Sup. This is Plugged In. The EV newsletter that gives you the same feeling as when you flip to the cold side of the pillow. Bliss.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Cruise CEO Resigns 👋

• A Dive on Tesla’s Car Insurance 🍋

• Toyota Only Planning to Make Solid-State Batteries for 10,000 Cars 📉

CRUISE CEO RESIGNS 👋

Big news from the world of robotaxis.

Cruise CEO, Kyle Vogt, calls it quits.

Here's the kicker. Vogt's goodbye note was as short as a tweet:

That's it.

No fireworks, no dramatic exit music. And GM CEO Mary Barra's like, 'Yeah, he left on his own.'

But wait, there's more.

Dan Kan, co-founder and big cheese of GM Cruise, just did his own vanishing act.

So, what's the deal?

Well, Cruise is in the middle of checking if their cars are as safe as a tank or as risky as skateboarding blindfolded. This is probably why Vogt and Kan left the building.

Barra held a Zoom call to try to calm everyone down.

Spoiler alert: It didn't work.

Employees still have a bunch of questions, like 'What's happening with Cruise?' and 'Why are we stopping the share resale thingy?'

This whole situation is a bit of a facepalm for the industry that needs people and regulators to trust them. Cruise had big dreams of spreading their self-driving cars to more cities.

Oh, and let's not forget the October oopsie where a Cruise taxi decided to take a pedestrian for a drag. Not cool.

After that, Cruise hit the pause button on all their car tests in the U.S. for a safety check.

In the end, Cruise is shaking up their leadership team.

They've brought in new people, like a safety expert, because, you know, dragging people is bad for PR.

A DIVE ON TESLA’S CAR INSURANCE 🍋

Elon Musk.

The man. The myth. The legend. The man who thinks he can fix everything.

The fix-everything man decided Tesla should do car insurance because, you know, how hard could it be?

Well. Turns out kinda hard.

They launched this venture in 2019, promising the moon and stars in customer service.

Reality check: Understaffing turned it into a waiting game for many. Like a slow carousel that never stops.

Take Mark Bova - a Tesla Insurance customer.

Sixteen days after taking delivery ends up in a major incident.

Fast forward seven months, and he's still waiting for insurance money while dealing with a $50,000 medical bill. Talk about a joyride gone wrong.

Customers are sharing their sob stories online. Ranging from endless waits for claims to repairs moving at the speed of a snail on vacation.

Plus, Tesla Insurance's phone lines seem to have come from a 90s dial-up internet connection.

Why such chaos, you ask?

Apparently, Tesla started this insurance gig to stop people from bailing on buying their cars due to sky-high insurance costs. But managing it on a budget tighter than a skinny jeans trend led to drowning in claims like a kid in a ball pit.

Their customer service seems to be in a galaxy far, far away.

Some folks like Phil Fioresi Sr., a stonecutter, had to call like 15 times just to talk to a human.

And when he finally got through, he was greeted by someone who's about as informed as a lost tourist. 

So despite hiring more adjusters, the complaints keep rolling in.

Elon's big talk about revolutionizing car insurance feels more like his act on SNL... A bit of comedy mixed with a bit of cringe.

TOYOTA ONLY PLANNING TO MAKE SOLID-STATE BATTERIES FOR 10,000 CARS 📉

Toyota, the car giant that's not exactly the poster child for EVs, is actually doing something cool.

They're diving into the world of solid-state batteries.

These SSBs are meant to make EVs go further, charge faster, and not turn into a fireworks show. Because less fire risk - get it?

Toyota’s teamed up with Idemitsu Kosan, a company that knows a thing or two about petrochemicals, to create these next-gen batteries.

They're planning to use this magic material that's like a mix between ceramic and rubber, making the batteries more powerful and less chubby.

More juice, less space – sounds neat, right?

But here's the catch.

Toyota's battery-making game is starting slow.

Like, slower-than-Tesla-Insurance-claims slow.

By 2030, they’re aiming to crank out enough batteries for just over 10,000 cars.

Kinda like making pasta for a small Italian village when you're supposed to feed the whole country.

So, what does this mean?

Well, for now, these solid-state wonders will be in fancy cars, probably wearing the Lexus badge.

Think of them as the guinea pigs in Armani suits. The everyday Joe and Jane might have to wait a bit longer to get this tech in their garage.

Toyota's on to something potentially game-changing with solid-state batteries... but they're not quite ready to turn the EV world upside down. Yet.

Give it a decade or more, and who knows?

We may all be zooming around in solid-state rides, wondering how we ever lived without them.

THE JUICE 🔋

Tesla V4 Supercharger Adds 40% in 10 Minutes

BYD Goes After Tesla’s Throne with 300,000+ EVs sold/month

BP announces Tesla deal to bring $100M of Superchargers

Hyundai opens new AI factory with robot dogs and on-site farm

*sponsored link

PLUGGED IN MEMES

INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING ON PLUGGED IN?

Advertise with us here

A PLUGGER’S REVIEW

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.