The Car We Are Waiting For

This week, President Biden slapped a 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars coming into the American market. China pumps out 30 million EVs annually but can only sell 22-23 million at home. They were ready to flood the U.S. market with $10,000 - $20,000 vehicles, aiming to dominate EV production.

The cars look pretty nice too

A lot of Americans would probably buy them. This starts at $15,000 brand new.

Understandably, Biden wants to save the American car industry. He knows if they let in government subsidized Chinese EVs it may be over for big firms like Tesla or Rivian or cost jobs for big manufacturers like Ford or GM.

There is a contingent of Americans angry at this decision though. They want access to the low cost high quality Chinese EVs.

US and China trade too much together to ever be in a proper cold war like the USSR. But they are adversaries So China does subtle stuff like tweak the Tik-Tok algorithm to make Americans crazy or flood the US market with $2,000 SUV EVs. The US responds by making military alliances with China's neighbors. It's a weird situation. Very passive aggressive like a couple who lives together in the same apartment is also trying to sabotage each other.

I Want Something Else

If the Chinese really wanted to disrupt the US economy they wouldn’t just ship out cheap EVs. They would make an SUV you can temporarily live in comfortably.

The car industry hasn’t focused on making a regular SUV comfortable enough to spend a night or two in. It has focused on making cars safer or faster. It has succeeded in those goals. I think it’s time to start thinking about making the car a place I can use as an option that will allow me to save a few bucks on the crazy real estate/renting market in market.

Many people agree with this. I recently tweeted a picture that went viral. Read the comments. People want something like this. They are ready.

There are different designs you can think of. But the basic premise is this. A comfortable place to spend your time, whether it is working or sleeping. You can test this out by asking if women feel comfortable being in.

Perhaps car manufacturers should be looking at airlines who obsess over every detail on how to put a human in a small space comfortably enough so he can stay 6, 8, 12, 18, 20 hour in.

In This Newsletter

1) The Problem with RVs, Trailers and Vans: The main objection I hear is these type of vehicles already exist. I disagree. We need a new vehicle that can be a primary daily driver for someone that incorporates the option of staying in.

2) Tesla’s Grand Plan to Short the Housing Industry: I explore a theory that the next logical step for Tesla is the Winnebago that you can live in with internet, battery and microwave toilet.

3) The Future of Mass Transit: The Self-Driving car is unpredictable. Researchers did reporting on Self-Driving car use among early adopters. It led these people to drastically reduce their use of mass transit by 80 percent. Researchers were shocked. What do you think making the car a comfortable place to sleep in will do to Airbnb?

The Problem with RVs, Trailers and Vans

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