5G, garlic, cars…
I know this may seem like an unusual concept to capitalist America, but having more competitors drives down prices.
Low prices aren’t always a good thing. Especially for the working class when those low prices are on imported goods that replace the products these workers used to make. I thought we already learned that neoliberal policies aren’t so hot for workers.
Part of the problem with the EV market in the US right now is that the majority of models available are luxury cars in price. You can get a used Nissan leaf for ~16k, but issue with that is their driving range can be anywhere between 80-100 miles (works great for errands and daily commuting). Not even gonna mention the headache of figuring out the charging port type(seems NACS format is winning the market).
I have long maintained China is a security threat, but I am excited for the news because it will (hopefully!) push US auto makers to make more affordable models with 200+ mile range.
Agreed. But that’s not limited to EVs is it. They’ve raised prices overall both towards the bottom, altogether dropping smaller models, increasing the sizes of others to charge more, etc. And it works. The average purchase price is currently around 50K in the US. Which is stepping into the lower end of the EV market. So what I’m saying is this isn’t an EV thing. It’s an auto maker price and profit maximization thing. On the bright side, it’s a low margin business which means the overall amount of money that is getting extracted and not making it to workers is towards the better end of the economy. 🫢
This is the best summary I could come up with:
President Biden took steps on Thursday toward blocking internet-connected Chinese cars and trucks from entry to the American auto market, including electric vehicles, saying they posed risks to national security because their operating systems could send sensitive information to Beijing.
China has rapidly scaled up its production of electric vehicles in recent years, setting it on a collision course with Mr. Biden’s industrial policy efforts that seek to help American automakers dominate that market at home and abroad.
Administration officials are eyeing other steps to further impede imports of Chinese vehicles, which have already surged through European markets, as a result of low prices driven in part by significantly lower labor costs.
The Treasury Department has already proposed rules meant to limit China’s ability to supply materials for cars and trucks that qualify for a $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit included in Mr. Biden’s signature climate bill.
The Commerce Department investigation announced on Thursday grew from a series of conversations that administration officials had with automakers last fall, after the settlement of a United Automobile Workers strike during which Mr. Biden stood with the union and joined a picket line.
Biden aides began to grow concerned about what might happen if the United States did not impose similar restrictions on Chinese software, which administration officials say only a handful of cars in America run on today.
The original article contains 808 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Tesla is also a security risk like all others
What do you imagine China is going to do to you from the other side of the world? Feed you targeted ads? Attack you with Havana Syndrome or turn you into a Manchurian Candidate via 5G?
