborn kinks in the Model 2, the...

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

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

By Steve LeVine · May 6, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

Last week, the Biden administration released its final rules attempting to cut China out of the U.S. battery supply chain and encourage American companies to build battery and electric vehicle manufacturing capacity in the U.S. It left one conspicuous opening for Chinese companies: For two years, they could continue to supply graphite to U.S.... Last week, the Biden administration released its final rules attempting to cut China out of the...

Tesla watchers expect the company to release a gussied-up Model 3 as a "low-cost" EV over the next year. Photo: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · May 2, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

On April 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company would deliver “new vehicles, including more-affordable models” as soon as the end of the year. But people familiar with the matter said that Tesla has only one future model sufficiently developed to meet that time frame—the $25,000 compact SUV dubbed the Model 2 that Musk shelved... On April 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company would deliver “new vehicles,...

Photo by Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 29, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

Photo by Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 29, 2024 4:30am PDT · 1 comment

When Tesla’s head of powertrain, Drew Baglino, resigned this month, along with Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy, and Martin Viecha, vice president of investor relations, they joined hundreds of senior and midlevel executives who have left the company over the years. As we show in the searchable Tesla Diaspora Database we are... When Tesla’s head of powertrain, Drew Baglino, resigned this month, along with Rohan Patel, vice...

SES joined the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Photo: Sipa/AP

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 25, 2024 4:30am PDT

Next-generation battery developer SES AI pushed further ahead in the race to commercialize lithium-metal anodes, moving to the B Sample qualification stage with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor. The automaker has not committed to deploying the anodes in its electric vehicles, but the deal sets SES on the path of putting its anodes in Hyundai test... Next-generation battery developer SES AI pushed further ahead in the race to commercialize...

Graphite processing in Hegang City, China. Photo: Xie Jianfei/Xinhua/Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 22, 2024 4:30am PDT

Chinese companies dominate the processing of virtually every metal in an electric vehicle battery and make more batteries and EVs than anyone. But in no area of the battery and EV industries are they more dominant than in the production and processing of graphite, a material used in every commercial EV battery anode on the planet. China produces... Chinese companies dominate the processing of virtually every metal in an electric vehicle battery...

Photo: Shutterstock

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 18, 2024 4:30am PDT · 2 comments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is vowing accelerated development of the fully driverless Robotaxi, brushing aside calls from analysts and investors to walk back his abrupt postponement of a long-awaited $25,000 electric vehicle. “Going balls to the wall for autonomy is a blindingly obvious move,” Musk said in a tweet Tuesday. “Everything else is like... Tesla CEO Elon Musk is vowing accelerated development of the fully driverless Robotaxi, brushing...

Former President Donald Trump and Jigar Shah, director of the Loan Programs Office in the U.S. Energy Department. Photo: Shutterstock; Energy Department.

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 15, 2024 4:30am PDT

Former President Donald Trump and Jigar Shah, director of the Loan Programs Office in the U.S. Energy Department. Photo: Shutterstock; Energy Department.

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 15, 2024 4:30am PDT

Virtually no one expects Donald Trump—should he win election in November—to be able to fulfill his threat to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs supporting the U.S. electric vehicle and battery industries. But Trump’s history and recent statements suggest he might flip the script on the EV transition, slowing the Biden... Virtually no one expects Donald Trump—should he win election in November—to be able to fulfill...

Wright Electric CEO Jeff Engler, whose company is a contestant in Arpa-E's competition to invent a 1,000 watt-hour per kilogram battery. Photo: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg/Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 11, 2024 4:30am PDT

Amid grave investor doubts about the viability of next-generation batteries, a half-dozen U.S. companies and seven universities are competing in a government-sponsored contest to quadruple the energy density of the world’s best commercial electric vehicle batteries. Amid grave investor doubts about the viability of next-generation batteries, a half-dozen U.S....

Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai America. Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 8, 2024 4:30am PDT

For three years, General Motors, Ford and other automakers were all elbows, seeking to outdo one another in their commitment to electric vehicles, backed by tens of billions of dollars each in promised spending. But over the last five or so months, most did a U-turn: They had gotten EVs wrong, many said—customers were not lining up for them in... For three years, General Motors, Ford and other automakers were all elbows, seeking to outdo one...

Photo: Bloomberg/Getty

The Electric: Five Things Tesla Needs to Do—Now

By Steve LeVine · Apr 4, 2024 4:30am PDT

In November, Tesla released its long-promised, Matrix-styled Cybertruck pickup, and two months later a refurbished Model 3 sedan that Motor Trend called “something to get excited about.” Next year, the company aims to release a new version of its high-end Roadster that CEO Elon Musk calls a cross between a car and a rocket ship. And in case... In November, Tesla released its long-promised, Matrix-styled Cybertruck pickup, and two months...

Photo: Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 1, 2024 4:35am PDT

Photo: Getty

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

By Steve LeVine · Apr 1, 2024 4:35am PDT

In 2020, a mania erupted around next-generation electric vehicle batteries, especially lithium-metal batteries that promised 500 miles of driving range, twice as far as most EVs could go on a charge at the time. Investors mobbed QuantumScape, a California lithium-metal battery developer, whose share price rose almost sixfold in the month... In 2020, a mania erupted around next-generation electric vehicle batteries, especially...