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⚡ Quick Charge: Christmas Edition
A very Merry Christmas from Route Zero!
Hopefully, you didn’t have to work too hard this week. (I did my best to avoid it, but the news never stops in this world.)
In light of the holiday, this week’s edition of Route Zero is an abbreviated one. We’ll be back to regular service next Friday—and then I’m off to CES. Will you be there too? Drop me a line if you are.
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In the meantime, here are five recommended reads for your holiday weekend.
Over 20 New EVs Are Coming In 2026. These Are The Seven I'm Most Excited About. Yes, the electric-vehicle space (particularly in America) is closing the year out on a down note. But my colleague Mack Hogan found several reasons to be optimistic for next year—20 of them, in fact. And seven in particular stand out as EVs stand to get cheaper and better very soon. [InsideEVs]
Ford and GM Are Running Out of Time to Reinvent Themselves. Bloomberg’s Liam Denning is always a must-read for me. Here, he has a stern warning for General Motors and Ford about resting on their gas-car laurels in the Trump era, as disruptors continue to accelerate: “Much depends on whether they use that brief period to settle back or strike ahead.” [Bloomberg]
One of Elon Musk’s Old Enemies Joins the Race to Run GM. Here’s a good profile of Sterling Anderson, the former Tesla Autopilot executive and Aurora trucking co-founder, who is suddenly in the running for the CEO job at General Motors. But outside tech executives don’t often stick around long at GM—could he be the one who takes this company into its next phase? [Wall Street Journal]
After Power Outage, San Francisco Wonders: Can Robot Taxis Handle a Big Earthquake? We now know more about why San Francisco’s fleet of Waymo vehicles froze up during a blackout. The company says it is issuing a software update to handle these situations better, but questions are mounting about Waymo’s ability to handle other major disasters. [New York Times]
China’s EV Battery Giant Is Trying to Find a New Road. A must-read dive into Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd, better known as CATL, China’s (and the world’s) largest battery maker. One in three EVs made this past year had a CATL battery. Now it’s seeing roadblocks to its European expansion strategy—but it’s playing the long game. [Bloomberg]
Until next time,
—Patrick George
Top image made with Adobe Firefly generative AI. Don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of this.