NY Mayoral Chaos, Robo-Taxis & Paramount Deal Drama
Lydia Moynihan and Charles Gasparino break down the political shockwaves after Zohran Mamdani clinched the Democratic nomination for NYC mayor. They examine Andrew Cuomo's next move and whether the DNC is ready for what comes next. Turning to tech headlines, Tesla's rollout of a small fleet of robo-taxis raises big questions about the future of driverless vehicles. Plus, the pair weigh in on Skydance's promise to seal the Paramount deal by summer's end—and the obstacles that could still derail it. To close, they name this week's winners and losers across business and politics.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Verge
an hour ago
- The Verge
Redwood Materials is giving old EV batteries a second life as microgrids
Redwood Materials is repurposing old EV batteries into energy storage systems that cost 'substantially less' than brand new storage projects, the company said Thursday. The electric vehicle battery recycling and manufacturing venture, which was founded by Tesla's former chief technologist, has created a new division called Redwood Energy to manage these projects. The aim is to divert 'depreciated but functional' EV batteries from the recycling stream and repurpose them into 'low-cost, large-scale' energy storage systems that can help plug critical gaps in the energy grid. Redwood says it receives over 20 GWh of batteries annually — the equivalent of 250,000 EVs— which represents about 90 percent of all lithium-ion batteries and battery materials recycled in North America. And often times, the batteries it receives for recycling still have a lot of usable energy capacity — up to 50 percent. These are batteries that are no longer suitable to power an electric vehicle, but still have enough life in them to serve some purpose. So rather than recycle those still functional batteries, Redwood is turning them into stationary storage systems. And the company says this will be a growing opportunity as more EV batteries reach the end of their lifespan. Redwood estimates that more than 100,000 EVs will come off the road this year alone. After recovering the battery packs, Redwoods engineers perform a diagnostics check to determine whether its a suitable candidate for recovery or recycling. If its reusable, the pack is installed into 'flexible, modular storage systems' which can operate independently or connect to the grid. Redwood says it has 'over a gigawatt-hour' of reusable batteries in its pipeline, a number it expects to grow by 5 GWhs in the coming year. Redwood has already deployed its first microgrid powered by upcycled EV batteries. The grid, with 12 MW of power and 63 MWh of capacity, is located at the company's campus in Nevada and is being used to power a 2,000-GPU modular data center for AI infrastructure company Crusoe. Redwood calls it the 'largest second-life battery deployment in the world' with enough energy to power '9,000 homes, support 20 Amtrak trips between New York and Washington, D.C., or charge an EV for a 240,000-mile journey—the distance to the moon.' Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JT Straubel. In addition to breaking down scrap from Tesla's battery-making process with Panasonic, Redwood also recycles batteries from Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Specialized, Amazon, Lyft, Rad Power Bikes, Lime, stationary storage facilities, and others. The company also produces anodes and cathodes, critical battery components, at a facility in South Carolina.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Tesla Stock (TSLA) Sees Rising Concerns Among Analysts on Q2 Deliveries Miss
Tesla (TSLA) stock fell about 4% on Wednesday as the electric vehicle maker's sales in Europe plunged 27% in May, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline. Concerns about the Elon Musk-led EV company missing the Q2 2025 deliveries expectations are rising among analysts. Specifically, analysts at UBS cautioned investors about Tesla falling short of the Q2 consensus estimate for deliveries by 10%. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Wall Street Sees Weakness in Tesla's Q2 Deliveries Tesla stock has declined about 19% year-to-date due to the company's weak Q1 results, growing competition in key EV markets, and backlash related to Musk's political activities. Analysts expect the slump in Tesla's deliveries to continue in Q2 2025. UBS analyst Joseph Spak anticipates that demand will remain challenging in the second quarter. He expects Tesla to report Q2 deliveries of 366,000 units, lagging the Street's estimate by 10%. While Spak suspects that the Q2 performance may not look great, he thinks that the earnings call presents an opportunity for Musk to highlight his future vision. Spak has a Sell rating on TSLA stock with a price target of $215. Also, Baird analyst Ben Kallo reiterated a Hold rating on Tesla stock with a price target of $320, noting that his 377,000 Q2 delivery estimate is below the FactSet consensus estimate of 392,800. Kallo noted weakness in third-party data through May and the 're-ramping' of new Model Y production, which lingered slightly into the quarter. The analyst contends that while an update on deliveries remains crucial, the recent launch of robotaxi and the excitement around this opportunity might gain more priority. Kallo is worried that the launch of a more affordable vehicle gives rise to a potential risk of net negative margin impact in the second half of 2025. Previously, Barclays analyst Dan Levy, who also has a Hold rating with a price target of $275, warned investors about Tesla's Q2 deliveries miss. Levy estimates TSLA's Q2 2025 deliveries to come in at about 375,000 EVs, well below consensus expectations. Levy's estimate reflects an 11% decline on a quarter-over-quarter basis and a 16% year-over-year fall. The analyst noted that Tesla's auto volumes continue to be impacted by tariffs, trade wars, and other macro headwinds. Levy thinks that the launch of a more affordable model by Tesla in the first half of 2025 could be a catalyst for solid volumes in the second half, though he noted a lack of details in this regard. What Is the Price Target for Tesla Stock? Overall, Wall Street is sidelined on Tesla stock, with a Hold consensus rating based on 14 Buys, 12 Holds, and nine Sell recommendations. The average TSLA stock price target of $287 indicates 12.4% downside risk from current levels.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Tesla robotaxis spark mixed reactions in Austin
Tesla's much-publicized robotaxi service recently began — but only in one neighborhood in Austin, Texas, only for a select group of the company's fans and only with a Tesla employee in the front passenger seat.
