#643 - 🚗 Steady as She Goes

TOGETHER WITH

Welp, it is Friday again. Seems like we just did this last week.

Be good to the folks on your team. Give a little extra if you got it. It’s true we don’t know their circumstances and can’t guess what parts of their lives are asking them to give a little extra that they do not have.

Be good to the folks in your home, in your neighborhood, and in the mirror while you're at it.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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BUSINESS

Friday News

It's been a while since we dropped a song in one of these emails, but we accidentally referenced one, so here it is.

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BMW: Steady as She Goes

The wait is over! If you were waiting on yet another EV... but this time by BMW. The Neue Klasse platform is coming with an SUV in 2025 and a sedan in 2026. They just announced it will have bidirectional charging, which is becoming a staple in the grid-conscious EV world. 

The company's battery tech promises a 30% speed boost to charging AND increased range and density. Make it smell like lemon, and it's the total package. Also on the way are electric versions of Mini and Rolls-Royce by the early 2030s, with aims for EVs to constitute over half of BMW's sales by the decade's end.

BMW also announced anticipated steady profit margins in 2024 as it peaks in electric vehicle investment.

Across the pond, and then across the other pond. 

The EU had a 10.1% increase in new car sales for Feb 2024 as compared to 2023. 

• France, Italy, Spain, and Germany contributed significantly to the overall increase.

• Hybrids surged 24.7% to 28.9% of the total market share. 

• EVs (BEVs, Hybrids, and Plug-in Hybrids) were 48.2% of the month's new registrations. 

• Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Renault, as well as Tesla and China's SAIC Motor, experienced sales growth. 

• Total new vehicle registrations in the EU, Britain, and the EFTA climbed to 995,059 vehicles, with a notable 14% increase in Britain.

China's BYD predicts that new energy vehicles will reach a 50% market share in China within the next three months. 

• The current market penetration rate is 48.2%

• Price cuts and already low-priced vehicles, like BYD's $9,700 Seagull EV, are causing EV sales to surge. 

Another Tiny Competitor (?)

Somewhere in the world is a sea of people who have no immediate plans of raising a family, buying a piano, or getting more than two bags of groceries. For those folks, there is another option coming soon.

Lit Motors is crowdfunding for a novel, fully-enclosed, gyroscopes-enabled self-balancing electric motorcycle. It charges in five minutes for a 170-mile range and can hit speeds up to 100 mph. 

The project, led by founder Daniel Kim and a team of elite engineers, also focuses on sustainability by requiring fewer parts and lithium than typical EVs. Preorders are open, with production expected to start around 2026, and prices beginning at $32,000.

Recharge Upcharge

A charging company is offering free charger tech to businesses with no upfront cost; in fact, they share the profit from the charging sessions with the host businesses. Where does the money come from, you may ask? Well, where does money always come from? People in need of goods or services. 

FreeWire installs and manages the chargers and even custom brands them for host clients. First up is Chevron, who will add the chargers to some of its locations. 

After five years, businesses can own the chargers outright, which sweeten the deal for the host and beefs up the charging infrastructure, a major blockage on the road to wider EV adoption.

Cyber Cell Celebration

Tesla is celebrating a new milestone. Why anybody would want to carry a stone for a mile? We don't know, but we are happy they are happy all the same. 

The Giga Texas Factory now produces enough 4680 battery cells to supply 1,000 Cybertrucks per week. They didn't say how many cells that equals, but we like measuring things by the cyber truck. For instance, our weekly coffee budget is 1/5459th Cybertrucks.  

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We know tiny vehicles aren’t people’s only rides, and we know that owning one doesn’t mean you’ve given up on having a family. Sometimes jokes are just willful suspensions of what we actually think in order to look at something from different vantage points.

Reading the news lately, we assume none of you are unfamiliar with the concept of “willfully suspending reality.” It’s going around out there.

TOGETHER WITH PARTSEDGE

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For a deeper understanding and to access the full range of strategies and tips, download the eBook here!

DATA & INSIGHT

Living in a Material World

Let’s jump right into this week’s market moves:

Interest Rates: The Fed kept rates on hold this week at 5.25% – 5.5%, but officials signaled in their latest projections that they see 0.75% worth of cuts in 2024.

Bull Market and Investor Optimism: The stock market has entered a vigorous bull market phase, reminiscent of the 1990s, with stocks surging over 30% in the last 12 months.

Beating Records: The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high on Wednesday, up more than 9% so far this year.

Leaps and Labor: The U.S. economy bounced back impressively in the latter half of 2023, with a strong 4% average quarterly GDP growth shaking off earlier recession worries. Despite a robust job market, there's a hint of cooling with a slight rise in unemployment, fewer job openings, and slower wage growth over the past year.

Steady Growth: Throughout 2023, the economy showed its strength consistently, with real GDP growth cruising over 2% every quarter.

👉 Click here for even more market updates. 👀

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Quick Hits

• A few weeks back, a 29-year-old quadriplegia man received a Neuralink brain implant. A new video shows the patient able to play games with “telepathy.” He says it “isn’t perfect” but has “changed his life.” 🧠

• The Peaky Blinders will return with a movie. Star Cillian Murphy will return also. 🍿

• The US is suing Apple for alleged monopolization of the smartphone market. 👩‍⚖️

History

• 1894: The Stanley Cup ice hockey competition was held for the first time in Montreal, Canada. 🏒

• 1963: The Beatles release their debut album Please Please Me. 📼

• 1993: The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64-bit data path. 💾

Thanks for reading, friend! We love the little things we learn while researching our daily email. For instance, did you know tomatoes are berries and part of the nightshade family, which means that they are a cousin to belladonna which is poison? That explains why good pasta is to die for. It all makes sense, eventually.