Love it or Hate it, It’s Monday

F1, Georgia, and a Day in Court

We grabbed a few pieces of automaker news. Have a look:

• Aston Martin's Turnaround: Aston Martin is taking a trip down that well-established path from older, wealthy luxury car buyers to younger F1 racing fans (it exists, trust us).
  
  The company expects to become cash-flow positive this year, driven by new high-performance models and a boost from its Formula 1 involvement. The automaker is attracting younger buyers and seeing increased demand for customizations.
  
• Kia EV9 Production in Georgia: Kia made history in Georgia by rolling the first EV assembled in the state off the line (somebody call the History Channel).
  
  The South Korean brand started local production of the EV9 SUV in Georgia. This move will help the model qualify for federal tax credits, making it more affordable and boosting American manufacturing jobs.
  
• Hyundai Child Labor Lawsuit: The U.S. has enough evidence to take Hyundai to court over alleged child labor violations in Alabama (no joke here; child labor is abhorrent).
  
  The U.S. Department of Labor sued Hyundai, an Alabama parts plant, and a labor recruiter over illegal child labor. The lawsuit seeks to recover profits linked to the violations and highlights Hyundai's past issues with underage workers.

EU Delays Chinese Tariff Decision

The European Commission postponed its decision to impose tariffs on Chinese EV imports to avoid the topic during the Parliament election campaign on June 6-9th.

This delay aims to keep the issue out of the election spotlight. It sounds like some candidates don't want their base to know what they'll do if they get elected.

Can you imagine that? A politician being less than totally transparent and authentic with their voters? Europe sure sounds weird.

Ok, so when do they plan to get back to it? The final decision on imposing tariffs on Chinese EVs could be delayed until July 2024, as the investigation is ongoing. The European Commission has yet to confirm a specific decision date.

Charging "Trees" Could Revolutionize Urban EV Charging

A New York startup, Gravity, plans to install high-powered electric curbside "trees" across the city to quickly recharge electric cars. Finally, somebody asked and answered the question, "what if trees did something useful, not just standing around making air and shade all the time?”

EVs are ideal for congested cities like New York but face charging infrastructure challenges. Gravity's "DEAP Trees" could solve this by providing fast, curbside charging.

• Design: Tall poles with a pivoting arm for charging.
• Speed: Offers 200 miles of range in 5-13 minutes.
• Compatibility: Fits any EV.
• Future-Ready: Designed for potential bidirectional charging.

These charging "trees" could boost EV adoption in urban areas, reducing emissions and supporting New York's carbon neutrality goals.

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Maybe if we take all the pennies out of circulation and turn them into EV charger conductor material, we could add a few hot wires to every street light, too. Just hang a charging wire from everything. Like a big spider web, you can’t touch (because you’ll get shocked, not because a giant spider is waiting somewhere). 🕷️