Highway Charging Plan To Stay, Super Cruise Subscriptions, Klarna Hires AI?

The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

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8 days to Christmas, and we’re covering how Biden’s plans to add highway charging infrastructure will continue under President Trump. Plus, we look at GM’s latest subscription add-on and ask if it will work, and examine a company that claims it has stopped hiring because AI can do all the work.

Show Notes with links:

• The Biden administration’s plan to blanket U.S. highways with federally funded EV chargers will keep moving forward – no matter who sits in the Oval Office come next year.
  • The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program has already allocated about half its funding to states, with the rest preapproved.
  • So far, 11 states have opened 30 federally backed sites with more than 130 ports, aimed at creating chargers every 50 miles along major highways.
  • States manage their own programs, though 10 states have yet to submit project proposals, potentially slowing progress in certain regions.
  • Once the initial 50-mile network is complete, funds can go toward chargers in cities, suburbs, and rural areas, with faster, high-powered stations expected to follow.
  • Atlas Public Policy’s Nick Nigro says Congress doesn’t need to act: “Funding is already going out, and construction is underway.”
  • Loren McDonald, chief analyst of Paren said it’s too late to stop the momentum. “It would take almost an act of God for Trump or Congress to overturn it.”

• General Motors is facing a critical moment as introductory Super Cruise subscriptions start to expire, testing its long-term strategy to build a robust revenue stream from subscriptions.
  • Super Cruise is a Level 2 autonomy system and GM aims to generate $25 billion annually from subscriptions and services by 2030.
  • Our friend Jamie Butters wrote an op-ed about this for Automotive News and commented on the price point: ““At $10 a month, I’d consider it a no-brainer — even though I’m kind of a cheapskate and resistant to subscriptions. At $50 a month — as some Google searches indicate — it’s an easy no. The price listed on Cadillac.com is temptingly in between: $25 a month or $250 a year.”

• Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, recently touted AI’s role in reducing the company’s workforce, but a closer look reveals the buy now, pay later giant hasn’t fully swapped humans for machines just yet.
  • Klarna reduced its workforce from 4,500 to 3,500 over the past year, largely due to natural attrition and a hiring freeze.
  • Siemiatkowski claims, “AI can already do all of the jobs that we as humans do,” crediting AI with enabling efficiency gains.
  • Klarna is still hiring, with 50+ open roles globally, primarily for essential positions like engineering and partnerships.
  • Klarna’s press lead clarified the CEO’s comments,

Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
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