POPULARITY
Categories
On this episode of Bruins Beat, Evan Marinofsky and Patrick Donnelly relive the greatest Bruins playoff moments since 2008 and rank them. 0:00 - Welcome in! 1:45 - Ranking the Best Bruins Playoff Moments Since 2008 4:06 - 2024, Game 7, R1: David Pastrnak's OT winner vs. Toronto 6:43 - 2021: Game 1, R2 vs. NYI: Pastrnak's hat trick in first game vs. NYI at full-capacity crowd 8:10 - 2021, Game 3, R1: Craig Smith 2OT winner vs. Washington (went on to win the series 4-1) 9:30 - 2020, Game 1, R1: Patrice Bergeron 2OT winner vs. CAR in bubble (won series 4-1) 10:13 - 2019, Game 5, R2: David Pastrnak late winner vs. CBJ (won series 4-2) 11:37 - 2019, Game 1, SC: Torey Krug hit (Bruins lost series 4-3) 13:05 - 2019, Game 5, SC: Zdeno Chara ovation for broken jaw 14:17 - 2018, Game 7, R1: Four goals in third period to come back from 4-3 to beat Toronto, 7-4 (Krug, DeBrusk, Pastrnak, Marchand ENG); two goals from DeBrusk 15:54 - 2017, Game 5, R1: Kuraly 2OT winner vs. Ottawa (lost in 6) 16:40 - No moments from 2014 18:17 - Prizepicks 19:21 - 2013 Game 2, SC: Daniel Paille laser for OT Winner vs. CHI 21:05 - 2013 Game 4, R3: Adam McQuaid snipe slapper for only goal in win vs. Pitt 22:59 - 2013 Game 3, R3: Brad Marchand to Patrice Bergeron for 2OT winner 24:47 - 2013 Game 3, R3: Greg Campbell's PK with a broken leg 27:00 - 2013, Game 7, R1: Patrice Bergeron's tying goal vs. Toronto & 2013, Game 7, R1: Patrice Bergeron's winning goal vs. Toronto 28:33 - 2013, R2 vs. NYR: Torey Krug's debut — 4 goals in 5 games 30:15 - 2013, R3 vs. Pittsburgh: Tuukka Rask: 4-0-0, 134 saves on 139 shots (.985 save percentage) 31:08 - 2012, Game 1 vs. WSH, R1: Chris Kelly slap shot from circle for OT winner 32:32 - Subscribe to the podcast! 33:28 - 2011, Game 3, R1: Andrew Ference glove malfunction 34:47 - 2011, Game 5, R1: Nathan Horton's 2OT winner vs. MTL 35:38 - 2011, Game 7, R1: Nathan Horton's OT winner vs. MTL 36:35 - 2011, Game 3, SC: Brad Marchand shorthanded goal (Bruins won game, 8-1) 38:48 - 2011, Game 5, R3: Tim Thomas save on Steve Downie 40:32 - 2011, Games 1-2, R3: Tyler Seguin three goals in two games 42:37 - 2011, Game 7, R3: Nathan Horton late winner 43:28 - 2011, Game 4, SC: Brad Marchand takes down Erhoff, upends Daniel Sedin and fights Keith Ballard in final two minutes (Bruins won 4-0) 45:18 - 2011, Game 6, SC: Brad Marchand snipe off the rush/Bruins score 3 in 9 minutes to chase Luongo 46:58 - 2011, Game 6, SC: Brad Marchand punching Daniel Sedin in the face late (Bruins won 5-2) 47:44 - 2011, Game 7, SC: Patrice Bergeron's early goal & 2011, Game 7, SC: Patrice Bergeron's shorthanded goal on his stomach 50:26 - 2010, Game 1, R2: Marc Savard's OT winner + celly in first game in two months 53:03 - 2010, Game 4, R1: Miro Satan's 2OT winner vs. Buffalo 54:55 - 2010, Game 2, R1: Johnny Boychuk wrecks Matt Ellis in open ice 55:54 - 2008, Game 6, R1: Sturm face winner vs. MTL (lost series 4-3) 57:24 - Anything we missed 59:00 - 2011, Game 5 R1: Michael Ryder glove save vs MTL 1:00:30 - Reviewing the list 1:01:49 - Honorable mentions 1:03:47 - Wrapping up! Bruins Beat on CLNS Media is Powered by:
In this BizNews interview, Irakli Rekhviashvili sits down with the three people behind FirstRand's R2.5 billion Cape Water Performance-Based Bond, the first time a commercial bank anywhere in the world has tied a bond's payout to nature. The Nature Conservancy's Louise Stafford traces it to 2018, when Cape Town's dams were weeks from "Day Zero" and the catchments were choked with thirsty invasive trees. Her teams have since cleared 40,000 hectares and reclaimed more than 36 billion litres of water. "If we clear that we can reclaim about two months' water supply for Cape Town at a fraction of the cost of grey infrastructure," she says. RMB's Martin Potgieter explains the twist: investors earn a performance-based success payment on top of their coupon, paid only when the trees actually come down and independent verifiers confirm it. The aim, he says, is to "get the investors to start thinking about nature as an asset class," and tellingly, "75% of the outcomes-based funding came from entities that had never before funded nature." Peace Parks Foundation's Colin Porteous frames the deeper problem: "Historically, conservation has been a cash-negative product," and philanthropy alone cannot carry a $700 million, 10-year funding need. Potgieter's parting warning is blunt: ecosystems are "the infrastructure behind the infrastructure," and the money flowing into nature must multiply "by 40, 50, maybe 100 times."
While some say go big or go home, others will tell you great things come in small packages. This week on America on the Road, we test both theories as Jack Nerad and Chris Teague review two family-friendly SUVs. On the Go Big side of the ledger Chris puts the luxurious 2026 Ford Expedition Platinum through its paces. Thinking smaller, Jack pilots the efficient 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid to a Fourth of July celebration — at Dodger Stadium, no less. The pair also discuss Lucid's leadership shakeup and missed targets, Rivian's building momentum, Volkswagen's potential massive job cuts, Subaru's new Trailseeker EV, Kia's refreshed Niro Hybrid, and Hennessey's wild new manual-transmission hypercar. Do you have a spare $2.65 million burning a hole in your designer jeans?
Bra Aubrey and the listeners react to Mnangagwa extending his presidency to 2030, rising tensions between the US-Israel and Iran, Pikitup unlocking R2.1 billion in cash, just 2 of 11 Gauteng municipalities getting clean audits and more trending news. Tags: 702, Aubrey Masango show, Aubrey Masango, Bra Aubrey, US-Israel, Iran, Pikitup, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe, Gauteng municipalities, Madlanga commission, Illegal immigrants, March and March The Aubrey Masango Show is presented by late night radio broadcaster Aubrey Masango. Aubrey hosts in-depth interviews on controversial political issues and chats to experts offering life advice and guidance in areas of psychology, personal finance and more. All Aubrey’s interviews are podcasted for you to catch-up and listen. Thank you for listening to this podcast from The Aubrey Masango Show. Listen live on weekdays between 20:00 and 24:00 (SA Time) to The Aubrey Masango Show broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and on CapeTalk between 20:00 and 21:00 (SA Time) https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk Find out more about the show here https://buff.ly/lzyKCv0 and get all the catch-up podcasts https://buff.ly/rT6znsn Subscribe to the 702 and CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfet Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
TERRA Members Now Part of ITAD Association, Podcast, “For our membership that we have really been blessed with over the last seven years since we started this endeavor, we found them a good home,” Napoli said TERRA founder Stephen Napoli says the move gives members “a good home” while bringing two important communities together in the electronics reuse, recycling and ITAD ecosystem. In a special ASCDI podcast, Doug Green spoke with Stephen Napoli, president and founder of TERRA, about a milestone moment for the ITAD community: TERRA's members are now becoming part of ASCDI — The ITAD Association. The move brings approximately 80 TERRA companies into ASCDI, joining two communities that have long worked in the same orbit: ITAD, electronics reuse, e-scrap, certified recycling and the circular economy. Napoli said TERRA will cease operations, but its members will move into ASCDI with continuity, visibility and a larger industry platform. “For our membership that we have really been blessed with over the last seven years since we started this endeavor, we found them a good home,” Napoli said. Napoli founded TERRA to give certified electronics recycling and ITAD companies a stronger voice. The organization helped promote the value of certification, especially around standards such as R2 and e-Stewards, and worked to help customers understand why responsible reuse and recycling matter. As Napoli explained, certified ITAD and recycling companies do more than process used equipment. They protect data, support reuse, keep electronics out of landfills, advance the circular economy and help make sure equipment is handled in ways that protect both people and the environment. Asked why ASCDI — The ITAD Association was the right next home for TERRA members, Napoli pointed to ASCDI's long-standing reputation, advocacy and history in the technology reuse market. “They've been in this space for a long time and they have a very good reputation,” Napoli said. “They do a very good job of advocating for people that are in this space, which is what we've been doing. So it really was a natural fit.” Napoli described the transition as bittersweet. TERRA began as an idea seven years ago and grew into a community of certified and allied companies across the electronics recycling and ITAD landscape. Now, he said, that work can continue through a larger association. “I'm forever grateful,” Napoli said. “And really happy that it's just not coming to an end, that I'm able to pass it along to the benefit of them and to another organization in the space to make this industry stronger.” The conversation also reflected the personal side of the ITAD community. Napoli said that while companies in the space may compete, there is also a family quality to the industry, with many people sharing a common commitment to reuse, responsible recycling and doing the right thing with technology at the end of its first life. “I found a gem,” Napoli said, reflecting on his entry into the industry. “It has been the joy of my career to be part of it.” Visit ASCDI — The ITAD Association to learn more.
In this episode, we dive into Tesla's spectacular rebound as they crush Wall Street expectations with their fourth-best quarter ever, driven by a massive 25% surge in Q2 deliveries. We also break down the surprising news of the U.S. government muscling Polestar out of the American market over connected vehicle rules, leading to staggering $25,000 discounts on remaining stock. Plus, Tesla officially launches its highly anticipated, larger 6-seat Model Y L in the States, offering a compelling blend of space and range. Over at Lucid, a major C-suite overhaul signals shifting strategies following recent layoffs, while Rivian celebrates a stellar quarter fueled by intense anticipation for the upcoming R2. Finally, we uncover a wild true-crime wave hitting Gigafactory Nevada, where thieves have repeatedly made off with entire truckloads of Tesla batteries. Support the Show https://www.supportkilowatt.com/ Other Podcasts: Beyond the Post YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthepostfm) Beyond the Post Podcast (https://www.beyondthepost.fm/) Shuffle Playlist (https://shows.acast.com/shuffle-playlist) 918Digital Website (https://www.918digital.com/) News Links: CleanTechnica: Tesla Has Its 4th Best Quarter Ever InsideEVs: Tesla Sales Roared Back In Q2, After Months Of Downward Spiraling Not a Tesla App: Tesla Smashes Q2 2026 Delivery Estimates The Verge: Tesla's Q2 sales jump 25 percent Ars Technica Cars: Tesla sales increase by 25% in Q2 2026 Electrek: Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 deliveries jump 25% to 480,126, beating estimates Teslarati: Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent InsideEVs: Polestar EVs Are A Whopping $25,000 Off After The Brand Got Kicked Out Of America Electrek: Polestar EVs are a smoking deal at $25k off now that they're banned in the US Teslarati: One of Tesla's biggest threats just got banned in the U.S. The Verge: Polestar has been muscled out of the US market Electrek: Polestar barred from US over the Chinese connected vehicle rule, a dangerous precedent Ars Technica Cars: Feds deny Polestar authorization to sell cars in US from model year 2027 InsideEVs: The U.S. Strongarms Polestar Out Of The American EV Market InsideEVs: This Is Tesla's New, Bigger Model Y For The U.S. Not a Tesla App: Tesla Officially Launches 6-Seat Model Y L in the U.S. With Launch Edition Teslarati: Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series' to the U.S. at $61,990 Electrek: Tesla launches Model Y L in US — 6 seats, 325 miles, $61,990 Teslarati: Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S. InsideEVs: Lucid Just Had A Big Executive Shakeup. Here's What You Need To Know Electrek: Lucid overhauls its entire C-suite under new CEO after 18% layoffs InsideEVs: Rivian Just Had A Great Quarter. And The R2 Craze Is Just Getting Started Electrek: Rivian tops Q2 delivery numbers and raises full-year 2026 outlook Electrek: You can now check when you'll be able to order your Rivian R2 CleanTechnica: Top Selling Electric Vehicles in the World — May 2026 CleanTechnica: NIO Sales Increase 63% in June! Electrek: Toyota's electric SUV clears 17,500 sales, outpacing the Land Cruiser and key EV rivals Electrek: Chevy Equinox EV sales slide 41%, but the new Bolt and Cadillac EVs pick up the slack Not a Tesla App: Tesla Hit By Wave of Battery Thefts at Gigafactory Nevada InsideEVs: Someone Keeps Stealing Entire Truckloads Of Tesla Batteries Electrek: Tesla batteries stolen from Giga Nevada 11+ times since December *Show Art Created By Gemini Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
For years, Rivian has looked like one of the most compelling electric vehicle companies in America — and maybe the car maker most equipped to take on Tesla. All that potential comes down to this: the R2, the long-awaited and more affordable car that Rivian hopes can make it truly mainstream. After a journey to the R2's factory earlier this year, The Verge's Andrew Hawkins explains what the R2 is, why it matters, and what happens to Rivian if it's a hit — or a flop. Further reading: Range anxiety The Rivian R2 is too much fun to let drive itself Rivian surprises with R3 and R3X electric SUVs Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On today's episode, Jason and Derek get some exclusive seat time: both with the new Rivian R2, and with Rivian's Chief Designer Officer Jeff Hammoud and Chief R2 Engineer Max Koff! === Visit http://JasonSentMe.com to get a Hagerty Guaranteed Value (TM) collector-car insurance quote! === The show hits the road, traveling to Rivian's beautiful flagship space in San Francisco, where Jeff and Max face their worst nightmare: being peppered with questions and feedback about the new R2 - a make-or-break vehicle for the company. After Jason and Derek's collective ~200 miles, they cover a host of issues - new design + UX features (halo wheels, rear drop glass, to name a few), acceleration times, uphill burnouts, R1 vs. R2, and most importantly (to Jason only) - the absence of Apple CarPlay. And of course, no episode is complete without a mention of Sacco Mercedes-Benzes and old Volkswagens (Mk1 Scirocco and Mk3 Corrado VR6). Will the R2 allow Rivian to continue its planned trajectory as a manufacture? And what's going on with R3?? Time will tell, but we have a suspicion the Tesla Model Y better watch its back… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Greetings Bucketheads!We dive back into the 80's for the second episode of DROIDS!R2 & CPO in trouble again!Strap on your buckets, let's go!Please follow the show at:Mando_Vision on Twitter and Instagram. MandoVision on Blue SkyEmail: MandoVisionTom@gmail.comPlease, like, subscribe and share the show with your friends on all of your favorite podcast platforms and if you can take the time to write a 5-Star review, it will be read on the show! Thank for all the support, please stay safe and take care of each other. Music by Dirty Sweet and used with permission.All audio clips from any “Star Wars” material is copyright of Disney Enterprises Inc. and is only used for the sole purpose of promotion of Disney property and to provide context for talking points. Mando Vision is copyright Thomas Pritchard 2026. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
The Joburg Crisis Alliance, together with partners WaterCAN and JoburgCAN, is calling for urgent national intervention in addressing a growing crisis in the City of Johannesburg. This comes as the city grapples with a reported R2.1 billion budget shortfall, concerns over a possible credit rating downgrade, and mounting criticism that while compliance requirements are being met on paper, service delivery and infrastructure failures on the ground continue to worsen. For more we are now joined on the line by Executive Director of WaterCAN, Dr. Ferrial Adam
Ultimo programa de esta temporada y lo vamos a dedicar a la memoria de Bruno Turner, uno de los grandes conocedores del canto llano y de la polifonía del renacimiento, recientemente desaparecido. Junto a su grupo, Pro Cantione Antiqua, nos ha dejado grabaciones inolvidables por su pulcritud y expresividad, sin olvidar la multitud de conciertos en los que rescató material inédito. En 1993 participó en España en un programa de la UER, grabado por R2 dirigiendo el Officium Defunctorum de Victoria que vamos a poder escuchar hoy casi en su totalidad.Escuchar audio
The guys discuss tornado watches, tacos, and the World Cup‑driven Scots in Boston. The news includes New York City Public Schools' AI guidelines and growing push back, an insider cyberattack in Iowa, and breaking cybersecurity news is also addressed - the newly reported FortiBleed leak that exposed credentials for tens of thousands of Fortinet/FortiGate devices. They also review federal education news - a proposed reorganization moving Special Education and OCR functions out of the Department of Education. Finally, Chris sits down with R.T. Collins, CEO of Incident IQ and they discuss AI, vibe coding, and K12 technology leadership. Join us July 6th-10th, 2026 – GAMEIS Conference in Savannah, GA Join us at MidwestTechTalk ———— Sponsored by: Meter CyberNut CDWG Fortinet Lightspeed NTP VIZOR Total Technology: Our new K12-focused platform is now live - Built entirely around serving Missouri schools with greater clarity, speed, and accountability. Here's what's new: ✔ A clear, step-by-step buyback process ✔ Defined audit timelines ✔ R2-certified compliance transparency ✔ Creative payout solutions for districts ✔ A stronger partnership approach We're not changing who we are. We're doubling down on doing things right - From the first conversation to the final audit report. CDWG - K12 Solutions & Services Overview Video: https://webobjects2.cdw.com/is/content/CDW/cdw/on-domain-cdw/videos/ssi/k12/mkt94999-k12-ssi-video-full-with-captions.mp4 CDWG - Strengthening K12 Cybersecurity: https://webobjects2.cdw.com/is/content/CDW/cdw/on-domain-cdw/videos/ssi/k12-cybersecurity/mkt94971-k12-cybersecurity-ssi-full-video-with-captions.mp4 ———— Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals) Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!! Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com OR our "professional" email addy is info@k12techtalkpodcast.com X @k12techtalkpod Facebook Visit our LinkedIn Music by Colt Ball Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.
Stephen Grootes speaks to Peter Hayward-Butt, CEO of Brait, about the group’s latest results and the next stage of its value-unlocking strategy. Brait reported growth in net asset value and earnings, supported by strong performances from Virgin Active, Premier and New Look. The company has also launched a R2.5 billion rights offer aimed at eliminating legacy debt and strengthening Virgin Active’s balance sheet. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape. Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa Follow us on social media 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702 CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we dive deep into the latest shifting tides of the electric vehicle market, starting with Tesla's political push in New Jersey to safeguard its upcoming Robotaxi fleet against restrictive new legislation. We also examine the regulatory scene down at Giga Texas, where brand-new EPA filings have finally peeled back the curtain on the highly anticipated Cybercab's official battery size, weight, power, and range specs. Meanwhile, Rivian continues its grueling march toward profitability, navigating another tough round of corporate layoffs just a week after their major R2 launch event. On the legacy automotive front, Hyundai is officially breathing down Chevrolet's neck as it closes in on the coveted number-two spot for EV sales in the United States. Plus, we look at unexpected sightings of Costco-branded Tesla Semis right here in Arizona and unpack a surprising report detailing Apple's sneaky new development that could finally bring CarPlay to Tesla vehicles. Support the Show https://www.supportkilowatt.com/ Other Podcasts: Beyond the Post YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthepostfm) Beyond the Post Podcast (https://www.beyondthepost.fm/) Shuffle Playlist (https://shows.acast.com/shuffle-playlist) 918Digital Website (https://www.918digital.com/) News Links: Teslarati: Tesla urges New Jersey owners to oppose new bill that could block Robotaxi CleanTechnica: Rivian Pursues Financial Sustainability with Layoffs Electrek: Rivian lays off hundreds, under 2% of staff, a week after R2 launch Electrek: Hyundai is closing in on Chevy as the #2 EV brand in the US Not a Tesla App: Costco-Branded Tesla Semis Spotted in Arizona Teslarati: Apple is developing the missing link for Tesla to get CarPlay: report Ars Technica Cars: Mobileye is entering the US robotaxi market with standalone service InsideEVs: Telo's Tiny Electric Truck Moves Closer To Reality With An Important New Partner Not a Tesla App: Tesla Reveals Cybercab Specs in New EPA Filings Not a Tesla App: Over 100 Tesla Cybercabs Spotted Staging at Giga Texas InsideEVs: Full Tesla Cybercab Specs: EPA Documents Confirm Battery Size, Weight, Power, And Preliminary Range *Show Art Created By ChatGPT Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Stephen Grootes speaks to Peter Hayward-Butt, CEO of Brait, about the group’s latest results and the next stage of its value-unlocking strategy. Brait reported growth in net asset value and earnings, supported by strong performances from Virgin Active, Premier and New Look. The company has also launched a R2.5 billion rights offer aimed at eliminating legacy debt and strengthening Virgin Active’s balance sheet. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape. Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa Follow us on social media 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702 CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today's BizNews Daily Edge unpacks how the US Federal Reserve's hawkish hold is rippling through South African markets, where expensive money is forcing companies and government alike to show the strength of their balance sheets. Irakli looks at Brait's deeply discounted R2.5bn rights offer to cut debt and support Virgin Active, BHP's market shrug at a $2bn potash blowout, and National Treasury's smart move to fully fund its foreign currency needs through concessional loans. In a world where cheap global money is not coming back soon, capital structure has become destiny.
BizNews editor Alec Hogg leads with a political signal investors shouldn't miss: the DA is moving to replace John Steenhuisen as Agriculture Minister after three High Court cost orders — and his proposed successor is an actual farmer. Then Dr. Duarte da Silva's third paper on South Africa's gold lands with force: the Witwatersrand holds as much gold underground as it has ever produced, Australia spends 70 times more exploring its endowment, and SA's share of African exploration budgets has collapsed from 35% to 7%. On the JSE: Premier Group is the standout — net profit up nearly 30% while digesting the RFG acquisition. Vukile raises R2.8 billion for Italy, heavily oversubscribed. Stor-Age quietly accumulates institutional buyers. Powerfleet's integration pain is finally paying off. And Brikor heads for the exit. The close ties it together: the political story and the gold story are the same story.
Mandy Wiener speaks to News24 Investigative Journalist, Jeff Wicks about the Gauteng health dept ordered to give News24 files linked to R2.3bn Tembisa Hospital heist. The Midday Report with Mandy Wiener is 702 and CapeTalk’s flagship news show, your hour of essential news radio. The show is podcasted every weekday, allowing you to catch up with a 60-minute weekday wrap of the day's main news. It's packed with fast-paced interviews with the day’s newsmakers, as well as those who can make sense of the news and explain what's happening in your world. All the interviews are podcasted for you to catch up and listen to. Thank you for listening to this podcast of The Midday Report Listen live on weekdays between 12:00 and 13:00 (SA Time) to The Midday Report broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from The Midday Report, go to https://buff.ly/BTGmL9H and find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/LcbDdFI Subscribe to the 702 and CapeTalk daily and weekly newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss autonomous trucking reaching an inflection point, Waymo acquiring Apple's Arizona proving ground and Tesla filing for a robotaxi permit in Las Vegas.As Gatik expands its middle-mile freight operations with PepsiCo across Texas, Arizona and Arkansas, Volvo Autonomous Solutions told investors it is targeting $3 billion in autonomous transport revenue within five years through its transport-as-a-service (TaaS) business.On the robotaxi side of the business, Waymo acquired Apple's former 5,500-acre proving ground in Wittmann, Arizona for $220 million, a facility with a high-speed oval an hour from its Mesa up-fitting plant. Grayson views the acquisition as a signal that Waymo is preparing to test at highway speeds away from prying eyes, while Walt notes that satellite imagery sees everything.Before the segueing into the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt debate Tesla's Clark County permit application for up to 5,000 robotaxis in a Las Vegas market with roughly 6,500 Uber drivers, Einride going public and Rivian beginning R2 deliveries.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Chinese robotaxi continues to accelerate into Europe with Pony.ai in Luxembourg and WeRide in Slovakia.Episode Chapters00:00 Gatik Goes Driver-Out with PepsiCo02:51 Volvo Targets $3 Billion in Autonomous Transport Revenue06:54 Einride Goes Public08:58 Tesla Files for Clark County Robotaxi Permit11:52 Waymo Acquires Apple's Arizona Proving Ground13:39 Wayve and Uber Open the UK Interest List16:20 Baidu Added to the Pentagon's Designation List18:31 Foreign Autonomy Desk27:13 Nebius Launches a Physical AI Lab28:14 Next Week--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
RJ Scaringe is the founder and CEO of Rivian Automotive. Host Jeff Berman digs into how Scaringe thinks about competing with Tesla, the hard won lessons of building a company that makes both vehicles and software, and how the company is scaling to fuel the highly anticipated launch of its newest electric vehicle: The R2.This Masters of Scale Live event, sponsored by Atlassian, was recorded at Atlassian Team 2026 in Anaheim.Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
#865: Neal and Toby talk about how inflation is heating up to the highest pace in three years. Plus, a whole bunch of FIFA World Cup news and how escorts are cashing in on the AI boom over in Silicon Valley. Hit TV shows are taking much longer in between seasons. Why Gen Z and Millennials looove waiting in lines for their trendy food spots. Finally, Rivian finally delivers its R2 model and the first trailer of the much-anticipated ‘The Social Reckoning' drops. To learn more visit https://www.sage.com/morningbrew Subscribe to Morning Brew Daily for more of the news you need to start your day. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app. Listen to Morning Brew Daily Here: https://www.swap.fm/l/mbd-note Watch Morning Brew Daily Here: https://www.youtube.com/@MorningBrewDailyShow This is a paid advertisement. Today's episode of the Morning Brew Daily Show is brought to you by Sage — a trusted global provider and leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses. The following commentary reflects general information about Sage and its products. Specific features, capabilities, and availability may vary by product, region, and customer requirements. To find out more, visit sage.com/morningbrew. Paid endorsement. Brokerage services provided by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Investing involves risk. Not investment advice. Agentic Brokerage is an AI-powered conversational tool that allows you to enter instructions for a set of self-directed, recurring transactions (your “Agent”) for your account. Outputs from Agentic Brokerage are provided for informational and illustrative purposes only, and should not be considered investment recommendations or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/disclosures. See terms of match program at https://public.com/disclosures/matchprogram. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Five years ago, electric vehicles were the talk of the market. But in the U.S., sales of electric vehicles are falling and competition is heating up. With that backdrop, Rivian has introduced the R2 and investors still think this will be a game-changer for the company. We discuss the vehicle and company's prospects, whether autonomy will be a tailwind, and get to hidden gems on our watchlist in this episode. Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discuss: - Rivian's R2 launch - The decline of EVs in the U.S. - Will autonomy be a value add for EV companies? - Hidden gems in the EV market Companies discussed: Rivian (RIVN), Tesla (TSLA), Quantumscape (QS), General Motors (GM), Lucid (LCID), Uber (UBER), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). Host: Travis Hoium Guests: Lou Whiteman, Rachel Warren Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This morning's Daybreak covers global market movements as oil ticks up amid Middle East tensions and tech shares slump globally. Meanwhile, Apple prepares to unveil its overhauled Siri and new AI features at WWDC. Locally, Lauren Evanthia addresses a massive R2 billion South African hospital scandal, Tara Roos breaks down Johannesburg's R200 billion infrastructure backlog and weak financial controls, and Sakeliga's Russell Lamberti proposes an AGOA "off-ramp" to shield compliant businesses from Pretoria's policy fallout.
The San Francisco 49ers took a unique path through the 2026 NFL Draft, trading around the board and adding pieces to both sides of the ball. In this episode of Go for 2, we are throwing out the generic expert report cards and going straight to the tape.We dive deep into a player-by-player breakdown of the entire 49ers draft class, including:R2, Pick 33: WR De'Zhaun Stribling (Ole Miss)R3, Pick 70: DL Romello Height (Texas Tech)R3, Pick 90: RB Kaelon Black (Indiana)Day 3 Depth: DL Gracen Halton, OL Carver Willis, CB Ephesians Prysock, and more.What We Analyze for Every Single Pick:The Vitals & Production: Height, weight, traits, and college stats.Scheme & Roster Fit: Does this player fit Kyle Shanahan's offensive system or the defensive philosophy?Draft Value vs. Reach: Did they play the board right, or did they panic-buy?The Timeline Evaluation: Are these pieces built for an immediate Super Bowl run, or are they foundation blocks for a re-tool?Trade Breakdown: Reviewing Lynch's draft-day trades (including the Day 3 movement with Cleveland and Dallas).Whether you love the class or think the front office left value on the table, this is the deep-dive context you need before rookie minicamps kick off.
Brett Connors joins the podcast to recap an entertaining first round at Roland Garros, where Americans Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula were knocked out. Connors reacts to another early exit for Daniil Medvedev, Learner Tien's impressive game on clay, and Casper Ruud finding a way to survive and advance. The producer and podcast host looks at Novak Djokovic's path to a deep run, Alexander Zverev's opportunity to finally change the narrative, and who can challenge Jannik Sinner's quest for the career-slam. Connors also dives into the women's draw, where we are on the verge of Iga Swiatek facing Jelena Ostapenko, who she has never beaten. The co-host of "Advantage Connors" discusses Mirra Andreeva and Iva Jovic's potential, the unfortunate injury to Alexander BlockX that involved the Roland Garros tarp, and some R2 matches he has his eyes on. Hosted by Mitch Michals. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this episode of Kilowatt, host Bodie breaks down Rivian's highly anticipated Q1 2026 earnings call, shifting the spotlight from raw financial data to the groundbreaking vehicle technology driving the brand forward. The headline milestone is the official start of saleable R2 production in Normal, Illinois, with early midsize SUVs already hitting the road as employee daily drivers. Listeners will discover how Rivian managed to cut the R2's bill of materials in half through massive structural die castings, an integrated high-voltage electronics enclosure, and a streamlined electrical architecture that strips out miles of heavy copper wiring. The episode also dives into Rivian's massive multi-billion dollar liquidity pipeline from the Department of Energy, Volkswagen, and Uber, which is funding a 50% capacity boost at its upcoming greenfield plant in Georgia. Finally, Bodie details CEO RJ Scaringe's progressive autonomy roadmap, charting the course from Autonomy Plus subscriptions to Level 4 "eyes-off" consumer vehicles and robotaxis hitting complex urban domains by 2028. Support the Show https://www.supportkilowatt.com/ Other Podcasts: Beyond the Post YouTube Beyond the Post Podcast Shuffle Playlist 918Digital Website News Links: Rivian Q1 2026 Earnings Webcast Registration *Show Art Created By Gemini Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
It's EV News Briefly for Sunday 17 May 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyRIVIAN OPENS R2 CONFIGURATOR EARLYRivian has opened the R2 configurator for reservation holders, with production already underway in Normal, Illinois and some areas seeing delivery windows as short as 1–6 weeks. Only the R2 Performance is currently available at $57,990, offering 656 hp, 330 miles of range, and a 3.6-second 0–60 time, with the R2 Premium and R2 Standard following later in 2026 and 2027 respectively.RIVIAN ASSISTANT REACHES R1 OWNERSRivian has rolled out its AI-powered voice assistant to existing R1T and R1S owners via firmware update 2026.15, replacing Amazon Alexa and activated by saying "Hey, Rivian" or through steering-wheel controls. The system handles navigation, HVAC, and media playback, requires a Connect+ subscription, works only in English, and processes voice recognition on-device to reduce latency.USED EV PRICES LEAD UK MARKETUsed EVs led the UK used car market for price growth in April 2026 for the first time this year, with prices rising 1.1% month on month — the strongest increase of any fuel type. Higher fuel costs and rising demand for alternative-fuel vehicles drove the surge, with used EV sales volumes up 33% in March and April combined compared to January and February.GREEN TECH NOW SHAPES HOME BUYINGResearch by E.On Next found that 93% of 1,000 prospective UK homebuyers want green energy features such as solar panels and EV charging in their next property, with 70% now considering energy technology non-negotiable. Rising energy costs are the main driver for 52% of respondents, and E.On Next's own sales reflect the trend, with solar and battery sales up 182% and heat pump sales up 129% since February 2026.GRIZZL-E CLUB HITS 10,000 MEMBERSCanada's Grizzl-E Club reached 10,000 members on May 14, 2026, doubling its membership in roughly two months since passing 5,000 in March. Run by United Chargers, the no-fee programme uses Clean Fuel Credits to fund free home charging hardware, lifetime warranties, and energy cashback, with members having received CA$300,000 in rewards to date.GERMAN TRIAL TURNS PARKED EVS INTO FERRY BATTERIESA German research project called BIDI-EL will test using parked EVs at a North Sea ferry terminal as temporary energy storage to help charge electric ferries when they return to port. Led by Osnabrück University and ferry operator Norden-Frisia, the €164,894-funded trial combines solar panels, existing fixed battery storage, and EV batteries to maximise renewable energy use, running until January 2027.RISING POWER BILLS HIT EV CHARGING SATISFACTIONThe J.D. Power 2026 U.S. EVX Home Charging Study found that rising electricity costs and poor owner education are reducing EV satisfaction, with Level 1 portable charger satisfaction dropping 12 points year-over-year to 569 out of 1,000. Only 12% of owners have enrolled in utility smart charging programmes despite 69% awareness, and just 20% of buyers received home charging guidance from their dealer.DISNEYLAND AUTOPIA GOES ELECTRIC IN 2027Disneyland will replace the petrol-powered cars on its iconic Autopia ride with electric vehicles in 2027 as part of Disney's goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, following a $56,000 settlement with the California Air Resources Board over emissions violations. Original Autopia car designer Bob Gurr, now 94, confirmed the new electric cars will keep the same dimensions and track layout, with upgraded lighting and sound effects added.
Description: In this episode of Kilowatt, we dive into the EV news, starting with Aptera's massive milestone of assembling its first five production-intent validation models to prove the solar EV movement is very real. We also explore the newly live Rivian R2 configurator, breaking down the diverse trim options, initial pricing structures, and the agonizing wait for the brand's best colors. Tesla dominates much of our discussion as we dissect the unredacted NHTSA logs detailing 17 "Robotaxi" crashes, exposing what really happens behind the scenes with teleoperator interventions and minor collision data. Additionally, we analyze driver feedback on the controversial Tesla FSD 14.3.2 update to see if the system's performance is truly taking a step backward. Finally, we take a look at a massive Cybercab car wash being erected under the lights of Las Vegas, and share an inspiring story from an electric school bus driver who vows never to return to diesel. Support the Show https://www.supportkilowatt.com/ Other Podcasts: Beyond the Post YouTube Beyond the Post Podcast Shuffle Playlist 918Digital Website News Links: Wooshn YouTube Channel: Really How Bad Is Tesla's FSD 14.3.2 Update? InsideEVs: The Rivian R2 Configurator Is Live. But You'll Have To Wait Until 2027 For The Best Color Electrek: Rivian opens R2 configurator: here are all the options and pricing Electrek: Tesla finally reveals what happened in 17 ‘Robotaxi' crashes CleanTechnica: Electric School Bus Driver Will Not Go Back To Diesel Teslarati: Tesla is building a massive Cybercab car wash in Las Vegas Ars Technica Cars: Vaporware or not? Aptera assembles its first five validation models. *Show Art Created By Gemini Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week's episode, we discuss updates to Tesla Robotaxi, Rivian R2 configurator going live, China taking over EU factories, and more. Today's episode is sponsored by GM Energy. If you want to experience more resilience and control over your home energy, the GM Energy Home System adds stationary battery power for always-ready backup energy for your home, and the GM Energy PowerBank takes in energy from the grid and stores it for when you need it most. Learn more at gmenergy.gm.com The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek's YouTube channel. As a reminder, we'll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in. After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts Castro RSS We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming. Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast: Tesla postpones Model S/X Signature delivery event, leaving attendees holding the bag Tesla now forces drivers to give feedback when intervening on ‘Full Self-Driving' Tesla finally reveals what happened in 17 ‘Robotaxi' crashes Rivian opens R2 configurator: here are all the options and pricing Volkswagen reveals the first electric GTI, a 222 hp EV hot hatch for $45,000 [Images] XPeng in talks to buy a Volkswagen plant in Europe as exports surge 62% BYD eyes Stellantis EU plant takeover as EV demand spikes, confirms ‘other companies too' Volkswagen brings the ID. Buzz back for 2027, but now the ID.4 is on a brief hiatus Here's the live stream for today's episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET: https://www.youtube.com/live/FPPDerFbwSE
Ekurhuleni's R2,1 billion billing scandal exposed | 11 May by Radio Islam
Oreo & I summarize our favorite STAR WARS Trilogy: The Infinities Trilogy by Dark Horse Comics! in this trilogy, they do an epic "What If?" take on all three original movies but was there a mild plot hole? Why are Yoda, Han, R2 & even Lando FAR more involved in these alternate scenarios? And why are they a solid blend of wit, edginess and epic quality? MUSIC USED: "Night Skies" and "Into the Sewers" by Joel McNeely (from the Shadows of the Empire OST)
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week's episode, we discuss Tesla Semi, the 4680 battery cell, BMW iX3 price, Rivian R2 pickup, and more. Today's episode is sponsored by GM Energy. If you want to experience more resilience and control over your home energy, the GM Energy Home System adds stationary battery power for always-ready backup energy for your home, and the GM Energy PowerBank takes in energy from the grid and stores it for when you need it most. Learn more at gmenergy.gm.com We are also sponsored by NeuroHUD: Check out the NeuroHUD PRO featuring a true Tesla-focused HUD experience with navigation, blind-spot alerts, Autopilot status, and freely switchable display modes now on Kickstarter or Trantor Vision.com The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek's YouTube channel. As a reminder, we'll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in. After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts Castro RSS We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming. Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast: Tesla's 4680 battery cells are underperforming and frustrating buyers Tesla Semi battery sizes confirmed: 822 kWh and 548 kWh officially revealed Tesla files new Roadster trademarks with unique badge ahead of launch Rivian (RIVN) CEO hints at R2 pickup and R2X variants as production ramps BMW opens 2027 iX3 preorders starting at $61,500 with up to 434 miles of range The Lexus TZ is a 3-row luxury EV SUV with 300 mi range, but it's missing something [Images] The new Chevy Bolt EV delivers nearly 300 miles of real-world range for under $30,000 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT with Manthey Kit sets 6:55 Nürburgring EV record BYD's flagship electric SUV secures 100,000+ orders in 2 weeks, and it costs under $40K Here's the live stream for today's episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET: https://www.youtube.com/live/NfEmmAoaY0Y
John Endres and Nicholas Lorimer discuss the incredible theft of R2 billion from an unsecured Wi-Fi network in the East Rand. They also discuss the lack of accountability in dealing with Minister Tolashe, and they chat about the weak defences of the NHI by the SACP and ANC. Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter
It's EV News Briefly for Tuesday 05 May 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyNORWAY BEV SHARE HITS 99% IN APRILNorway set a new monthly record in April 2026, with battery electric vehicles taking 98.6% of new passenger car registrations, up from the previous record of 98.4% in March. Of 11,103 new cars registered, 10,952 were fully electric, with diesel managing just 87 units and petrol a mere 31 units — making combustion-engine sales little more than a rounding error.TESLA CUTS MODEL 3 PRICES IN CANADATesla has slashed prices across its Canadian Model 3 line-up, introducing a new entry Premium RWD trim starting at C$39,490 — about 31% cheaper than the equivalent US price — after shifting production from its Fremont plant to its Shanghai factory to take advantage of Canada's new 6.1% Chinese-EV import tariff. The line-up now has just two trims after removing the Long Range mid-range, though Shanghai-built cars do not qualify for Canada's federal EVAP rebate of up to C$5,000.FACTORIAL BETS SOLID-STATE CAN BREAK CHINA'S LEADFactorial Energy, a Massachusetts-based startup backed by Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai/Kia, argues that solid-state batteries — which charge from 15% to 90% in 18 minutes and offer 20–50% more range than lithium-ion — are the West's best chance to leapfrog Chinese rivals rather than imitate them. The company plans to go public on Nasdaq in mid-2026 via a SPAC merger, and a Mercedes-Benz EQS prototype fitted with its cells drove 1,205 km non-stop in August 2025.IONIQ 5 SALES HOLD UP AFTER US TAX CREDIT LOSSHyundai's IONIQ 5 held fifth place among US EV sellers in 2025 despite losing the federal EV tax credit, while rivals like the Ford Mustang Mach-E saw sales collapse 60% year-on-year in Q1 2026. Domestic production at Hyundai Metaplant America in Savannah, Georgia was credited as a key factor in shielding the IONIQ 5 from the impact of Trump administration trade policy changes.VOLKSWAGEN RAISES RIVIAN STAKE TO 15.9%Volkswagen has lifted its stake in Rivian to 15.9% after completing a further $1 billion investment tranche, triggered by the RV Tech joint venture clearing its winter testing milestones, bringing its total investment to $3 billion of a committed $5.8 billion. Volkswagen gains access to Rivian's software stack and zonal architecture, while Rivian retains full ownership of its motors, batteries, chassis, and autonomy framework.VW TESTS 'GAMECHANGER' AT WOLFSBURGVolkswagen has launched a pilot production process codenamed Gamechanger at its Wolfsburg headquarters, aimed at cutting costs and enabling profitable EV manufacturing in Germany through techniques expected to include megacasting and parallel modular assembly streams. The plant is expected to eventually produce an electric Golf and an SUV counterpart on the next-generation SSP platform, potentially under the names ID. Golf and ID. Roc.TESLA LAUNCHES BASECHARGER FOR SEMI DEPOTSTesla has unveiled the Basecharger, a depot-focused DC fast charger for the Tesla Semi that tops out at 125 kW and can charge a truck from low to 60% in around four hours, using a 6-metre cable to accommodate yard layouts. The unit starts at $20,000, supports the open MCS (Megawatt Charging System) standard, and up to three units can share a single breaker — potentially serving future MCS-compatible trucks from Daimler, Volvo, and Scania.MFG EV POWER ADDS PLUG&CHARGEMotor Fuel Group has integrated its MFG EV Power network of around 2,000 rapid and ultra-rapid UK charging points with Hubject's Plug&Charge infrastructure, going live on 1 May 2026 after over a year of technical development. Compatible EVs can now begin charging automatically the moment they plug in, eliminating the need for RFID cards or apps.ALLEGO APP ADDS EUROPE-WIDE CHARGING ROAMINGAllego has transformed its app into a pan-European roaming platform, giving drivers access to roughly one million charging points from competing networks under a single account with no additional roaming fees. The app also includes a Smart Route Planner to help EV drivers plan charging stops across longer cross-border journeys.NEW AI VOICE ASSISTANTS FOR RIVIAN, POLESTAR AND VOLVO EVSRivian's AI voice assistant — first unveiled at its December 2025 Autonomy & AI Day — is now expected to reach customers in the coming weeks after slipping roughly four months behind its original early-2026 target, and will roll out to both R1 and R2 vehicles. Separately, Google has begun rolling out Gemini to Polestar and Volvo cars running Android Automotive OS, enabling conversational AI with multi-turn dialogue, trip planning, and a continuous hands-free mode called Gemini Live — with Volvo saying models dating back to 2020 are eligible for the upgrade.
May the Fourth Be With you, because today is Star Wars Day! For nearly 50 years, the Star Wars franchise has captured the hearts of SO MANY sci-fi and fantasy fans. And for a lot of people, it’s all about the droids… R2-D2 and C-3PO, to be precise. This past weekend, that love of droids was on full display at both the Museum of Flight, and at Barnes & Noble in Northgate, where we caught up with James Adams of the Pacific Northwest R2 Builders Club. He and his fellow club members build and demonstrate life-sized replicas of the beloved droids. Some of them can be driven around using remote control. The R2 unit James brought to Northgate looks and sounds just like what you see on the screen. It’s a hit with kids who fawn over it. "Seeing the kids really light up – and it’s a type of character that is very easy for people to kind of let their imagination fill in the little bit of blank. So when you have a little kid come up, and you just see their eyes light up. They can’t see that there’s somebody remote controlling the device, so to speak, but instead to them it’s just R2-D2, the little guy from the movie that they like. And just seeing that, it’s like, it is them genuinely meeting the character and not standing next to an object, it never, it never gets tiring." Speaking of kids, droid builders say it’s a great opportunity to get people excited and involved with STEM projects. For this Star Wars Day, we wanted to learn more about the craft and dedication that goes into making these droids, so we’re speaking with Dr. Scott Ransom! He’s got a lot of expertise in robots. That’s because he’s a Director of a research center at Northwestern University that researches and develops robotic hands. GUEST: Dr. Scott Ransom is Director of Industry and Innovation at the Center for Human Augmentation via Dexterity at Northwestern University RELATED LINKS: Astromech.net R2Northwest: Pacific Northwest R2 Builders Club For R2-D2 builders in the Seattle area, ‘it’s a joy to see this thing bring so much happiness’ Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's EV News Briefly for Thursday 30 April 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyVOLKSWAGEN OPENS ID POLO ORDERS IN EUROPEVolkswagen has opened order books for the ID Polo, an all-electric small car starting at €24,995, built on the upgraded MEB+ platform to compete with Chinese EVs in Europe's mass market. It offers three power outputs, two battery options (37 kWh LFP and 52 kWh NMC) with up to 455 km WLTP range, a 13-inch touchscreen, 441 litres of boot space, and vehicle-to-load capability.BMW IX3 RANGE TARGET RISES TO 434 MILESBMW has raised its projected EPA range estimate for the U.S.-spec iX3 xDrive50 to 434 miles, an 8.5% increase over earlier guidance, though final EPA certification is still pending. Priced from around $60,000, the iX3 is launching in the U.S. in May 2026, with customer deliveries expected in late September or early October after mass production begins in early September.FORD MODEL E STILL BURNS CASHFord's electric car division Model e lost $777 million in Q1 2026, roughly $23,000 per EV sold, despite a $72 million year-on-year improvement and a 10% rise in volumes to around 34,000 units. Ford's near-term focus is improving margins on existing EVs while developing next-generation models on its Universal EV platform and expanding into battery storage through the newly launched Ford Energy.CITROËN PLOTS SUB-€15,000 CITY EVCitroën CEO Xavier Chardon has confirmed plans for a sub-€15,000 A-segment electric city car, positioning it as a modern equivalent of the 2CV to help restore European car buying, which remains three million buyers per year below pre-pandemic levels. A concept is expected at the Paris motor show in October, with a production version to follow within a couple of years at a price well below the current ë-C3.JEEP AVENGER GETS FIRST FACELIFTJeep has given the Avenger its first major update since its 2023 launch, debuting the revised model in Rio de Janeiro with a redesigned seven-slot grille that lights up at night and brings it visually closer to the newer Jeep Compass. A dedicated European launch is planned later in 2026, significant given the Avenger won the 2023 European Car of the Year and has been central to Jeep's European recovery.RIVIAN SIGNALS SECOND R2 SHIFTRivian appears to be quietly staffing a second production shift for the R2 at its Normal, Illinois plant, with a LinkedIn post from a newly promoted R2 Group Leader confirming he is "ramping production on night shift." Volume R2 production began on April 22, with early units going to employees for several months of real-world software data collection ahead of external customer deliveries.MG 07 TO GET MOMENTA R7 SYSTEMSAIC's MG has confirmed the upcoming MG 07 fastback sedan will be among the first vehicles to feature Momenta's R7 autonomous driving system, unveiled at Beijing Auto Show as a direct rival to Tesla's FSD v14. Momenta's R7 supports weekly over-the-air updates, targets a deployed fleet of 200,000 vehicles by end-2026, and plans European robotaxi deployments later this year through a partnership with Uber.UK EV FLEET TOPS TWO MILLIONThe UK's zero-emission vehicle fleet reached 2 million registrations at the end of 2025, representing 4.8% of all licensed vehicles, with 528,000 newly registered in 2025 alone and electric cars taking 23.4% of new car sales. The government's Electric Car Grant, offering up to £3,750 off qualifying EVs, has already been used by over 100,000 buyers and has driven a 10% rise in electric car demand.SWEDEN EV SHARE HITS 64.9% IN Q1Plugin EVs captured 64.9% of Sweden's auto market in Q1 2026, up from 58.0% a year earlier, with BEVs alone reaching 40.7% market share on a 21% volume increase despite the overall market shrinking 2%. A new BEV incentive scheme targeting lower-income rural households helped sustain momentum, while the Volvo EX40 held the top BEV sales spot for the third consecutive quarter.LGES 46-SERIES ORDERS TOP 440 GWHLG Energy Solution secured over 100 GWh of new orders for its 46-series cylindrical cells in Q1 2026, pushing its total backlog above 440 GWh, with the new business widely attributed to a reported ten-year BMW Group contract worth approximately €5.8 billion. The deal is said to cover both 4695 and 46120 cell formats linked to BMW's Neue Klasse platform, and would mark LGES's first time supplying cells for BMW battery-electric vehicles.ROLLS-ROYCE TESTS SECOND ELECTRIC VEHICLESpy photos have revealed Rolls-Royce testing an unnamed electric utility vehicle that closely matches the proportions and silhouette of the Cullinan, the brand's most popular model since its 2018 launch. Reports suggest this is not a next-generation Cullinan replacement but rather a separate new product alongside it.
The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
Shoot us a Text.Episode #1331: Lawmakers push to block Chinese autos amid affordability and security concerns, Rivian reshapes its Georgia plant strategy while betting big on the R2, and California moves to hold autonomous vehicles accountable with new enforcement rules.Show Notes with links:A bipartisan push led by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) aims to shut the door on Chinese vehicles and parts entering the U.S., citing national security concerns as affordability pressures rise for consumers.The proposed bill would ban Chinese-made vehicles, parts, and software from entering the U.S. market.Moreno and Slotkin want to expand existing rules and “seal” the entire automotive supply chain from foreign adversaries.The effort comes ahead of a planned Trump-Xi meeting and growing political pressure to act.Support from UAW and GM highlights industry concern over competition and data security risks.“People are really, really pressed right now… people are looking for cheaper cars… but as leaders, we have a responsibility to say, ‘Look, this is a driving surveillance package, it's like TikTok on wheels,”” Slotkin said.Rivian is trimming its Georgia factory ambitions but accelerating its timeline. A smaller federal loan means reduced capacity, but earlier access to funds could help fast-track production of its highly anticipated, more affordable R2 lineup.Rivian cut planned capacity from 400,000 to 300,000 vehicles annually as its federal loan shrinks to $4.5B.The upside: funds will be available sooner, allowing a single-phase build instead of two stages.The plant, opening in 2028, will produce the R2 and future models aimed at broader affordability.Rivian's Q1 showed progress with losses narrowing 23% and deliveries up 20% year-over-year.“R2 provides the opportunity to expand the Rivian brand to millions of drivers,” said CEO RJ Scaringe.California is putting autonomous vehicles on notice, literally. Starting July 1, AV companies can be cited for traffic violations committed by their driverless cars, marking a major shift in how regulators handle robotaxi behavior and public safety.Law enforcement can now issue “notices of AV noncompliance” for violations like running red lights or ignoring school buses.The move follows years of viral mishaps and ongoing investigations into systems like Tesla's Full Self-Driving.AV companies must respond to first responders within 30 seconds and comply with emergency geofencing to avoid active scenes.New rules also open the door for testing heavy-duty autonomous trucks and set training requirements for remote operators.Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/
Today on the IC-DISC Show we're talking with John, Clive, and Kelly Hess from CompuCycle in Houston. John started in the metals business in South Africa back in 1966, came to the US in 1986 to run a brass and copper distribution company, and spun off a small scrap division that eventually became CompuCycle. Clive joined in 1996 fresh out of U of H. Kelly came aboard in 2013 from the nonprofit world and now runs the company as CEO. Three decades later they're processing 40,000 pounds a day and hold more certifications than any other electronics recycler in Texas. In this conversation, the Hess family talks about the moment the Basel Accord shut down their entire plastics market overnight, why they think scrap metal companies handling electronics is now a liability risk for corporate customers, and how they built their own plastic washing line to solve a problem the rest of the industry was still struggling with. Kelly also shares a partnership they've built with Pearland ISD that turns scrap dismantling into job training for autistic students ages 18 to 22. Whether you're in recycling or not, the Hess family's thinking on running a multigenerational business, earning certifications most competitors won't bother with, and treating customer problems as a moat instead of a cost is worth your time.     SHOW HIGHLIGHTS How John Hess went from manufacturing copper ingot in South Africa in 1966 to building Houston's largest electronics recycler Why being R2 certified isn't enough, and what Compu-Cycle did after watching certified downstreams still send material to landfills The day the Basel Accord shut down their entire plastics market overnight, and how they engineered their way out Why scrap metal companies handling electronics has become a liability risk for their corporate customers The partnership with Pearland ISD that turns scrap dismantling into job training for autistic students What changed when Kelly came in from the nonprofit world and the family started hiring people smarter than themselves   Contact Details LinkedIn - Gordon Driscoll LINKS Show NotesBe a Guest About IC-DISC AllianceAbout CompuCycle   John HessAbout John Kelly HessAbout Kelly Clive HessAbout Clive TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dave: Well good morning. So this is my first time. I've had three guests on the podcast at one time. We have John Hess, we have Kelly Hess, and we have Clive Hess. So where are you all, calling into from today? what part of the world are you all in? Where now? John: We, I'm a responder. We're in Houston, Texas. Dave: Okay. And so am I. So that's, that is good. what I wanna talk about, and the reason we're doing the three person interview is the company Compus Cycle has been in business a little over 30 years, is that right? Kelly: 30 years to this? 2026 is our 30th anniversary, so we're really excited. Dave: That is awesome. and so what I wanna do, I want to go to the far origin of comp cycle, which really starts with John. So what I'd like to do is just start off with a little background on John and his entrance and experience in the scrap metal industry. So John, where are you? What part of the world do you hail from? John: Originally South Africa and have been in the metal business all my life. started in, at the age of 23 in 1966. Go back a long way. Dave: Okay. And, and then you're in the metals business, Ferris, non Ferris, John: right? we, I was, we were ingot manufacturers. We manufactured copper and aluminum based ingot for the foundry industry. And, got into the. Computer business, way back in about 1975 when we imported a, a machine for stripping cables and Okay. This machine also had the capability of shredding,computers of the old mainframe computers. Of course, there were no PCs at that time. Yes, of course. So that was my introduction to computers. Dave: Okay. So you're,you're getting into the computer, so we're talking if I'm doing my math right, that was about 50 years ago that you're involved in the shredding, chopping cable, shredding mainframe computer components. Is that about right? John: That's about right. Yep. Dave: Okay. And then how did we get from there to Compu cycle? John: Well, in 19. In 1966, I was offered an opportunity to come to, sorry, I'm getting myself messed up. It was 1986 that I had an opportunity to come to the United States to manage a company that distributed bras and copper bars and rods. Dave: okay. John: And we, while whilst there, I started a scrap division and that scrap division eventually became Compus Cycle. Okay. Right. Dave: Okay. So did, so was Compus Cycle like a literal spinoff from that company or was, did the idea come to you while you were there and you started a completely separate company? John: Well, we started it as a spinoff of that original company and, after a few years of running that business, I decided to leave the parent business and, get comp cycle going on its own. comp cycle started in the 1990s, as, A computer processing facility. Dave: Okay. And what does the name mean? John: What, what would the, what does the name mean? Dave: Yeah, I'm guessing it, it's like computer recycling that they John: kinda, yeah, computer cycle. we were largely in the scrap processing business at that time, but occasionally found product that was resalable and. okay. We actually repaired that and resold it. and that is how comp cycle began its existence, and it become a whole lot more sophisticated, over the years. Dave: Okay. Now, when you launched it, were Clive and Kelly involved at that time? John: Clive became involved. Clive, I can't remember the year. When was it? Dave: Yeah. Clive: I was involved, Kelly in 1996, I believe I was involved. Yes. And Kelly became involved in 2013. Was it 2013? Kelly: It's in 14 years. Believe it or not. Clive: Yeah, Kelly: 14 years. Dave: yeah, Kelly couldn't have, obviously Kelly couldn't have been involved from the beginning because she would've been in elementary school 30 years ago. Kelly: Well, no, I was that when he said, John said 50 years. I was like, okay, well that's exactly my whole life livelihood. And then, but yeah, no, Clive, I think, funny enough, we were dating when you were involved in Compu Cycle, but It was great though because Clive graduated. Well, you tell your story. You graduated from U of H and then jumped in. Clive: Yeah, I graduated, got involved and, we were, as my dad mentioned, primarily doing electronic scrap. and it evolved. it was really interesting. Back then there were very few companies doing what we were doing. And so not really knowing how to do what we were doing, we could survive and, we, we were scrapping mostly for the metal and precious metal recovery. Okay. Dave: And Clive: evolved into harvesting components, reselling the components, and then the refurbishing of equipment. On a very basic level, reselling it. And,as mentioned today, we are far more sophisticated than what we used to be 30 or 25 years ago. so it, it's, it, it grew from a very small business into a, today we're, we are a very. nice mid-size company. In our industry, John: we like to think of ourselves as the most dominant computer processing facility in, certainly in Houston and probably in Texas. Dave: Okay, so Clive, when you joined. I'm guessing it was a cushy job. You're the boss's son. You probably just sat at a desk with your feet on the desk, smoking a cigar all day, I'm guessing. Is that, was that about right? Is that kind of how it worked out? Clive: I would love to agree. family businesses are very unique, Dave, and, it, it, I'm very blessed. I'm very grateful for what I have. but it, that, I wish that was the case. No, we were certainly, yeah. Very involved and very entrenched. And, and,it's been a, it's been wonderful working with my dad and, it's been. more wonderful working with my wife. Kelly: He's just trying to be nice. That's a whole other podcast, Dave. Dave: Sure. Yeah. And obviously, and oh, and obviously I was joking with you, Clive, because usually the story is that when you're the boss's son, it's hard. Your life is harder because you're held to a different standard. Sometimes your dad has to go the opposite way and be even harder on you than the other employees. Clive: Yeah, he was actually,I will say,very easy with me. and,but it's, it, I was working for John: him getting clever aboard. Definitely took us to a higher level than we were when I was here on my own. And getting Kelly aboard gave us, a further injection to the extent that we've over the last 13 years since Kelly's arrival com cycle has matured enormously, it's become from simply another scrap, another computer scrapping business. To a sophisticated computer, refurbishing and scrapping as well. our scrap division has grown enormously with the addition of a shredding plant for computers and more recently a shredding plan for plastics, which, makes us unique in terms of having abilities that others simply do not have. Dave: Okay. No, that I get that. What, so I'm a chronological thinker. I'm an accountant. And so what I'd like to do is let's go back 30 years. You touched on it, John. Let's think about like the big milestones. So it, the company started in 96, if I'm doing my math right, in 1996. And what year did you join Clive? Clive: in 96 I was Dave: Okay, so the same time. Clive: Yeah. Dave: So as you think back, what was like maybe the first significant milestone? If we're thinking like in five year kind of impli or increments, like any major things that happened in those first five years that were, meaningful to where we got to today? Clive: If, gosh, going back 30 years, I can't go back three years, but,it's, bringing on. Large accounts. I think the first large account that I recall bringing on, would be Texas Children's Hospital. Okay. And,when we, that was a significant account that we brought on recycling the electronics, I think I, that would be a, certainly a milestone. and then going back to 2000,this is further ahead by 2010. We became the first certified electronics recycling company in Houston. And that was certainly a very large milestone because we were the only,for quite a few years, and that brought on additional accounts. what does takes life? Yeah. What Dave: I'm, I don't mean to interrupt. what does certified mean? Clive: So in, in our industry, there was no benchmark or there was no qualifications that one would have, one could have to identify themselves as a responsible electronics recycling company. Okay. And, corporations were familiar with the ISO certifications and Yeah. In 2008, the EPA. Stakeholders, created a certification called the R two, which stands for Responsible Recycling Practices Certification. Okay. And in order to achieve that, companies had to, follow a certain practices. Had to be certified just like companies who are ISO certified. Okay. We through the process of becoming certified, and it, it takes about, six months to a year to achieve that certification where you are, monitored. you have to recycle materials in a certain manner. you have to, adhere to the practices. You cannot just export products overseas anywhere to anybody without any, okay. Standards. And so we achieved that certification, which was,at that time extremely difficult, especially, a small company that did not have, Processes, policies, procedures that were documented in a sure professional manner. So that was, I think our, a very large step, moving in the right direction. and David, today we have the most certifications of any electronics recycling company in Texas. okay. So we, we have, I think seven certifications. Which would be the ISO 9,001, 14,001, 45,001, 27,001 certification. Then R two certification. E Steward certification, na AAA certification. so we have certifications, that, the scrap metal companies have zero. so scrap metal companies recycling electronics, is actually a. it is a,a liability risk, to corporations who may be sending the electronics to scrap metal companies for recycling because they don't adhere to any certifications. where we, we have seven that we have to adhere to. So when you're recycling with compute cycle,your products are handled in a very professional and, Very secured manner, especially today with where we are compared to back then. Dave: Yeah, I can, no, thank you for pointing that out. Because I can tell you, so I've been fortunate enough to be a, a donator of computers to your company through the years. I suspect I'm not your largest account. but of course my biggest concern was the confidentiality of the data. Okay. Because, I'm not a computer expert. I don't really know how to wipe a hard drive. And even if you wipe a hard drive, somebody who really knows what they're doing can still, I'm told, can still recover data some way. So I was looking for a way that I could just give you guys my laptop and be confident that data was never going to find a home elsewhere. Clive: Yeah. Dave: so is that the biggest concern of like your large corporate. providers or customers. Clive: Yeah, it's, and, let me just, one other milestone I'll say Okay. That I want to throw in was certainly, Kelly joining Comp Cycle. And, it's, over the years I've delegated, responsibilities or responsibilities have been removed from me and, Kelly is the CEO of comp cycle. And truly, Kelly is, an incredible leader of comp compute cycle. I'm, I, I always tell people that, and I've mentioned earlier that I'm truly, I'm blessed and, Kelly is phenomenal. And working with Kelly,is extremely rewarding for me, because of what we've accomplished. and we continue and we have the most amazing team at Compu Cycle. Company culture in this at Compute Cycle is extraordinary and it's because of Kelly and the team. So I think I'm gonna bow out now and I'm gonna pass. Okay. Kelly: Yeah. No, but hold on. Because they don't give themselves enough credit in the sense of where we've gotten to. where I came in about 2012 was our kids had, I came up from the nonprofit world. That was my life after graduation. And,I did a public relations psychology communications degree. Okay. Fell in love with nonprofit world and the fundraising of it and development directors of various different nonprofits. And, almost 25 years ago, October, Clive and I got married and Oh wow. Had, our two beautiful daughters. When I was working, I decided to stay home and raise the girls, but was doing some marketing and communications that really wasn't existent at the time for comp cycle while I was working at home. And, it was an amazing company for me because both John and Clive created this company that was really green before it was even cool to be green. And, wanted to really try to see how we could maximize what we were doing because the growth had been. Flat and we were, they were doing well, but we needed some type of growth in business development. So that's where I decided I was gonna come in for a couple years and try to just build clients, try to find new business. Okay. And we were, very blessed and lucky that we did, where we were able to get some very large accounts. And a lot of these accounts we were working with were saying, we don't understand why you're not a women-owned business. Okay. Like this there, obviously in this world, in this niche of the business we're doing, there's not a lot of women-owned businesses, okay. And what a growth possibility or opportunity it might be if you become women-owned. Okay? that is where it all started. And so 10 years ago I signed the dotted line and decided to see, okay, I'm really gonna see what we can do and build with Compus Cycle. but. I would definitely say yes, I've been able to grow the business with business development and accounts, but where the growth has really come is getting the right people on our team. It has been the strength of the,our management team. the actual managers of our company are, we have about a hundred employees right now. And Oh, wow. Yeah. And all of them are so dedicated. They're loyal. We've had some with great tenure with us, but it was really us realizing we had to start hiring people smarter than us. And that if we wanted to really grow, Dave: and Clive was the first one that made that hire. When he brought Kelly: Well, and then I've had to make, and then as a team, we've definitely hired a few more of those, which, has really been what has got us to this next level. and It's exciting to see, but I think what I'm most proud of with Compi Cycle as our company and what we've been able to create is, I am so proud to say when it comes if to looking for the most responsible, the most secure, the most sustainable and circular solution, you cannot do better than Compe Cycle. And we have such great differentiators of especially being here in Houston. I mean it when I say it, David, there is you. No reason why any company in Houston should not be using Comp Cycle. 'cause we are the only one that can truly show and guarantee responsible recycling because we're not only that recycler, most recyclers are sorters. They're going through the equipment. What can they reuse and what can they resell? Sure. And being a certified company, we are so proud to be dual certified with that R two and E Steward certification. But in my opinion, being certified is not enough because certified companies have to use certified downstreams. But being in the business for 30 years, we have unfortunately learned the hard way. And it's those Downstreams certified or not. Which is unfortunately where a lot of the landfill, the exporting and finding your three things on eBay happens. Okay? So we said as a team, no more, and we put in our processing facility next door and a multimillion dollar shredder where we're now, everything that comes to us, if we're not able to reuse and resell, which we're gonna give value back to our customer if we can resell it. But if not, it's gonna go next door to that processing plant and it's gonna turn directly into its raw materials. The steel, the plastic boards, aluminum, copper, and it goes directly to the mills smelters and refineries to be recycled. So that's like the biggest difference where, you know anyone, any company that uses us can sleep at night knowing that it's being done the right way and things aren't leading comfy cycle. And that is like what I am most proud of. And then we took it to the next level with putting in the plastics plant because epl, most electronics are made about 60% plastic and the EPL is dirty. So we created a sink float system where really the plastic gets about four different bath. And we're able to separate the plastic and then as well as separate it with an electrostatic machine that breaks. Its down to its A, B, S, and PS form. So we can create domestic solution now for the plastic. So that's where we Dave: got Kelly: the most circular. But what's really been amazing is us being able to see how Compi cycle is really that last piece of having an effective cybersecurity plan. If a company's gonna put all this money in protecting themselves from with the cybersecurity. But at the very end, they're not taking care of their equipment in the disposal, then it means nothing. So we've really tried to pose ourselves as like really the most critical, essential piece to the end of that plan because we wanna make sure things are done the right way. Dave: No, that. That is great. So by the way, I just wanted to clarify something with Clive. So one thing you and I share, Clive, is we both married way over our head and we're both married to rockstar wives. So when I say that. you married someone smarter than you. I can say that being that I'm in the same boat. So I'm just letting you know, I'm not really picking on you. I'm more, commiserating with you that we,we really, got way over our head with our spouse, selection. Clive: David. I agree. we certainly did. And, I, I have three women in my life and believeing me, they're all smarter than I. but I wanted to just, add on what Kelly mentioned. for me, my, my goal with Compute Cycle was to have a solution to our clients that was a completely secured solution. And where chain of custody remains with Compus Cycle. So when we, and we invite our clients, we've, we invite all prospective, clients to visit Compute Cycle. To see the process. To understand the process. once you see it, it's very easy to understand it and any questions that, or concerns that you may have. You mentioned earlier you wanted to make sure that if you drop off your product at Compute Cycle, you are mostly concerned about your data and how do you know? That it's gonna be handled correctly. So when we bring clients into our facility and our facilities, our access controlled facilities, we have security on site. So it is very secure. But when you go through the facility and we show you, we walk you through where it arrives and how it's processed. Any questions, concerns? we have companies that will audit us. We have their security departments, visiting compute cycle. we have cameras in our shreds where you can see the product being shredded. we, we show people how it's been done and it is absolutely a closed loop solution, which is exactly what I've always wanted. And we have that process today to offer to our clients, which is a major, we talk about, what would be the milestones, that is a milestone that we've actually achieved today where there is nobody. There's no other electronics processor in Houston. We are the third or fourth largest,city in the United States, and we are the exclusive processor in Houston. very proud of doing that. And in Texas, we're the exclusive electronics processor separating plastics into single polymer plastics. Okay, if clients are always concerned about data. Cybersecurity. We are the only electronics processor in Texas that's ISO 27,001 certified. so we can check the cybersecurity just through that certification. But we do these things because we wanna be a leader in the industry and we also want to protect our clients throughout the entire process. Dave: Yeah. So let's So by the way Kelly: Yeah. The right way. Dave: Oh yeah. How long has it been since you moved across the street to your current facility? Like three years ago, but I'm pretty sure it's been longer than that. Clive: 20, 20 18 we moved into. This facility and in 2019 we opened up the processing facility. Kelly: But I think it's important to note that in 2018, that facility was 40,000 square feet. When we moved here, it was 80,000 square feet, so we doubled our size and that next year we bought next door for our processing plant, which is now another 50,000 square feet. Yeah. So truly tripled our size. In one year. And so the good news is we have capacity, we to do more, which we'd love. In our processing plant, we do about 40,000 pounds a day of processing. Oh wow. But we could do 60. and I would love to get us to two shifts. we'd love to always get more customers and we'd love to be able to show prospects and customers to tour our facility. We're so proud of what we're doing and how we do it, and we're very transparent, so we encourage any prospect to schedule a tour with us. And something off also that we offer just more is less a community service, but also because it's the right thing to do is residents can bring their equipment to us five days a week and drop off, and we'll be happy to recycle it free of charge, destroy all their hard drives, so residents don't have to worry about their data. Dave: that is great. It sounds like I'm overdue for a tour because it's been, it was probably 2020 that I was last there. It was probably right after the Shrider got started. Yes. Certainly I've not seen the plastics recycling. So talk to me to the extent that you're comfortable discussing in general terms, because you made the comment that depending on the value you can extract from the machine, some of that value may go back to your customers. Can you gimme just a general sense, like let's take some company that. Recycles a thousand computers a year. What's the general process? Do they deliver 'em to you? Do they have a big container? Do you go pick 'em up? Like why don't we just start at the beginning? How does it work, Kelly? Kelly: Yeah, no, and I'll let Clive go into more of the pricing. He's the pricing guru for us. But really what you know, what's so great is that we can accept material. We have 3 24 foot box trucks driving. I call 'em my walking bill, driving billboards. They're going around the city all day long, picking up equipment. And so we bring stuff here directly to us, but also companies can ship things directly to us. Dave: Okay. Kelly: And or if there's locations outside of Houston and they want us to either white glove service to pack it and or we can ship it. We have our own logistics where we can bring and a arrange. So really from anywhere in the United States, we can handle collections. But what's the process really is once a customer is in our system, Clive or myself are the only ones that are able to develop a contract for that company, and it gives us the exact instructions of what they want. Some companies need everything destroyed. Some things will allow us to give value. So depending on the contract, we have specific instructions. But what we're also so proud of is all the data bearing devices come in and we put our own asset tag on that equipment. Okay. So we'll be able to track that equipment as it comes into Compu cycle and we can see exactly what happens to it, where it goes, where it is in the process. But our customers can also, so they can, oh wow. Serial number of a machine. They can be able to see exactly when it was recycled. This online portal holds our certificates of data destruction, certificate of recycling. So all of these things our customers can access at any time. But when it comes to value, usually our baseline is anything five years and younger, and that has this working condition. But I'm gonna let Clive take over at this point. Clive: Yeah, it's, so where we can. Refurbished product for reuse, we give value back to the customers. Okay? So typically if product's five years old or younger, we gotta give value back to the customers. We are gonna destroy the data. we sanitize the data using Department of Defense Compliance Software, our reporting, we will report the mate model, serial number, capacity, of the hard drive and include in the report. The parent's serial number that the drive,belongs to. So very detailed reporting, drives that fail the process. We physically shred. we have some clients, as Kelly mentioned, we have some clients where a hundred percent of the equipment coming in here has to be shredded. We have camera surveillance throughout the entire facility, so you can witness the,the process in person, or you can witness the process via camera. but where we can repurpose and reuse, we give value back. our sales channels, we sell to various verticals, depending on the age of the equipment. so we sell product domestically. We sell product internationally. we actually, have launched and we, David, I think we are the only company in our industry. we have online sales where our customers. Can actually witness the sale of their products and see the value that we actually are getting for their products. So we are Oh wow. Truly transparent, where our clients can see what the value of the product is. We have a lot of clients that ask us how do we know we getting the maximum value? So we now have a way for them to see what the value is, and then we are selling that on a revenue share basis. Where based on what we sell, they'll get X and we'll get Y. Okay. So we are trying to maximize the value, for our clients and whatever we cannot resell. We process through the shredding plans. Kelly: Ooh. I have to mention, I love also that one of our biggest buyers too is ISDs across the country. Dave: Oh, really? Kelly: Okay. We can buy three systems for the price of one, and we sell with warranties. So I'm so proud that we're able to provide school districts across the country with the affordable equipment for the students. Dave: No, I, I like that. So I'm curious,you're the only, computer recycling, client we have and so I'm more familiar with a traditional yard, so like a scenario where there's like a manufacturing facility. And they have like turnings and scrap metal that comes from the processing facility that's clean. Now, my understanding is that type of material, the recycler is actually paying for that material. Now, I would imagine in the computer world it might be different if a client wants everything destroyed. Are they, do they tend to pay you or are you still paying them because of the scrap value? Clive: it's both. so yes, we do give scrap value. but there, there are items where there is a cost for us to, it's not like a scrap metal company where you're bringing in clean aluminum, dirty aluminum, steel, copper, et cetera, et cetera. TVs for example, when we are processing TVs, inside the TVs, there's products that there's a cost for us to disposal. If it's the lamps, the glass, the panels where there is a cost for us to process and dispose of that. So if, a company just had cable and we brought in the cable, yes. We'll give them cable value, just like the scrap metal companies we'll pay for For that product. So it's a combination of both. that,and, depending on the volumes, we will price it that way. So we do have manufacturers, that need their products shredded and we will then,there's a cost for us to process and there's value that we give for that material too, and we will. we will, we'll share that, certainly the value with them as well. Kelly: And David too. What I think is so important is that we also provide incredible environmental scorecards and sustainability reports for our customers. Okay? So we're actually able to show them what has been diverted from landfill. What is the reduction of carbon footprint? And especially having that processor next door, we can actually break it even down to the actual metals of what, what it is that's been recycled. What's been reused, what has been resold, so we can provide all that data to them to make them be able to show their corporate sustainability departments what difference they're able to make by using a company like Comfy Cycle. Dave: Okay. So and so your customers, are they like across industries? I'm guessing you guess some oil companies as clients. Kelly: Healthcare. The healthcare and oil and gas here in Houston obviously are very heavy, but we handle companies of all sizes, all industries. And, what's Dave: the minimum size that it makes sense for them to have a conversation with you? do they need like, a hundred employees or thousand employees or Clive: Yeah, the, the, so companies can, they can deliver their product to us. Dave: Okay. Clive: or we can, so small companies,there, there are very small companies that will bring their product to country Cycle to. To be processed. Dave: like the way my company does it. Clive: Yeah. Dave: we just drop it off. We don't pay you anything. You don't pay us anything. You just take care of it. Clive: Correct. so yeah, it's, it really is any size, most importantly,is how we process the material. And that is not going to a landfill, that we are not exporting it, overseas to. any to a downstream that is, that, that is not to third world countries that cannot recycle the product correctly. we have to adhere to very strict regulations and, hence we open up our processing plants where we can shred into the raw materials. and so we are not exporting. Products overseas. We process, we processing it domestically. And what we do export is the raw material. So yes, we can, well, the steel we sell domestically, but the aluminum and the copper and the boards and the plastics, we can sell that domestically or we can sell internationally as the raw material. Dave: Okay. Clive: Yeah. Dave: So talk to me about the plastics recycling. Before you started doing that, was that product just going to the landfill? Clive: No, so the plastics industry, the plastics, the plastics were being shipped to Malaysia. the Malaysia is the largest plastics market for,I'm going to for low grade plastics material and John: Okay. Clive: In. appro approximately five years ago, the Basel Action Network. so the Basel Accord passed a law regarding recycling of plastics and certain low grade plastics, had to be,recycled in accordance with the Basel action. John: okay. Clive: Accord and really what that came down to with electronics, plastics is that you could not, Malaysia, which is, which ratified the Basel action Accord, was not allowed to import mixed e-waste plastics. Okay, because the United States has not ratified the Basel Action Network. It was not illegal to export other United States, but it was illegal for them to import into Malaysia. Okay? And so the Basel Action Network put a lot of emphasis on monitoring what was leaving the US and what was going into Malaysia. so it basically went from plastics. All the e scrap guys selling plastics to Malaysia, to, there's no market to sell the plastics. There's no value in the plastics, and what do you do? And that became a massive problem in our industry. Fortunately, we decided many because we were shredding electronics and were generating the plastics. We wanted to further process plastics and we wanted to extract the metals, excuse me, from the plastics. So we added on to our processing line, a plastic washing and sorting system so we could remove the metals, have clean plastics, and get more value for the plastics. And the timing was just, it was wonderful because we just happen to do this at the right time. So today we have a solution for the plastics. We can sell plastics domestically. Or we can sell plastics internationally. In order to sell it internationally, you have to separate the A, b, S and PS plastics, which we can do, or we can sell it domestically mixed. So we have a plastic solution. the plastics, I'm grateful. We not in the, we, we always tell our clients we're not in the plastics business. We don't want to be in the plastics business. we just happen to generate plastics. The plastics markets. at the moment are very depressed markets. Kelly: so I always say it's sustainability over profitability, but it's Dave: okay. Clive: Yeah. Sorry. and that's why we are very grateful. We are not in the plastics business, but it is a,today the virgin plastics actually,are it's the recycled plastics. The virgin plastics prices are so low right now that the recycled plastics is not a needed plastic. in Europe, they are mandated to use a certain percent of recycled plastics, the manufacturing of equipment that does not exist in the United States. So there's a much stronger demand for the plastics internationally than there is domestically. hence we can sell the plastics internationally. but it's a wonderful, it's wonderful that we can offer this to our clients. it has opened many more doors to compute cycle because clients who are concerned about the environments, who do want to do the right thing, who wanna make a difference and wanna make an impact. they are using compute cycle because of our capabilities. Dave: Okay. Clive: Yeah. Dave: Well, I, I just looked at the clock, man. Time flies when you're having fun. as we're rounding the home stretch, I just have a few more questions. so Kelly, so you and Clive and John have done a great job of explaining it. Why? Comp is uniquely positioned to serve companies, especially in Houston and Texas. but I'd like to flip the question. Can you share a customer story or two as far as what your customers tell you that they love about comp? Can you think of like a couple. A couple examples, like where somebody had a different solution that was problematic, then they found compus and Compus, really made a big difference. Can you think of a couple examples? And you don't need to mention the company's by name if it's Kelly: not Yeah,no. I think one of the things I'm most proud of with, Compus Cycle is that we are not a cookie cutter approach. We really create tailored solutions for all of our companies because working with companies of all sizes, all industries, all of the needs are different. So we've really been able to tailor solutions to what their needs are. But I really think what's amazing is John, Clive and myself, what pride we put into our customers. And they're able to see that as owners of the business, that we actually, how much we're involved and how much we care. I give every potential customer and customer my cell phone. If there is ever a concern, a problem, an issue that they're having, they can call me directly. We have a great sales team, but if they're not getting what they need or if there's a problem, I want to know so they can call me directly. And we really work on having the personal relationship with our customers of, and again, of all sizes. okay. Every customer we have means something to us. And I think like that's one of our great selling points, and something that's important to us. But I also think too that, we love to grow. We're all about continuous improvement. So we challenge our customers that if they have projects or different types of equipment, that they're not sure if it's something that we can process or do. Send us a picture. Tell us what your project is, let us see if we can do it. If we can grow our services, because that's what, how we grow as a company, and then we can offer more to our other customers. Okay. So we really challenge them to see what else can we do to help them. Clive: Yeah. I, Dave, let me add that, the feedback that I get from a lot of our customers is how responsive we are. If you email compute cycle within 24 hours, you'll have a response. you need something done, we get to it. they are amazed at how efficient we are at what we do. large corporations where typically they're waiting three or four or five days, we get back to them immediately and then their pain points. We had a client a week ago that, it's a very large client. They're international clients that needed a solution for, certain hard drives and certain devices,that are very,important devices that they do not want to leave their facility. They want to be able to, just wipe these devices individually themselves. we are very easy. They use our license, they wipe the device and they send the device to us. So we can electronically do that, where they can just log in through the portal, click a button, and it will erase the data from the device. Dave: oh Clive: wow. It's, we have solutions. We work with our clients to make their lives easy. We make their lives so simple. we have a team that does data center decommissioning. So we go on site, we decommission the data center Kelly: all over the Clive: country. We do that all over the country. Oh, wow. And it's a very experienced team. And the feedback that we get is. You guys can do it in a week. The last company that we used, it took them three weeks. So we are very efficient, and we are very transparent. I mentioned when we selling your product that you can see the value that we selling your product. It's just we are so good at what we do and when we can prove that to our clients. We never lose clients. once you come on board with Compus Cycle, the experience is unbelievable. And, we truly are the expert in our industry, because this is exactly what we do. And yes, we have much larger competitors, but we are very streamlined, we are very efficient, we are very nimble and we get things done very well. and so we are so excited 'cause we are growing. We really are growing within this industry and our capabilities are unbelievable and we continue to improve. right now, we focusing on data, we focusing on ai, we focusing on how do we become more efficient at what we doing. within these two facilities, we are processing the same amount of material, 50%. More efficient than where we were two years ago. So really Dave: That's Clive: amazing. we need to move into another facility today. Kelly: today we just need more equipment. Clive: Yeah. it's just incredible. So we continuously, we set goals and we continuously, achieve those goals. and,we're, we are growing and we're. Kelly: But really to be a family owned business, which we are, and what John, started for all of us is what is, what's amazing is that we still haven't lost that We can now do what all the big boys do and our processes and procedures and services, but we also are still very much. A family owned business in the sense of I hope our customers realize how much we care and that we're available to them and our team cares. And I just hope that says something that we haven't lost that. Clive: Yeah, we're not a mom and pop organization, but we are, we treat our clients with the same respect as we would like to be treated and we treat our employees. Like they are, family to us. we, and our facility is clean. Our facility is dust free, our facility is safe. Our employees have the the PPE that is required. we are always looking out for employees. I was actually at a facility yesterday. that I, yesterday I came home to Kelly and I said, I've never seen something so dusty. And disgusting and how they would allow the employees to be in that environment. When I left that facility for an hour, I was copying and it was just, it was awful. And we would, it's just not who we are. And this is an international company. I could not believe it. And we will never treat our employees. wow. in that regard. Dave: So it really sounds like the philosophy that your relationship with your customers is more than just a vendor, customer, that it's truly a partnership. Kelly: Absolutely. Dave: Right. and that you are, you work together, you're always, trying to improve things. And then it also sounds like the relationship with your employees is somewhat similar, that it's a partnership. Y'all are in this together and you play different roles, but everybody's important and, Does that kind of summarize that? Kelly: Yeah, no, we definitely know, see people for their strengths and and maximize them to what they're good at and what they have a passion for. And it's worked. It's an Dave: equation works. So I have one more question and it's for each of you this, so it's the same question to each of you and you can't copy one another's answers. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna start with John. So John, at this point. In your career, in the evolution of Compus Cycle, what do you enjoy the most as far as your role these days with the company and with Clive and Kelly? what brings you the most enjoyment? John: Okay. So I'm at the stage of my career, right at the end stage of my career. what I enjoy most. Is watching the success of Kelly and Clive, which I find so remarkable. And the, when I look at the company now and relate where it's at to where it was when, they came on board, the differences like chalk and cheese, the difference is massive. volumes of business that we doing. the relationship with employees, the relationship with customers, all of these things has metastasized into so much more than it used to be. Okay? So that is what I'm proud of, and that's what I enjoy most. Dave: Yeah, that, that answer doesn't surprise me. I. I see you more frequently, socially than I do Kelly and Clive, and I've always had that sense that pride, in just the how gratifying you found, you find that you started this thing and that Clive and Kelly have really just taken it to a whole new level. So that, that makes Kelly: sense. But don't let him pull you. He's here every single day. And a door is always open. And really a consultant of consultants when it comes in helping us with our scrap metal side still of the business and everything. So he's here every day. Dave: Well, that, that is great. I'll go to Clive next. So in your current capacity, what do you enjoy the most? What gives you the most satisfaction? Clive: Yeah. I, Dave, I enjoy. also watching the growth and the success of country cycle. But I think what's, I enjoy doing things that make me happy, where I used to have to do everything. I now can focus more on establishing partnerships, focus more on, working on the business,instead of the nitty gritty little things that I used to be so bogged down on. I don't have that anymore. So it's helping salespeople be successful. putting quotes together that are,very difficult, because of the experience that I have. So it's, it's that's,it's, that's what I enjoy. Yeah. Dave: Awesome. Kelly last stop Clive: and watching loves. Kelly: Yeah. So I have to say, I can this answer, I can finally give you confidently. 'cause I probably, if you asked me the last few years, I wouldn't be able to say so confidently. because now by having a sales team, I'm not always having to focus on finding the new business. And also being able to not be in the nitty gritty as much and be more at a higher view. But I have finally gotten my nonprofit life back and been able Oh John: yeah. Kelly: Yes. And combine both. So there's two things I have to tell you that we're doing that I'm just Dave: sure Kelly: beyond proud of. The first thing just happened recently and we've been trying for years to make this happen, but we have a partnership with Goodwill Houston. Dave: Oh, you do? Okay. Kelly: Yes. And so Goodwill Houston, you know their mission is to empower lives by work. And to employ people by work. And the way they do that is by having all of these donation centers, people donate and then they're able Put their money into the career development. Well, we wanted to be able to have a place where people could donate or to give their equipment. So when Goodwill accepts electronics, if they can't sell those electronics, we're gonna take them, and then we're gonna pay them for the scrap value. Oh Clive: wow. So Kelly: we're one responsibly handling all the stuff they can't sell. And two, be able to provide money back to them where they can put it into their programs. So I'm very proud that's a partnership we have here in Houston and that's developed just recently. And then we also have a partnership working right now with Pearland ISD that we're trying to now replicate within other ISDs. And I have to give Clive credit for this because he's the one that really created a training facility for individuals at school that are, That I No, that no. That have,the gift, like really the children that are on the spectrum of autism. So they have, from 18 to 22 years old at schools, those students that have somewhat graduated high school but still need time to develop, we've created a job track, a training facility where they're able to dismantle the equipment. Oh wow. John: We Kelly: to then pay, it's the equipment that they're dismantling is their school's equipment. We're then picking it up as scrap. We're paying them for that scrap so they can keep the program sustainable. As well as pay some of their students as interns. They're getting job training, which I can now bring over to Goodwill. Have them go into the job piece of work. Wow, that's amazing. Not only are we circular solution and recycling, but my goal is to create a circular solution and community impact. Dave: That is awesome. That is awesome. That's what Kelly: I'm excited about. Dave: That is awesome. Kelly: So it's doing things like that, that I'm really hope that as we grow, that we continue just how can we collaborate and make more impact in the community as well as the responsible sustainable recycling. Dave: No, that is awesome. Congratulations. Goodwill is my paternal grandmother worked at, Goodwill for like 40 years in, Sioux City, Iowa. Kelly: You're kidding. Dave: Nope. 'cause I know you're from Iowa, Kelly: right? You get my whole family, my mom's side. Yes. All, oh, the plow. Dave: Yeah. so Goodwill, they started a church at the Goodwill Facility. And anyway, so I'm a big fan of Goodwill, so I appreciate, I That's strange, that connection. John: Yes. Dave: so I can't tell you. So I want to thank you all for two things. One, I want to thank all three of you for taking the time to come on and tell the story. I really appreciate it. And secondly, more personally, I just wanna tell you how much I appreciate having had the chance to serve you all,on our services. the team always tells me that they always enjoy working with your team. And it's been fun to watch the, from our end to watch the progress of the company over time. So thank you for having that opportunity to be your partner in the tax services that we do. Kelly: No, we appreciate everything you do for us, David. Thank you. We enjoy working with you. Dave: Well, thank you. Well, you all have a great day and we'll talk soon. Kelly: Great. John: Thank you David. Kelly: Thank you. John: Bye. Special Guests: Clive Hess, John Hess, and Kelly Hess.
The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, which means it's time to sort the winners from the losers in IDP dynasty leagues. Which IDPs drew the best situations? And who got buried on a depth chart? Josh, Adam, and Bobby were joined by Jon Macri LIVE in-person in the Sode Shack to break it all down.We covered good and bad IDP rookie landing spots across linebackers, edge rushers, and safeties, from CJ Allen stepping into the most linebacker-needy team in the league, to Rueben Bain Jr. landing in a Buccaneers front that gives him a clear path to snaps from day one, to Jacob Rodriguez drawing the short straw in Miami. Plus, quick hitters on big names and a few sleepers worth knowing, a recap of our BG weekend, and the plans moving forward as The IDP Show transitions into the "Macri era."On that note, this is the last regularly scheduled episode with Josh, Adam, and Bobby as the hosts. We poured our hearts out last week during the announcement video, so we'll simply end with this: thank you. It's been an honor talking IDP with you for seven years. We'll see y'all around.0:00 Welcome to BG, Jon!9:46 BEST: CJ Allen, Colts (Pick 53, R2)17:33 WORST: Jacob Rodriguez, Dolphins (Pick 43, R2)22:50 BEST: Rueben Bain Jr., Buccaneers (Pick 15, R1)28:51 BEST: Dillon Thieneman, Bears (Pick 25, R1)37:09 WORST: Akeem Mesidor, Chargers (Pick 22, R1)43:47 BEST: Derrick Moore, Lions (Pick 44, R2)49:53 WORST: Jake Golday, Vikings (Pick 51, R2)1:02:48 BEST: AJ Haulcy, Colts (Pick 78, R3)1:08:06 Caleb Downs, Cowboys (Pick 11, R1)1:08:06 Sonny Styles, Commanders (Pick 7, R1)1:12:21 Keldric Faulk, Titans (Pick 31, R1)1:16:07 Arvell Reese, Giants (Pick 5, R1)1:18:39 Malachi Lawrence, Cowboys (Pick 23, R1) + R. Mason Thomas, Chiefs (Pick 40, R2)1:23:52 Wade Woodaz, Texans (Pick 123, R4) + Harold Perkins Jr., Falcons (Pick 215, R6)1:30:15 What's coming up from The IDP ShowCheck out our free IDP trade calculator, powered by Adam's dynasty rankings: https://idptradecalculator.com/Subscribe to our YouTube channel for our other shows, The IDP After Show and All IDP.If you'd like to support the show, you can do so for just $5/month over at theIDPshow.com. We've got some premium features for paid supporters that we know you'll enjoy. Follow us on Twitter @theidpshow. Thanks for listening!
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week's episode, we discuss Tesla's disaster earnings, the Beijing Auto Show being absolutely insane, and a plethora of new EVs unveiled this week. The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek's YouTube channel. As a reminder, we'll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in. After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts Castro RSS We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming. Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast: Tesla (TSLA) releases Q1 2026 financial results: slight beat on earnings Tesla seems to say Robotaxi launch will be pushed back in 5 US cities Tesla (TSLA) pulled questionable levers to make Q1 2026 financials look good Elon Musk pushes unsupervised FSD for consumer Teslas — again Tesla will build factories just to retrofit millions of HW3 cars it said could do FSD Tesla confirms Cybercab production has started despite delays in unsupervised driving Tesla announces HW4 Plus with doubled memory — will HW4 follow HW3 to the grave? Tesla (TSLA) quietly discloses $2 billion AI hardware company acquisition buried in filing Tesla Model YL prototype spotted on US roads for the first time Porsche Cayenne Coupe Electric is an off-road capable, 2.4s 0-60mph beauty and beast BMW unveils the new i7 with nearly 450 miles of range and Neue Klasse style [Images] XPeng unveils GX flagship SUV with 750 km range, L4-ready hardware for $58,000 Hyundai unveils sleek new IONIQ V: a production car that looks like a concept Hyundai unveils the IONIQ 3 with class-leading range and a new infotainment [Images] CATL is launching sodium-ion batteries in EVs in 2026, aiming for 370+ miles range Rivian (RIVN) starts R2 production days after tornado hit factory, deliveries this spring Xpeng is actually building this electric flying car — I visited the factory Here's the live stream for today's episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET: https://www.youtube.com/live/A7NTG5vjRuM
It's EV News Briefly for Wednesday 22 April 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyBMW GIVES I7 MORE RANGE AND SCREEN SPACEBMW has revealed what it calls the most extensive refresh ever applied to a BMW, with the updated electric i7 arriving first in September 2026 and plug-in hybrids to follow, with pricing expected to rise from the current £105,000 starting point. The new i7 swaps its old 105.7kWh battery for a 112.5kWh pack using Gen6 cylindrical cells, pushing maximum range from 387 miles to 452 miles and DC charging speed from 195kW to 250kW, while adaptive dampers and active rear steering become standard across the whole range.The styling adopts BMW's Neue Klasse design language with slimmer crystal-embedded headlights, a horizontal-slat grille, 22-inch alloys as standard, and up to 500 exterior colour combinations including a new two-tone option. Inside, the i7 becomes the first BMW to offer a front-passenger touchscreen (14.6 inches), gains a 17.9-inch central display and a sweeping 43.3-inch Panoramic iDrive dashboard, while rear passengers keep their 31.3-inch 8K cinema screen and 35-speaker Bowers & Wilkins system.***RIVIAN STARTS R2 PRODUCTION IN ILLINOISRivian has begun production of the R2 at its Normal, Illinois plant, with CFO Claire McDonough confirming the start in a Reuters interview and first customer deliveries expected later this spring. Reservation holders will receive configuration invitations in June, with the $57,990 Launch Edition shipping first, followed by the $53,990 Premium later in 2026 and the more affordable Standard and entry variants arriving through 2027.Rivian expects R2 to cost less than half of what an R1 costs to build once higher volumes are reached in 2027, and the vehicle also underpins the company's broader ambitions including the $2,500 Autonomy+ self-driving package and an Uber robotaxi partnership worth up to $1.25 billion across 25 cities.***GM SAYS NO DELAY TO ELECTRIC TRUCK PROGRAMMEGM publicly denied cancelling any electric trucks after Crain's Detroit Business — citing three anonymous sources — reported that the automaker had indefinitely delayed its next-generation electric truck programme, which had been targeting a 2028 production start for refreshed versions of the Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Hummer, and Escalade IQ. GM told Motor1 that "EVs remain the end game" and confirmed no impact to current electric truck production, though the company gave no timeline for when the next-generation programme might resume.Supplier executives and analysts told Crain's they do not expect a new generation of GM's all-electric truck line until 2030 or beyond, suggesting the delay is substantial even if GM stops short of calling it a cancellation.***SMART #2 SETS UP FORTWO RETURNSmart has unveiled the Smart #2 concept, a two-door, two-seat electric city car that revives the spirit of the original Fortwo, with a production model expected to launch in October 2026. Built on the Electric Compact Architecture platform, it offers an estimated 186-mile range — a dramatic leap over the old EQ Fortwo's 58-mile range — along with a 10–80% charge time of under 20 minutes and vehicle-to-load capability.Expected to measure around 106 inches (2.7 metres) long, the Smart #2 would be smaller than the Dacia Spring and Renault Twingo, placing it among Europe's smallest new EVs at launch.***ID. BUZZ ADDS AWD AND NEW TECHVolkswagen Commercial Vehicles is rolling out a 2026 model year update for the ID. Buzz this summer, headlined by the new Pro 4MOTION variant that pairs a 210kW rear motor with a front motor for a combined 250kW and raises towing capacity to 1.8 tonnes on the standard wheelbase. The update also brings one-pedal driving capable of bringing the vehicle to a full stop, a new Innovision infotainment system with an integrated app store, traffic-light-responsive Connected Travel Assist, a welcome return to physical steering wheel buttons, and optional vehicle-to-load capability at up to 2.0kW.***CHARGEPOINT LAUNCHES 600KW EXPRESS SOLOChargePoint has unveiled the Express Solo, a standalone DC fast charger capable of delivering up to 600kW, which the company says sets a new benchmark for public charging in the US. The unit supports two simultaneous sessions, accepts direct DC input for integration with on-site battery storage, enables bidirectional charging, and uses an Omni Port combining CCS1 and NACS connectors — all at a claimed 30% lower purchase and operating cost than comparable high-power chargers.***FRANCE SETS 2035 ROAD CHARGING PLANFrance's government has published a national strategy to deploy around 30,000 EV charging points on motorways and national roads by 2035, targeting corridors that carry roughly one third of all traffic despite representing just 2% of total road length. The plan includes approximately 22,000 fast chargers at around 150kW for light vehicles across 900 service areas — a fivefold capacity increase — plus 8,000 heavy-duty charging points across 560 locations.***COKE CANADA ADDS VOLVO ELECTRIC TRUCKSCoca-Cola Canada Bottling is expanding its electric fleet to nearly 40 vehicles by adding Volvo VNR Electric trucks in Quebec City and the Vancouver area, building on a 2023 pilot programme that tested six of the trucks in real-world conditions. Each VNR Electric uses a six-battery configuration with a range of up to 440km, and the expansion is supported by a new 180kW Heliox Flex charging station in Quebec City and two additional chargers in Vancouver.***PG&E ADDS CYBERTRUCK TO V2G PILOTPG&E and Tesla have added the Cybertruck to PG&E's residential vehicle-to-grid programme, using Tesla's Powershare Gateway and Universal Wall Connector in what is the first AC-based V2G application approved for California customers. Participants can receive up to $4,500 in incentives for bidirectional charging equipment and earn additional compensation for exporting electricity back to the grid during peak demand events.***VOLKSWAGEN SETS GERMAN V2G LAUNCH FOR 2026Volkswagen and its energy subsidiary Elli plan to launch a fully integrated vehicle-to-grid service for private customers in Germany in Q4 2026, with pre-registration opening in June, promising annual earnings of €700–€900 under favourable conditions. Elli will manage the full stack — dynamic tariff, DC bidirectional charger, smart meter integration, and a control app — backed by around one million bidirectional-capable MEB-platform EVs already on European roads.
Rivian’s new R2 model has begun rolling off the manufacturing floor in Normal, Illinois, despite damage to the factory from a tornado over the weekend. The smaller, more affordable SUV is seen as crucial to driving profitability for the electric vehicle maker. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's EV News Briefly for Friday 17 April 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyMERCEDES PREVIEWS ELECTRIC C-CLASS CABINMercedes-Benz has revealed the interior of its first all-electric C-Class ahead of a full reveal on 20 April, showcasing a screen-dominated cabin featuring either a standard Superscreen or an optional 39.1-inch Hyperscreen spanning nearly the full dashboard width, with 10 colour schemes and matrix backlighting using nearly 10 million pixels. The EV platform frees up more interior space than any previous C-Class, and the car adds a new multi-source heat pump that heats the cabin twice as fast as combustion models while using roughly half the energy, alongside Vegan Society-certified upholstery, electropneumatic lumbar seats with massage and ventilation, an optional Burmester 4D system with seat exciters, and an optional Sky Control roof with 162 illuminated stars.MUSK COMPANIES PROPPED UP CYBERTRUCK Q4SpaceX purchased 1,279 Cybertrucks in Q4 2025, accounting for nearly 20% of all US Cybertruck registrations in the period, with Musk-owned entities including xAI, The Boring Company, and Neuralink collectively taking 1,339 units out of 7,071 total US registrations. Analysts estimated that without these affiliated-company purchases, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen more than 50% year-over-year, and Musk-linked companies continued buying in early 2026 with 158 units in January and 67 in February.MAZDA6E UK PRICED FROM £38,995Mazda will launch the all-electric Mazda6e in the UK this summer with orders open now, priced from £38,995 for the Takumi trim and £39,995 for the Takumi Plus, featuring a 78kWh LFP battery with up to 348 miles of WLTP range and a 10–80% DC fast charge time of just 24 minutes. Unlike mainland European versions, the UK model gets a single-battery setup, paired with a rear-mounted motor doing 0–62mph in 7.9 seconds, a five-door hatchback body, a 14.6-inch touchscreen, and an augmented reality head-up display.BMW ADDS CONTRACT-FREE PLUG & CHARGE IN GERMANYBMW Group has launched a contract-free Plug & Charge service in Germany, allowing drivers of compatible BMW and MINI EVs to authenticate at public DC charging points simply by plugging in, with billing going directly to the credit card stored on their BMW or MINI account. The first rollout covers over 1,400 charging points across Germany and Austria via partner Mer Germany using Hubject's system, and is the first time Plug & Charge has been extended to drivers without an existing charging contract, including tourists and fleet users.BYD ADDS TWO SHARK 6 VARIANTSBYD has expanded its Shark 6 ute range in Australia from one model to three, adding the Shark 6 Dynamic Cab-Chassis (from A$55,900) and the Shark 6 Performance (from A$62,900) alongside the existing Shark 6 Premium. All variants use BYD's Dual Mode Off-Road plug-in hybrid system combining a turbocharged petrol engine with front and rear electric motors and a Blade battery, with the Performance variant boosting towing capacity to 3,500kg and adding a dedicated Crawl Mode for off-road use.ALLEGO ADDS SMART OVERNIGHT CHARGING IN DUTCH MARKETAllego has launched a smart overnight charging scheme in the Netherlands using Deftpower technology, offering drivers a choice from 6 PM between immediate and smart charging, with the latter shifting sessions to off-peak hours to reduce grid strain during evening peaks. Drivers who opt in receive cashback rewards of up to 5% of charging costs, and Allego plans to expand the model from its initial rollout to around 9,000 charging points in the Netherlands before extending it to Belgium.FUEL SPIKE PUSHES DRIVERS TOWARDS EVSA survey by Electrifying.com of over 1,000 visitors found that more than 70% of non-EV drivers said rising fuel prices — spiked by US-Israel air attacks on Iran and disruption to oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz — are making them more actively consider switching to electric. Electrifying.com founder Ginny Buckley reported a near-50% week-on-week surge in site traffic since the start of the US-Iran conflict, while analyst Tom Barnard noted some used EVs priced under £5,000 can pay for themselves within a few years through fuel savings alone.RIVIAN MAKES FOUR RAN SITES NACS-ONLYRivian has converted four California-based Rivian Adventure Network charging sites to NACS-only, removing CCS1 connectors entirely in a first for the network, a move likely driven by the ramp-up of the R2 and the 2026 R1S and R1T, all of which ship with NACS as standard. Owners of older CCS1 Rivians and other non-NACS EVs will need a NACS-to-CCS1 adapter to use these four sites, with the switch also simplifying site logistics as NACS-equipped Rivians grow in number.HONDA SUPER-N SET FOR UK JULY LAUNCHHonda has revealed the Super-N, an all-electric kei-inspired hatchback measuring 3.4 metres in length, due on sale in the UK from July at under £20,000, directly rivalling the Dacia Spring and Hyundai Inster. Power comes from a compact e-axle producing 47 kW (rising to 70 kW in BOOST Mode), with Honda quoting a UK urban range of 199 miles and a combined range of 128 miles, though battery and charging specifications have not yet been disclosed.MAV SYSTEMS LAUNCHES BAYIQ FOR EV BAYSUK-based MAV Systems has launched BayiQ, an ANPR camera system designed to help parking operators, councils, and transport authorities tackle overstaying, ICEing, and poor turnover at EV charging bays. A single BayiQ unit can monitor multiple adjacent bays simultaneously, unlike conventional ANPR systems that require one camera per bay, reducing installation costs and civil works for operators managing busy charging locations.
In this episode of the Turn Down For Watt Podcast, we break down the Q1 EV sales data and the reality of today's EV market. The numbers don't lie — demand is soft, many models are down big year over year, and the gap between Tesla and everyone else is still massive.That leads to the big question: Can the Rivian R2 save 2026?We're joined by special guests including Jose from Rivian Tracker, Zak from the Bay Area Rivian Club, and Travis Ketchum to dig into:
Episode Summary In this episode of Practical Cybersecurity, we dive into the complex world of HITRUST certification. Often called the "gold standard" for healthcare security, HITRUST can be a daunting mountain to climb for small and large organizations alike. Jen Stone and experts Peter Briel (Privaxi) and Lee Pierce (SecurityMetrics) break down why scoping is your best friend, why screenshots aren't enough, and why you should never try to "button things down" before talking to an expert.Key Discussion Points:What is HITRUST? Unlike HIPAA, which lacks a formal certification, HITRUST integrates multiple standards (NIST, ISO, etc.) into a "beefy" framework. It provides a definitive answer to security and compliance inquiries in the healthcare space.The Three Levels of HITRUST:E1: The entry-level, static 44-control assessment.I1: The "leading practices" assessment with roughly 180+ controls.R2: The risk-based, "gold standard" that requires heavy factoring and scoping.The "House Alarm" Analogy: You can't protect a house if you don't know how many windows and doors it has. Asset management is the foundation of security; if you don't know what hardware and software you have, you can't secure the perimeter.Common Pitfalls in Certification:Overscoping: Fear often leads companies to include too much in their audit, driving up costs and timelines unnecessarily.Weak Evidence: Assessors need a "story," not just a screenshot. Evidence must be consistent, repeatable, and include clear date/time stamps.The "Never Happened" Trap: Even if you haven't fired anyone or had a breach in years, you must have a documented, tested process for how you would handle those events.The Importance of Readiness: The "separation of duties" means your auditor can't also be your consultant. Engaging a readiness team early helps you build the foundation correctly the first time, rather than tearing down finished work to meet compliance standards later.Expert Tips for Success"Don't build it and then do readiness afterwards." — Lee Pierce Start the conversation while you are still building your solutions or migrating to the cloud to ensure encryption and segmentation meet the standard from day one."Don't rush... it's not a check-the-box exercise." — Peter Briel Focus on building a solid foundation. HITRUST isn't just about the certificate; it's about actually protecting the environment.Resources MentionedSecurity Metrics Website: Visit for a quick HITRUST cost assessment and to connect with the readiness and audit teams. https://www.securitymetrics.com/hitrustFactoring Tools: Resources to help determine whether you need an E1, I1, or R2 assessment.A note from Jen: We built Practical Cybersecurity because we were tired of the fear-mongering in this industry. Security shouldn't be a secret club.If you're trying to figure out PCI compliance or need a pen test, my team at SecurityMetrics can help you out: https://www.securitymetrics.com/contact/lets-get-you-to-the-right-place But if you just want to learn how to protect yourself for free, start here: https://academy.securitymetrics.com/
The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
Shoot us a Text.Episode #1310: The market squeeze is real as affordability reshapes buying behavior across the board. Tesla feels the EV slowdown while Rivian pivots toward value, and new data shows Gen Z shoppers aren't impulsive, just taking their time.As costs stack up across the ownership lifecycle, automakers are getting real about affordability and how it affects product strategy, pricing, and what actually moves on the lot.Subaru is leaning into efficiency and practicality as gas prices rise. “We're not making V-8 engines…we've got four-cylinders, hybrids and electrics. when gas is getting up to $4 and $5, and those things that are sucking gas like crazy, that's not Subaru.” said marketing head Alan Bethke.That shift is showing up in shopper behavior, with Subaru seeing “a lot more movement on our lower trim levels” as buyers hunt for value.Across the board, consumers are trading down and prioritizing fuel economy, pushing brands to rethink mix and messaging.Even growth brands are leaning into affordability through electrification—Kia reported hybrid sales up 73% as buyers look for cost relief at the pump.At Stellantis, CEO Antonio Filosa is tying their turnaround directly to demand alignment: the strategy is working by “delivering the products our customers want and love.Tesla's Q1 deliveries came in lighter than expected with U.S. deliveries estimated down 4.6%, showing continued pressure on EV demand as incentives fade and global performance varies.Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles globally, missing expectations and marking its weakest quarter in a year despite a 6.3% YoY increase.Rivian offered a contrast, with deliveries up 20% year-over-year—but that growth comes off a weaker base and still represents just over 10,000 units for the quarter.Rivian is holding steady on its 2026 outlook (62K–67K units) and launching its lower-priced R2, signaling a clear shift toward more accessible EVs.Wedbush's Dan Ives called Tesla's results “underwhelming,” but “not a shock…given the current EV backdrop,” as the company bets on future plays like robotaxis and AI.New data shows younger buyers aren't rushing purchases. They're researching more, delaying decisions, and blending online and in-store shopping in ways that challenge old assumptions.Half of Gen Z shoppers sit on purchases for two+ days, more than double the rate of boomers, signaling a longer, more deliberate buying cycle.Only 40% of shoppers come in knowing what they want—most are browsing, comparing, and figuring it out in real time.Even digital-first buyers aren't fully online—53% of Gen Z still go in-store to browse before buying.Despite the hesitation, younger buyers are more willing to spend long-term, with Gen Z and millennials 50% more likely to increase spending in the future.“Marketers can no longer rely on broad assumptions…brands must…out-maneuvJoin Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/
Nintendo surged 18% in 2 weeks thanks to 30-year old Pokemon… and it hates AI.Quince just hit a valuation twice as good as Skims… thanks to caviar, candles, and caviar?Rivian is taking orders for the R2… which has to disrupt Rivian, and save Rivian.And the Academy Awards have a shocking plan for last night's Red Carpet… Destroy it.$NTDOY $RIVN $DUPEBuy tickets to The IPO Tour (our In-Person Offering) TODAYNew York, NY (4/8): https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0000637AE43ED0C2Los Angeles, CA (6/3): SOLD OUTGet your TBOY Yeti Doll gift here: https://tboypod.com/shop/product/economic-support-yeti-doll NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rivian announces pricing for the hotly anticipated R2. Plus: the Model Y L comes to another market (no, it's not the US…yet), Tesla files a patent for some interesting new seats on the next-gen Tesla Roadster, and more! If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support my efforts, please check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/teslapodcast and consider a monthly or (10% discounted!) annual pledge. Every little bit helps, and you can support for just $5 per month. And there are stacking bonuses in it for you at each pledge level, like early access to each episode at the $5 tier and the weekly Lightning Round bonus mini-episode (AND the early access!) at the $10 tier! And NO ADS at every Patreon tier! Also, don't forget to leave a message on the Ride the Lightning hotline anytime with a question, comment, or discussion topic for next week's show! The toll-free number to call is 1-888-989-8752. INTERESTED IN A FLEXIBLE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR YOUR TESLA? Be a part of the future of transportation with XCare, the first extended warranty designed & built exclusively for EV owners, by EV owners. Use the code Lightning to get $100 off their "One-time Payment" option! Go to www.xcelerateauto.com/xcare to find the extended warranty policy that's right for you and your Tesla. P.S. Get 15% off your first order of awesome aftermarket Tesla accessories at AbstractOcean.com by using the code RTLpodcast at checkout. Grab the SnapPlate front license plate bracket for any Tesla at https://everyamp.com/RTL/ (don't forget the coupon code RTL too!). Enhance your car with cool carbon-fiber upgrades from RPMTesla.com and use the promo code RPMRTL for 5-10% off your next purchase. And make your garage door foolproof with the Infinity Shield – get yours at https://www.infinity-shield.com and use the promo code RTL at checkout for a $35 discount.
Rivian has spent four years and billions of dollars building electric vehicles that most people cannot afford. The R2 — a mid-size SUV that starts at $45,000 and tops out at $57,990 — is the company's answer to that problem. Full pricing and trim details dropped today, 12 March 2026, and deliveries of the first Performance variant begin this spring. If it works, Rivian becomes a proper carmaker. If it does not, the maths gets ugly fast.From Concept to ConcreteThe R2 platform was first announced in 2022, with production originally pencilled in for 2025 at a planned factory in Georgia. That changed in March 2024, when RJ Scaringe, Rivian's founder and chief executive, unveiled the production-ready R2 alongside the smaller R3 and R3X crossovers at a packed event at the Rivian Theater in Laguna Beach, California. Mr Scaringe also confirmed he was scrapping the Georgia plan — at least for now — and would build the R2 at the existing Normal, Illinois plant instead. That decision saved more than $2.25 billion in capital expenditure and, crucially, pulled the launch date forward.Within 24 hours of its unveiling, Rivian had taken more than 68,000 reservations at $100 apiece. By July 2024, the company's VP of manufacturing Tim Fallon said reservations had surpassed 100,000 and were still climbing. Rivian has not updated that figure publicly since.Production began in January 2026. Validation vehicles rolled off the Normal line first, and the factory is now ramping toward a target capacity of 155,000 R2 units per year — alongside the R1 models it already builds there. Each R2 takes roughly 15 hours to assemble, down from 18 hours for an R1.Why the R2 Matters More Than Any Vehicle Rivian Has BuiltThe R1T pickup and R1S SUV earned Rivian a devoted following and the top spot in Consumer Reports owner satisfaction surveys. They also bled money. Rivian posted a net loss of $3.65 billion in 2025, on top of a $4.75 billion loss in 2024. The R1S starts near $75,000 (around £59,000) — a price that limits the addressable market to a sliver of American buyers."R2 is really instrumental for driving the business to positive cash flow and overall profitability," Mr Scaringe told CNBC in February. He was not exaggerating. The bill of materials for the R2 is roughly half that of the R1. Rivian slashed the number of computing units from over 60 in a traditional vehicle to seven, and cut wiring length by about two miles (3.2 km). The result is what Mr Scaringe called "a dramatic reduction in the cost structure to build it."Rivian did scrape together a positive gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2025 — a milestone, though the margin was wafer-thin at around 2%, compared with Tesla's 17%. The R2, with its leaner architecture and lower price, is meant to close that gap at volume. Analysts expect around 15,000 R2 deliveries in 2026, though some believe Rivian could exceed that figure. By 2027, with three full shifts running, the Normal plant could produce roughly 155,000 R2s annually.Today's Pricing: What You GetThe lineup spans four trims, all sharing an 87.9 kWh usable battery and a $1,495 destination charge. Here is how they break down:The Performance trim arrives first, this spring, at $57,990 (around £46,000) including the Launch Package. It runs dual-motor all-wheel drive with 656 horsepower, 609 lb-ft (826 Nm) of torque and a 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) time of 3.6 seconds. Highway overtaking is savage: 50–70 mph (80–113 km/h) in 1.55 seconds. EPA-estimated range sits at up to 330 miles (531 km). The Launch Package bundles lifetime Autonomy+ access, a tow package rated at 4,400 lbs (1,996 kg) and an exclusive Launch Green paint option.The Premium trim follows in late 2026 at $53,990 (around £43,000). It shares the 330-mile range and dual-motor AWD layout but dials the power back to 450 hp and 537 lb-ft. Zero to 60 takes 4.6 seconds — hardly slow.The Standard RWD Long Range arrives in the first half of 2027 at $48,490 (around £38,500). A single rear motor delivers 350 hp and 355 lb-ft, reaching 60 in 5.9 seconds. Rivian estimates range at up to 345 miles (555 km) — the longest in the lineup, because rear-wheel drive is more efficient.Finally, the Standard RWD variant lands in late 2027 at approximately $45,000 (around £35,700). It uses a smaller battery pack and offers 275+ miles (443+ km) of estimated range. Rivian has shared few other details so far.All trims charge from 10% to 80% in 29 minutes via a native NACS port, which grants access to the Tesla Supercharger network. CCS adapters are supported too.Built Lighter, Built TougherThe R2 rides on an entirely new mid-size unibody platform — a departure from the R1's body-on-frame architecture. The result is a vehicle that weighs nearly 2,000 lbs (907 kg) less than its bigger sibling while sitting on a 115.6-inch (2,936 mm) wheelbase. At 185.9 inches (4,722 mm) long and 75 inches (1,905 mm) wide, it is squarely in Tesla Model Y territory.The weight savings translate directly into agility, but Rivian has kept the off-road DNA intact. Ground clearance of 9.6 inches (244 mm) is best in class — nearly three inches more than a Model Y. Approach and departure angles of 25° and 26° respectively, plus a wading depth of 19.7 inches (500 mm), mean the R2 can do more than look adventurous in a car park. The Performance trim gets semi-active suspension, eight drive modes including Rally and Soft Sand, and a low centre of gravity courtesy of the structural battery pack.Inside, the cabin seats five adults with 40.4 inches (1,026 mm) of rear legroom and headroom — enough, Rivian says, for occupants over six feet (1.83 m) tall. Total enclosed storage is 90.1 cubic feet (2,551 litres), with a front trunk that swallows a carry-on suitcase and a backpack, fold-flat rear seats that create a level loading surface, and dual gloveboxes. The rear drop glass — a powered window that lowers completely into the liftgate — is a genuine talking point, allowing surfboards and other long cargo to slide in or a breeze to sweep through. It is included on Performance and Premium trims.Materials lean sustainable: upcycled Birch wood accents, a headliner made from recycled ocean plastics and Rivian's second-generation Adventex material, which is designed to withstand muddy boots and wet dogs in equal measure.The Technology PlayRivian calls the R2 a "software-defined vehicle," and the specification sheet backs that up. The perception stack comprises 11 HDR cameras with a combined 65 megapixels and a five-radar system — hardware that comes standard on every trim.Rivian Autonomy+, the company's Level 2+ hands-free driver-assist system, covers 3.5 million miles (5.6 million km) of roads across the United States and Canada. It costs $49.99 per month or $2,500 as a one-off purchase. The Launch Package includes it for the lifetime of the vehicle. Every R2 gets a 60-day trial.On-board AI compute runs to 200 TOPS, dedicated to the in-cabin experience. This powers the forthcoming Rivian Assistant — a voice-controlled system that processes complex requests locally, even when offline. The 5G-connected architecture ensures updates arrive over the air, while the offline capability means the vehicle is not hobbled in areas without signal.At the steering wheel, Rivian's in-house Haptic Halo dials replace conventional switchgear. These context-aware controls scroll, push, pull and tilt with distinct tactile feedback for different functions — an attempt to bridge the gap between touchscreen convenience and physical control that many rivals have abandoned entirely. Two digital displays complete the cockpit: one behind the wheel for driving data, and one in the centre for everything else.The Elephant in the Room: TeslaThe R2 lands in the most contested segment of the electric vehicle market. The Tesla Model Y — the best-selling EV on the planet and briefly the best-selling car of any kind in 2023 — starts at $44,000 in the United States and delivers up to 357 miles (575 km) of range. It has a vast Supercharger network, a mature software ecosystem and years of manufacturing refinement behind it.The R2 fights back with 3 inches (7.6 cm) more ground clearance, genuine off-road hardware, a richer interior (Model Y's cabin has always divided opinion) and that distinctive outdoor-adventure identity that Rivian has cultivated since its founding. Whether that is enough to prise buyers away from Tesla — or from the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Chevrolet Equinox EV — remains the central question.Why Failure Is Not an OptionRivian burned roughly $3 billion in the first nine months of 2025 alone. It ended 2024 with about $5.3 billion in cash, a figure being steadily eroded by capital expenditure and operating losses. The Volkswagen joint venture — worth up to $5.8 billion in total — provides a lifeline, as does the potential for Department of Energy loan access. But lifelines do not last for ever.The company's stock tells its own story. Rivian went public in November 2021 at $78 a share, briefly touched $170 and now trades around $15. A 90% decline from the peak concentrates the mind wonderfully.The R2 must do three things at once: attract a materially larger customer base than the R1 ever could, generate a positive gross margin per vehicle and ramp to volumes that spread fixed costs across enough units to bend the loss curve downward. At a planned capacity of 155,000 units per year from Normal alone — with a second factory in Georgia eventually to follow — Rivian has the industrial ambition. The Volkswagen partnership supplies software licensing revenue and engineering credibility.Mr Scaringe has described the R2 as "the most important thing that we've developed as a company." On the evidence of today's specification sheet, it is also the most complete. The range is competitive, the technology is ambitious, the price is within reach of mainstream buyers and the off-road capability gives it a personality that few electric SUVs can match.None of which will matter if Rivian cannot build it at scale, on time and at a cost that leaves room for profit. The company that once dazzled Wall Street with a $170 share price now needs to dazzle customers with a $45,000 truck. That is the harder trick — and the one on which everything depends.
It's EV News Briefly for Monday 09 March 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailySCOUT RESERVATIONS SWING TO RANGE-EXTENDED HYBRIDSScout Motors now holds over 160,000 reservations for its Traveler SUV and Terra pickup, with 87% of reservation holders choosing the gas-assisted extended-range hybrid over pure BEV — well above the 60/40 split CEO Scott Keogh originally expected. First customer deliveries have slipped to 2028, with delays attributed to technical challenges in developing a rugged ladder-frame platform with dual powertrains.RIVIAN DROPS $45,000 R2 STARTING-PRICE LINERivian has quietly removed the "$45,000 starting price" reference from its R2 product page, replacing it with a countdown clock ahead of a March 12 reveal at South by Southwest where full pricing and specs are expected. The R2 will launch first as a higher-priced dual-motor variant, with a more affordable single-motor base model to follow shortly after.BEVS NOW BEAT ICE ON COST IN MORE MARKETSAyvens' 2026 Car Cost Index finds BEVs now undercut comparable ICE models on total cost of ownership in a growing number of European markets, with Western and Northern Europe leading the way. In the compact segment BEVs hold a TCO advantage in 19 of 30 markets, and the BMW i4 beats the petrol 3 Series on TCO in 20 of 30 European countries.GLOBAL PUBLIC EV CHARGERS HEAD FOR 9.01M IN 2026Global public EV charging infrastructure is forecast to reach 9.01 million plugs in 2026, up from 7.11 million in 2025, though China alone accounts for 67% of the global total and the top eight countries host 88% of all chargers. Growth is slowing in Europe and losing momentum in the US, while Germany is on track to overtake the Netherlands in installed chargers during 2026.UK SUPPLIERS PULL FIXED DEALS AS GAS SPIKESUK energy suppliers slashed available fixed tariffs from 38 to 17 in a matter of days as wholesale gas prices spiked roughly 75% following disruption to Middle Eastern gas infrastructure, with the cheapest typical annual dual-fuel fixed deal rising from £1,509 to £1,640. EV-specific tariffs were also affected, with EDF pausing some EV tariffs and E.ON briefly freezing one, threatening the cost advantage of off-peak home charging for EV drivers.NEXTSTAR SWITCHES ON CANADA'S FIRST EV CELL PLANTNextStar Energy, a Stellantis and LG Energy Solution joint venture, has opened Canada's first commercial-scale EV battery cell plant in Windsor, Ontario, having already produced over one million cells since production began in November 2025. Beyond supplying Stellantis brands, NextStar aims to expand into stationary energy storage for municipal and provincial grids.STELLANTIS PLANS £50M ELLESMERE PORT VAN LINEStellantis will invest £50 million at Ellesmere Port to add an assembly line for electric Vauxhall Vivaro vans and other midsize zero-emission commercial vehicles from next year, building on the site's existing all-electric output. However, Stellantis warns the plant may not be commercially viable under the UK's ZEV mandate for vans, which carries an £18,000 fine per non-compliant vehicle at a 24% electric sales threshold that the industry is currently only half-meeting.MET SEIZES 52 ILLEGAL E-BIKES AND MOPEDSThe Metropolitan Police seized 52 illegal electric bikes and mopeds across London over two days, using targeted checkpoints in high-pedestrian-risk areas including Harlesden and Cambridge Circus. Officers also made arrests for dangerous driving, weapons possession, and outstanding prison recall warrants, linking illegal e-bikes to phone snatches and broader street crime.MEXICO AUTO PLANTS PIVOT TO HIGHER-VALUE EVSMexico's auto sector is shifting focus from volume to higher-value output between 2025 and 2027, with GM concentrating Cadillac OPTIQ production at Ramos Arizpe and BMW committing its San Luis Potosí plant to build the iX3 — its first Neue Klasse EV — from 2027. Both manufacturers have maintained their Mexican strategies despite ongoing uncertainty from US tariffs and trade policy under President Trump.FARLEY POURS COLD WATER ON ELECTRIC UTESFord CEO Jim Farley says current BEV technology is poorly suited to mainstream ute and pickup buyers who tow heavy loads, calling a large-battery BEV "a really bad tow-er," and Ford has already shelved the F-150 Lightning following weak demand and a $19.5 billion EV writedown. Farley backs extended-range EVs as the near-term bridge solution for work-capable vehicles, while dismissing solid-state batteries and fuel cells as not yet on Ford's product horizon.