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Friday, June 11, 2021
Barrett-Jackson's coolest Corvettes 👀
Lordstown Motors Running out of Cash
| If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.  This week Tesla both kills a car and unveils one, Fiat vows to go all EV, Ford is building more Mach-Es than gas Mustangs, and the Mercedes EQS takes on the 'Ring. But first:  At times it can seem like the EV industry takes two steps forward and one step back. This week certainly fit that theme, with Ohio-based Lordstown Motors indicating that it doesn't have enough money to begin building the Endurance pickup, which was revealed with much fanfare last summer. The pickup promised a range of 250 miles, a four-door layout, a towing capacity of 7500 pounds, and a relatively modest starting price of $52,500. The truck looked believable enough, even though some industry watchers were skeptical of items such as its four in-wheel hub motors—advanced tech (if they worked) but also arguably unnecessary for a truck like this, especially with the claimed starting price.  Vice President Mike Pence at the Endurance's unveiling last summer. Originally, production was slated to start earlier this year, with Lordstown aiming for fleet customers and boasting of 100,000 pre-orders from various companies—a staggering number for a young start-up. However, this spring Hindenburg Research released a report saying Lordstown had not begun building the trucks and may not have the pre-orders it claims. Lordstown then admitting it was the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.  Tesla Model S Plaid Plus is officially canceled. In another step back this week, Tesla has abruptly canceled the Model S Plaid Plus flagship, which was promised to deliver a monster range of over 520 miles, 0-to-60-mph launches in under two seconds, and 1100 hp. News of the model's cancellation arrived—you guessed it—from Elon Musk himself via Twitter, with Musk saying that the Model S Plaid was "just so good" on its own. The $149,990 Plaid Plus was slated to offer a whole host of breakthroughs for Tesla, including a new type of battery cell design, but it remains unclear what really caused the cancellation—tech limitations, business reasons, or a focus on something else, such as getting Cybertruck production started in Texas. Those wanting the top version of the Model S will have to settle for the just-unveiled Plaid version for now, which experienced a sudden $10,000 price hike this week, just days after the Plaid Plus was canceled. Buyers will now have to shell out at least $129,990 for the 1020-hp, 390-mile sedan.    For those who were waiting for the Model S Plaid Plus, only to learn last week of its cancellation, Tesla conveniently rolled out the production Model S Plaid as a balm. And the car indeed boasts some crazy performance numbers: 0-60 mph in 1.99, quarter mile in 9.23 at 155, 200-mph top speed.  A The Kia Niro EV has been for sale for a few years, albeit only in 12 states. Adapted from the hybrid and plug-in hybrid Niro, the EV version doesn't have some of the calling cards of a dedicated EV architecture, but it's a practical, pleasant, and affordable EV. Volkswagen's first foray into EVs in the United States is the ID.4, built from the ground up on the company's EV platform that will spawn dozens of variants. Both cars offer an identical 201 hp, more than 200 miles per charge, plenty of practicality, and qualify for the $7500 federal tax credit, which make them even more affordable. Let's see how they stack up.   Spread the word: If you know someone interested in staying on top of the rapidly growing EV segment, feel free to pass this newsletter along.
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