🚗 Congress Aims for Tesla

🚙 The Truth about EVs

June 10, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Happy Tuesday, Fam!

We got a hurricane of news, and you're the shore where it's about to make landfall.

  • The Chinese Chokehold on rare earth metal is getting tighter. Automakers are scrambling to make deals with European providers. Or invent magnet-free cars. We have a third option: Dig up landfills to find old discarded boomboxes. The magnets in those speakers could pull a wrecked ship from the sea.

  • Jonathan Smoke says we're all doomed. Just kidding. But for real, today's opportunities are both big and missable. So... don't miss them.

  • Just as Musk and Trump are making their feud the world's problem, Congress is talking about a move that could cut something like 40% of Tesla's profits.

There is more below, so read on and tell us if you'd rather have a hotrod EV, a flying car, or the little truck Bezos is funding for people who think power windows are too flashy.

Keep Pushing Back,
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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More on Rare Earth, Congress Versus Tesla, and Cox Data on Auto Jobs

🧲 Rare Earth, Real Problem

The magnetic bottleneck is hanging on, and automakers are in full scramble mode. With China tightening export controls on rare-earth magnets, production is at risk. Again. Executives are calling European suppliers in panic, trying to avoid plant shutdowns by mid-July. Remember the chip crisis? This is déjà vu with a neodymium twist.

If you're on the ground, this could mean erratic inventory flows, unpredictable ETAs, and some vehicles missing key components. Our take? Stay flexible, over-communicate with your OEMs, and prep for creative workarounds.

🏛️ Congress vs. Tesla (And It’s Not Just Personal)

A new budget could zero out penalties for automakers who don’t meet fuel economy standards, which could kill the value of emissions credits. That’s bad news for Tesla, whose regulatory credits have historically made up to 40% of its quarterly profit. If this passes, Tesla (and Rivian) lose a major safety net. The Detroit 3, meanwhile, save millions. Game-changer? Could be.

📉 Jobs Slowing, Discounts Growing

Cox Automotive’s latest update shows a cooling—but still steady—labor market. Auto dealers added 2,100 jobs in May, but we're still just shy of pre-COVID employment levels.

Meanwhile, price-sensitive buyers are back in the driver’s seat:

  • New-vehicle incentives hit a five-year high ($3,297).

  • Average price paid dropped to 95.7% of MSRP.

  • Used car values are softening, but still up year over year.

If you're not leaning into affordability messaging, now’s the time.

We’ve got more on these and several other stories in our Daily Digest.

🥊 Quick Hits

  • They grow up apart so fast! Warner Bros. Discovery to split into two public companies by next year. 📺️ 

  • Would you eat lab-grown sushi? Because some science folks are growing salmon meat in test tubes. 🐟️ 

  • U.S. aluminum and steel prices are surging. Magnets are the only metal with “complications.” 🤘 

The Truth About Electric Vehicles

When Dave Thomas from CDK Global took the ASOTU CON stage this year, he didn’t bring opinions. He brought receipts.

Backed by the newly released 2025 EV Ownership Study, his session gave a behind-the-scenes look at what EV buyers are really thinking, and why it matters more than ever for dealers.

The study digs into the mindset of actual EV drivers. Why they buy. How they charge. What’s frustrating them. And what keeps them coming back.


If you're wondering where the EV market is truly heading, this is the kind of data that helps you stop guessing and start planning.

Watch the session, download the study, and discover more key insights with CDK Global today.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Erikka Tiffani Wells on Leading the Way

Bad leaders leave a mess.
Good leaders leave a mark.
But great leaders, they leave a map so others can follow in their steps. 🗺️

Erikka Tiffani Wells shares the value of leaving something for those who come behind you (and the danger of keeping all the info to yourself.)

The full keynote is live now.

Catch more ASOTU CON 2025 content w/ thoughtful folks on our LinkedIn.

🔁 Today in History

  • 1935: Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, marking the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous, which he co-founded with Bill Wilson in Akron, Ohio. 🥃

  • 1947: The original Saab debuts. 🆕 

  • 2003: NASA launches the Spirit rover as part of its Mars Exploration Rover mission. 🚀 

  • 2018: NASA receives a final signal from its twin rover, Opportunity, bringing the historic Mars Exploration Rover mission near an end. The project was officially declared over on February 13, 2019. 😿

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