#758 - 🚗 Can You Be Trusted?

TOGETHER WITH

We noticed another theme while building today’s email: reliability.

No matter how hard you work, if your trustworthiness and credibility becomes compromised, it can be nearly impossible to regain that confidence (especially with customers).

Stay true to your word, success will follow.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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BUSINESS

Hot Off The Presses

We’re taking you from from record breaking to record faking in the news today. Let’s dive in.

. . .

Mustang Mach-E Makes EV History

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is topping headlines in the EV world after setting a new Guinness World Record by traveling 569 miles on a single charge.

• Record-Breaking Feat — In England, drivers Kevin Booker and Sam Clark stretched a Mach-E's range to 569 miles using a 91-kWh extended-range battery and a single rear motor, surpassing its usual 320-mile range by 78%.

• Overall Title-Holder — The Mach-E leads in terms of EVs in production, but Mercedes' EQXX concept car still holds the overall EV range title with their 747-mile drive back in 2022.

UAW Endorses Harris For President

The United Auto Workers' union has officially endorsed Harris for her presidential bid, but winning over its nearly 400,000 members remains a difficult task, especially in the battleground state of Michigan.

• Union Support — Michigan union households have leaned Democratic in recent elections, with 62% backing Biden in 2020.

• Leadership and Endorsements — The UAW endorsement boosts Harris' campaign by signaling union political resources and voter mobilization efforts. While the endorsement doesn't guarantee rank-and-file support, it may prove advantageous in this tight race.

We wanna know…

Tesla's Safety Stats

Tesla has released a new incident report claiming slight YOY improvements in the miles between Autopilot crashes. It’s also sparking suspicion about the reliability and transparency of its data.

• Report Deets — In Q2 2024, Tesla recorded one crash for every 6.88M miles driven with Autopilot, compared to one crash per 1.45M miles without it. The U.S. average stands at one crash per 670,000 miles, according to 2022 NHTSA data.

• Data Doubts — Critics point out that Tesla's data doesn't account for differences in road types or weather conditions, therefore mis-leading buyers about their performance in real-world scenarios. More critical skeptics even question whether the data has any validity at all, and knowing Musk’s track record with the truth, it’s really no surprise.

TOGETHER WITH UPSTART

Optimizing AI with Upstart

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With all the changing lender guidelines, tighter credit, long wait times and manual processes, getting fast and affordable financing is tougher than ever.

That's where AI-powered financing comes in. It lets you rehash deals instantly and get everyone the rate they deserve.

With connected online and in-store digital retail and AI-driven financing, dealers can boost profits and offer more flexible options.

Check out the latest video from Upstart and discover if you're eligible for AI-powered financing, which helps dealers offer better rates, make more money and sell more cars.

DATA & INSIGHT

Questioning Charger Reliability

ChargerHelp's latest study has recently uncovered a major gap between reported EV charger uptime versus the cold, hard reality. Turns out, juicing up your EV might be less like a gas station and more like playing a very frustrating game of roulette.

More than 26% of the stations examined in the study were guilty of misleading drivers with false status reports.

👻 One of the primary culprits are ghost stations. No, not haunted chargers. Ones that are supposedly fully functional according to the network software, but about as useful as a screen door on a submarine when you pull up for a charge.

🧟 On the other hand, we also have zombie stations. These are the poor souls that the software writes off as dead, but they’re secretly up and running, ready to charge.

These software inaccuracies are doing a number on the EV charging experience. Couple that with unexpected hardware malfunctions, and the result has been an overall growing mistrust of EV charging infrastructure.

Experts anticipate better procedures and more stations will help ease EV driver struggles, but we still have a long way to go.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Coming Soon

👊 August 9-11th — VeeCon in Los Angeles, CA.

👨‍⚖️ August 19th — Paul and Kyle judging the Automotive Amplifiers Contest with Reynolds & Reynolds in Leesburg, VA.

🌴 August 20-24th — NAMAD Conference in Miami, FL.

🍎 September 16th — The Welcome Conference in NYC.

CULTURE

Rolls-Royce Reveals A Sunny Spectre

Rolls-Royce has unveiled a vibrant version of its all-electric Spectre featuring a silver-y marbled paint scheme that took 160 hours to develop.

This one-of-a-kind Spectre, dubbed the "Semaphore," boasts a vibrant yellow exterior inspired by the coastal elegance of California, and a luxurious interior with Bespoke Lemon Yellow and Citrine Yellow leather.

This eclectic electric coupe will make it’s debut at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, on August 16th during Monterey Car Week in California.

Quick Hits

• News website Axios announced it will be laying off 10% of its staff, citing “changes in the media business.” 📰

• Ford has filed a patent for a system that would help law enforcement not only detect when speeding occurs, but also snap a picture of the vehicle committing the traffic violation. 🚨

• A fancy Formula 1 arcade bar is opening in Washington, D.C.’s Union Market District. 🕹️

History

• 1786: The U.S. Congress unanimously chooses the dollar as the monetary unit for America. 💵

• 1960: The song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" by Brian Hyland hits number one on the Billboard charts. 👙

• 2018: The ten-millionth Ford Mustang is produced. 🐎

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