🚗 Musk Leaves DC

TOGETHER WITH

Welp, it may feel like this week has been too long—but apparently, it hasn’t been long enough. Because if it had, it’d be over. And it’s not. Yet.

Lucky for you, we’ve got some stories to help pass the time—and make you a little smarter in the process.

• Love him or hate him, Elon Musk is a character in nearly every scene these days. He’s officially exiting stage left from the Trump administration. That’s giving hope to people counting on his focus at Tesla… and giving other feelings to pretty much anyone watching his DOGE detour.

• Meanwhile, Carvana, your friendly neighborhood car vending machine, is expanding same-day delivery to Denver. Doubling down on their commitment to sell cars in every way but the one people are most familiar with.

• And while new retail sales are 🐢, trade-in values are 🚀. Just in case you need an icebreaker with a used car’s “current owner."

Plenty more below. And honestly? All around you. We live in a world made of words. Read something weird today.

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

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THE NEWS

Elon’s Exit, Trade-Ins Climb, and VW Saves the Buttons

Elon Musk is officially out of the Trump administration after a wild, bureaucratic chainsaw act that ended with him publicly trashing the president’s tax plan. Now back at Tesla full-time (allegedly), Musk faces mounting investor pressure as the company’s Canadian sales nosedive and its brand ranking sinks from #8 to #95.

Carvana is pushing forward with same-day delivery in Denver, marking its 17th state in the program. Their logistics machine is humming, but don’t forget—local relationships still drive trust in the used-car game.

Retail sales? Flat. But don’t sleep on your trade-ins. J.D. Power reports trade-in equity is up $415 year-over-year, averaging $8,292. Smart dealers will lean in here for margin and momentum.

Volkswagen, in a rare design mea culpa, is bringing back real buttons. Turns out, people don’t want to pilot a tablet—they want to drive a car. VW is also holding the line on EV prices (for now) despite tariff pressure, signaling sensitivity to shopper fatigue.

In China, the EV market is flexing both its muscles and weaknesses. A major BYD dealer network collapsed, stranding over 1,000 customers. But ZEEKR and NIO just inked a huge charging partnership—combining 26,000+ chargers and over 3,000 battery swap stations—underscoring China’s infrastructure dominance.

➕ More

Read more on these and a few more stories in our Daily Digest on LinkedIn.

🥊 Quick Hits

• Mortgage rates are at their highest point since January. 🏘️ 

• Some CCR songs are getting a re-release T-Swift style. 🎸 

• The headline says dinosaur science may help human cancer. The article says they actually found a cancer tumor on a dinosaur that could teach us where cancer came from. (I think. I am not a dinosaur expert. -Chris) 🦖

TOGETHER WITH REVDOJO

Powering Up the People Side of Automotive

Since 2015, RevDojo has helped over 10,000 dealers sharpen their edge with the training, technology, and talent today's market demands. With 100,000+ mystery shops completed and a library of 1,500+ white-labeled training videos, they’re not just keeping up—they’re helping dealers lead the pack.

But RevDojo doesn’t stop at videos and virtual learning. Their live sales training seminars engage your team face-to-face. Their remote BDC solutions keep leads warm and conversations active. Their career fair support connects you with top-tier automotive talent. And with Calengrow, they’ve automated the calendar chaos, so no customer gets left waiting.

Need help with web and IT services? Covered. Want high-impact video production that actually looks and sounds like your brand? They do that, too.

It’s a full-service toolkit for dealer success—from insight to execution.

Ready to elevate your team, tech, and traffic? Head over to RevDojo today!

🔁 Today in History

• 1911: The first Indianapolis 500. 🏁 

• 1922: The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. 🎩 

• 1967: The Mazda Cosmo is introduced. 🚘️ 

Until next time…