⚡ Quick Charge: Thanksgiving Edition
A very happy Thanksgiving weekend from Route Zero!
Or as my European colleagues call it, “Thursday and Friday.”
Since I’m off the clock this week and many of you are, too, this week’s edition of Route Zero is an abbreviated one. We’ll be back to regular service next Friday with an interview I’m very excited about.
In the meantime, here are five recommended reads to carry you into the weekend, if you’re looking for something to do besides tackling a mountain of post-holiday dishes.
Xpeng Is Running Tesla’s Playbook For World Domination. It May Just Work. My colleague Kevin Williams went to China recently to learn more about one of the more interesting companies in the automotive space—and soon, the AI and robotics spaces too, as those technologies converge. [InsideEVs]
China EV Profit Woes Fuel Market Anxiety Over Challenging 2026. But 2026 will almost certainly be a shakeout year for China’s 100-plus auto brands, not all of whom are profitable or sustainable at present. Even the big players are feeling the heat lately. [Bloomberg]
Senate Committee to Challenge Auto-Safety Mandates That Hurt ‘Affordability’. Has mandatory safety technology made new cars too expensive? Senate Republicans think so, and they’re hauling automaker execs in front of Congress in January to learn more. [Wall Street Journal]
Waymo Has A Charging Problem. The autonomous taxi concern was ordered to halt nightly operations in Santa Monica, California. Neighbors have complained about “round-the-clock beeping and humming” as the robotaxis return home to charge in the evening. [LA Times]
Largest Tesla Supercharger Hub Opens, Is Powered By Solar. This is neat: the largest Tesla Supercharger hub ever opens in Lost Hills, California, with 164 of its V4 chargers—which should be open to non-Tesla EVs soon, too. The station also mostly runs off the electric grid, thanks to solar power and battery storage. [CleanTechnica]
Until next time,
—Patrick George
Top image made with Adobe Firefly generative AI. Don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of this.