End The Hundred Year Internal Combustion Mandate

This week, there was a lot of noise about the drop in EV sales in Europe.

Some even suggested that global EV sales mandates are doomed to fail. calgaryherald.com, bloomberg.com, fortune.com, msn.com

Although it is true that EV sales were down in the EU, it is important context to know that ALL vehicle sales were down in the EU, except for sales of traditional hybrids, which went up a bit. insideevs.com

At the beginning of the 20th century, between the 1890s and the 1930s, there was a thriving mix of electric and gas-powered vehicle options.

Cheap factory-built internal combustion vehicles caused electric cars to all but disappear from the road by 1935. archive.curbed.com

In the century since, you’ve had no choice; if you bought a vehicle, you bought it with an internal combustion engine—a de facto mandate from the auto industry.

Meanwhile, EV sales continue to grow in the US. insideevs.com

Chinese hybrid and EV sales have hit record levels. cnevpost.com

I think it’s time we partied like it was 1899, ended this century-long internal combustion mandate, and embraced other drivetrains.

Geely and Mercedes started taking pre-orders for the Smart #5 electric SUV, which is the largest vehicle Smart has ever made. caranddriver.com, carnewschina.com

Xpeng produces its 500,000th vehicle. cnevpost.com

Chery partnered with NIO to share access to Nio Power's charging network. cnevpost.com

Could BYD become the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world? Signs point to yes. cleantechnica.com

Ford CEO Jim Farley describes the progress of Chinese OEMs as an “existential threat” to his business and other incumbent OEMs around the world. wsj.com. businessinsider.com

Elon chatted with El Salvador’s Bitcoin president, Nayib Bukele. forbes.com, x.com

Elon’s travel security detail is now a small army. His code name is “voyager.” businessinsider.com

Elon gave one of his kids the wrong name. businessinsider.com

Elon might become the first trillionaire. cnn.com

Elon won’t show up for his SEC deposition. cnbc.com

FAA wants to fine SpaceX $633,000 for allegedly failing to follow license requirements during two launches in 2023. reuters.com

Tesla Cybertruck owner and general contractor explains how much he saved by going electric. yahoo.com

“A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.” msn.com

Chinese researchers found a way to use SpaceX Starlink satellite constellations to detect stealth fighters and bombers. interestingengineering.com

Pudu Robotics shows off their PUDU D7 semi-humanoid robot on wheels. therobotreport.com, pudurobotics.com

Researchers from the University of Michigan built a pair of robot knee exoskeletons using commonly available drone motors and a knee brace. techcrunch.com

Folks at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and at ETH Zurich, developed a robotic leg powered by electro-hydraulic artificial muscles. youtube.com

GXO Logistics put the Reflex Robotics warehouse robot to work. therobotreport.com

Microsoft has enlisted Constellation Energy to fire up Three Mile Island’s nuclear reactors again to help power data centers for AI. bbc.com, theglobeandmail.com, cleantechnica.com

The energy needs for AI are causing a resurgence of natural gas power generation. bloomberg.com

Apollo Global Management and BP signed a $1 billion deal on Monday to fund the Trans Adriatic natural gas pipeline. reuters.com

BP wants to sell its onshore wind business in the US. ft.com

A retired coal-fired energy plant was repurposed to attach a solar farm to the US grid. cnn.com

German hydrogen-powered trains have no hydrogen. electrive.com

The US Department of Energy wants to drop $3 Billion to support new battery production projects. theverge.com

Dude finds a way to turn a tree into a wind turbine. hackaday.com

Lotus revealed their new Theory 1 high-powered, 3-seat, electric sports car, a concept that the automaker says “embodies the future of intelligent performance vehicles.” caranddriver.com, theverge.com, wired.com, motor1.com, lotuscars.com

Stellantis plans to replace the Dodge Durango production with the smaller Stealth SUV at their Windsor assembly plant. canada.autonews.com

Ford wants to put holographic cops and dogs in front of your windshield. motortrend.com, popsci.com

GM has a warning light problem. reuters.com

BMW partners with Redwood Materials to recycle electric vehicle batteries. arstechnica.com

Waymo and Hyundai might work together to accelerate the adoption of self-driving robotaxis. theverge.com

Failed EV startup Lightyear is back and wants to share advanced solar tech with other OEMs. electrek.co

Magna has a funky new thermal sensor that is powered by AI. canada.autonews.com

Zeno has a plan to sell electric motorcycles in Africa that include swappable batteries that can also be used to power home charging and appliances. techcrunch.com

A man who was trying to sell his 2022 Porsche had it stolen and was nearly run over by an 18-year-old woman. Peel police uploaded the footage of the crime to their YouTube channel, which helped lead to the woman’s arrest. toronto.ctvnews.ca, peelpolice.ca, youtube.com

The scientists who discovered that mammals could breathe through their anuses won a Nobel Prize. ctvnews.ca

Suzanne Vega has a rat problem. youtube.com

The Kills are happier than ever. youtube.com

America’s Got Talent 2016 winner Grace VanderWaal grew up. youtube.com

Terra Rouge won’t miss your fucking face or your fake-ass fucking friends. youtube.com

Tom MacDonald & Nova Rockafeller ain’t cowboys. youtube.com

Sad Urban is a skinny loser (self-declared). youtube.com

Mörmaid will bury all of it. youtube.com

Kat Von D has completed her new album. youtube.com

Poppy’s new hard rock work is growing on me. youtube.com

The FKA twigs video for “Eusexua” has the best dancing and choreography I think I have ever seen in a video. youtube.com

Halocene did great heavy metal covers of Alanis Morissette's ”You Oughta Know”, and Britney Spears’s “Oops!... I Did It Again” and I think they fixed Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.”