1 big thing: Going green, for less

Illustration of a house made completely out of solar panels. 

2. EVs keep getting more expensive

3. Nader to feds: Ban Tesla's "self-driving" tech

 Tesla Model Y electric cars stand at the new Tesla Gigafactory electric car manufacturing plant on March 25, 2022 near Gruenheide, Germany.

4. What you're saying: Amazon's Roomba deal

In this picture, a deconstructed Amazon delivery box is shaped into a house, and wifi signals erupt from the top of the house.

5. One fun thing: Hangover time off

Animated illustration of four different kinds of beers.

Thinking about installing home solar or other green tech? Then you're in for some big savings, Alex reports today.

Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,062 words ... 4 minutes.

A hearty thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern.

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National

deepBlue

The next decade of big, sweeping changes will unfold in cities and communities where new technologies like 5G, AI and drones are transforming how we work, live and play together.  What’s Next will guide you through the revolution.

Axios What's Next

1 big thing: Bachelor(ette) party mania

Illustration of coins flowing out of a champagne bottle.

2. Facebook tests encryption-by-default

Illustration of a padlock with a slide to unlock touch button. 

3. Travel spending booms

Illustration of Benjamin Franklin holding a tropical cocktail while wearing a sunhat and sunglasses.

4. Amazon's retail robot proving ground

The Macy's (or Bon Marché) building, as seen on 3rd and Pine.

5. One fun thing: Look up!

A time lapse of meteors streaking through the sky.

Pop the champagne! Pre-wedding bashes are back in a big way, Jennifer reports in her story today.

Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,069 words ... 4 minutes.

1 big thing: Buy your EV now

Illustration of Benjamin Franklin in a car's rear view mirror, with a dollar-symbol air freshener.

2. Can AI be our next illustrator?

3. Turning houses into "virtual power plants"

Photo illustration of a housing development under construction in Los Angeles

4. Abortion comes to The Sims — unofficially

5. 📸 China's new suspension maglev

A woman takes photos of China's first permanent maglev-suspension monorail.

Alex here. The big climate bill is, by and large, great news for Planet Earth. But there's a pretty big asterisk for prospective electric car buyers, Joann reports today.

Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,014 words ... 4 minutes.

A hearty thanks to today's What's Next copy editor, Rob Reinalda.

1 big thing: The K-12 school of the future

The new Ehrman Crest Elementary/Middle School, opening this fall in Seneca Valley, Pennsylvania.

2. New York, with fewer cars

Photo illustration of a business suit clad arm placing a car of one color down among a fleet of differently colored cars.

3. Wastewater surveillance goes mainstream

An illustration of a magnifying glass examining a sewer drain.

4. The EV charging haves and have-nots

5. One fun thing: Getting your (Star)bucks back

An illustration of a cup of coffee with steam shaped like a dollar sign.

Elementary, middle and high schools as you knew them are undergoing big changes, Jennifer reports in her story today.

Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,052 words ... 4 minutes.

A hearty thanks to What's Next copy editor Kathie Bozanich.

1 big thing: Cooling centers become "climate resilience hubs"

Miami's climate resilience pod. Courtesy Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center

2. Why the big climate bill matters

An illustration of an exclamation point with U.S. Congress as the dot.

3. The red/blue divide may widen even more

4. 📸: Inspection time

An intelligent robot inspects the equipment at a power distribution room inside a shopping mall on August 5, 2022 in Chongqing, China.

5. Big news for Axios

Axios co-founders Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz

Cities nationwide are dealing with ever-higher temperatures — leading many to rethink the old-school cooling center approach, Jennifer reports today.

Today's Smart Brevity count: 907 words ... 3 1/2 minutes.

Tampa Bay

Florida is second in the nation in electric vehicle ownership, but trails far behind California, where nearly 40% of the nation's EVs are registered.

Yes, but: Unlike California, Florida offers EV buyers no state incentives, making its high adoption rate all the more remarkable.

But, but, but:  We're a long way from a "tipping point" for electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., Axios' Joann Muller reports.

In fact, America's EV revolution has barely begun and it's playing out in super-slow motion.

Why it matters: Automakers are pouring billions of dollars into electric vehicle development in the face of urgent warnings about climate change. 

Yes, but: EVs account for only about 0.6% of all registered vehicles in the U.S. overall, according to an Axios analysis of monthly vehicle registration data from S&P Global Mobility.

With more than 278 million cars, SUVs, and pickups on U.S. roads, the historic shift away from gasoline will take years — if not decades — to play out.

The latest data: 4.6% of the new vehicles registered in the U.S. this past May were electric, according to the research firm's most recent data.

That's more than double EVs' share of monthly registrations in May 2021 (1.9%).

By the numbers: As of April 1, Florida has the second-highest share of the country's EVs at 6.7%. Then comes Texas (5.4%), Washington (4.4%), and New York (3.6%).

Florida among leading states in EV adoption

We're a long way from a "tipping point" for electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., Axios' Joann Muller reports.

Illustration of an EV charger cord forming the outline of the continental US.

Florida

Florida is second in the nation in electric vehicle ownership, but trails far behind California, where nearly 40% of the nation&#x27;s EVs are registered.Yes, but: Unlike California, Florida offers EV buyers no state incentives, making its high adoption rate all the more remarkable.But, but, but: We&#x27;re a long way from a &quot;tipping point&quot; for electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Joann Muller reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/01/states-ev-electric-cars" data-vars-content-id="486b7b97-7508-444c-a64b-784f36049512" data-vars-headline="Florida among leading states in EV adoption" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/01/states-ev-electric-cars" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Joann Muller reports</a>.

News

Axios Tampa Bay, anchored by Ben Montgomery and Selene San Felice, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.

Axios Tampa Bay

There's a lot to love about Kia's first electric vehicle, the EV6: the SUV's daring design, roomy interior and, of course, the satisfying response you get from hitting the accelerator.

The $56,195 GT all-wheel-drive version I drove has a 274-mile driving range and recharges in about 20 minutes at a 350-kW fast charger. 

But, oh boy, that infotainment system is maddening.

Why it matters: Electric vehicles open up all kinds of opportunities for car designers to try new things. When they don't have to work around an internal combustion engine and transmission, they can reimagine a car's interior, creating more room for passengers and adding innovative features and storage spaces.

Bigger, flashier touch screens are becoming the norm, not just in EVs, but in many new cars. 

But touch screens are difficult to operate — not to mention distracting — at 65 miles per hour. 

Give Kia credit for trying to find a better way. By default, the EV6's center screen  is dark while the car is operating. The lower left corner shows the current radio station, and that's about it.

If you want more information on the screen, you have to press the separate radio, climate or nav buttons on the center console, near the shifter. 

To simplify the dashboard (and save a tiny bit of weight, it turns out), both the climate and entertainment systems are controlled by a single narrow touch bar on the center stack between the driver and passenger.

Knobs on the left and right of the touch bar control either the volume and tuning, or the dual climate system — depending on which mode you're in. 

Ah, there's the rub: You have to toggle back and forth between entertainment and climate modes using nearly invisible arrows on the touch bar's black control panel. 

And that means taking your eyes off the road to squint down at the touch bar. You might think you're adjusting the fan, but wind up blasting the music.

Side-by-side images of the Kia EV6's touchbar, which controls both entertainment and climate.

On the left, the touch bar displays climate controls; on the right, the touch bar morphs into controls for the entertainment system. Photos: Kia

The other side: Editors at WardsAuto, a well-respected industry publication, named the EV6 to its 2022 10 Best Interiors and UX (user interface) list, citing its stylish and sporty interior "and highly innovative morphing controls that save space and reduce clutter." 

My thought bubble: Buttons and knobs are actually good, especially in a moving car.

What we're driving: Kia's electric, control-morphing EV6

There's a lot to love about Kia's first electric vehicle.

Photo of a Kia EV6 plugged into a charging station on an urban street.

2022 Kia EV6 is the Korean carmaker's first electric model. Photo courtesy of Kia

Electric vehicles

There&#x27;s a lot to love about Kia&#x27;s first electric vehicle, the EV6: the SUV&#x27;s daring design, roomy interior and, of course, the satisfying response you get from hitting the accelerator.<ul><li>The $56,195 GT all-wheel-drive version I drove has a 274-mile driving range and recharges in about 20 minutes at a 350-kW fast charger. </li></ul>

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Americans nationwide will likely face higher electric bills to pay for the next stage of the country's electric vehicle (EV) charger buildout — even if they don't drive an EV.

Why it matters: The U.S. will need a massive investment in public charging infrastructure to match the anticipated spike in EV demand. But such capital outlays don't make economic sense for many companies until there are more EVs on the road — which won't happen until there are more chargers.

It's a classic chicken-and-egg scenario that, in the near term, is likely to be solved by regulated public utilities that can pass on the investment burden to their customers over many years. 

What's happening: Power utilities across the country are planning to build extensive EV charging networks across their service areas. 

Minnesota-based Xcel Energy, for instance, last week announced perhaps the boldest such proposal: It plans to spend $170 million for about 750 fast-charging stations in Minnesota and Wisconsin over the next four years, part of a broader $300 million EV initiative. 

The states' public utility commissions need to approve the plan, which would ultimately be covered by Xcel ratepayers.

Xcel says the plan would encourage more of its customers to buy EVs by offering them a steep discount on electricity at its charging stations. 

But for everyone else — including those who can't afford an EV — it just means steeper electricity bills, given that many communities only have a single utility. 

The big picture: Virtually every state is confronting thorny economic and policy issues associated with the EV transition.

Who will build and maintain the required charging stations? Who will profit from them? And importantly, who will pay for them?

The intrigue: There's a battle emerging between utilities and gas stations, convenience stores and other private businesses also trying to get into the vehicle-charging game.

Stores and gas stations offering EV charging may wind up competing with the very same utilities they're paying for the power flowing into customers' cars.

Yes, but: Retailers say the way they're billed for power leaves them at a disadvantage.

Utilities apply so-called "demand charges" based on the maximum amount of power commercial ratepayers use at any point during their billing cycle.

So if just one customer plugs their EV into a 150-kWh fast-charger for 30 minutes, causing power demand to spike, a store would be billed at the peak demand level for the entire month.

"I'm terrified of getting hit with an EV demand charge," says Raina Shoemaker, who operates a family-run truck stop in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Context: This long-simmering fight comes as the federal government prepares to begin doling out $5 billion allocated in last year's bipartisan infrastructure bill so states can seed a coast-to-coast network of fast-charging stations.

Government guidelines say the taxpayer-funded chargers should be accessible to travelers, just off the interstate and have amenities like food and restrooms — which sounds a lot like existing gas stations and convenience stores. 

What to watch: Retailers want regulators to establish a fixed wholesale price for electricity to level the playing field.

What's next: Private businesses — not regulated utilities — will eventually own and operate most of the EV charging network because they know how to compete on things like price, service and amenities, says Mark Boyadjis, global technology lead at S&P Global Mobility.

But for now, utilities could have a head start, and electricity customers will pay.

Who will pay for all the electric car chargers? Pretty much everyone

Electric utilities are building EV charging networks — and passing along the costs

Illustration of a hundred dollar bill stylized as an electric symbol.

GM's hands-free driving tech is set for a massive expansion

GM's "Super Cruise" is coming to 400,000 miles of North American roadways

A woman driving hands-free in a Cadillac Escalade

A Cadillac Escalade equipped with GM's hands-free Super Cruise technology. Photo courtesy of GM

Autonomous vehicle technology

Automation and AI

General Motors&#x27; hands-free driving tech will soon work on many more North American roadways.Why it matters: No one can buy a self-driving car yet — not even from Tesla, which falsely markets its partially automated, assisted-driving beta feature as &quot;full self-driving.&quot;

If you're thinking of buying an electric car any time soon, you'd better place your order before President Biden signs the Democrats' big climate, tax and health care package into law — which could happen as soon as this weekend.

Why it matters: Democrats initially hoped to dramatically increase EV adoption via the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, by expanding the existing consumer tax credits for battery-powered vehicles.

But strict supply chain requirements added by Sen. Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, could instead slow the nation’s switch from gas-powered cars — at least in the short term.

Driving the news: To get Manchin to go along with the broader bill, the rest of the Senate Democrats agreed that only cars with batteries containing a certain percentage of materials sourced from North America or U.S. trading partners will qualify for the credits moving forward — even though that doesn't align with manufacturing reality. 

Although the auto industry and battery makers are racing to invest in a domestic supply chain, it will be years before those facilities are up and running. For now, the EV supply chain is mostly dominated by China — but any cars using Chinese-made battery components would be disqualified from tax credits under the new bill.

The bill tries to take that into account by phasing in the battery and minerals requirements over time, and the industry is getting lots of financial help to set up domestic production.

But certain provisions — like a new requirement that EVs must be assembled in North America to be eligible for the credits — will take effect immediately after the president signs the bill into law.

That will automatically slash the list of eligible vehicles from 72 to about 25, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an auto industry lobbying group. And when additional sourcing requirements go into effect in 2023, none of today's EVs would qualify for the full credit, the group says. 

Where it stands: EV buyers are currently eligible to receive a federal tax credit of up to $7,500, but the benefit is capped at 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer.

Early leaders like Tesla and General Motors have already hit that limit, so their customers are no longer eligible for the credit. Others are seeing the credits phased out.

The IRS has a full list of currently eligible vehicles.

What's new: The new bill would eliminate the manufacturer cap starting in 2023. But only vehicles under a certain price ($80,000 for trucks and SUVs, or $55,000 for all other vehicles) would qualify.

Eligible buyers also must make less than $150,000 if single, or $300,000 if married.

Used EV buyers could get a credit of up to $4,000.

Zoom out: To pass the new bill, Senate Democrats needed to be fully unified — giving Manchin lots of leverage to extract concessions.

Manchin wanted to tie the EV credit to a domestic manufacturing chain in part to reduce the industry's reliance on China.

What they're saying: "The $7,500 credit might exist on paper, but no vehicles will qualify for this purchase incentive over the next few years," John Bozzella, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation's president and CEO, writes in a blog post. 

"That’s a missed opportunity at a crucial time and a change that will surprise and disappoint customers in the market for a new vehicle," Bozzella writes, adding it will also be a "major setback" to the country's effort to hit 40-50% electric vehicle sales by 2030. 

Yes, but: People will buy EVs even without federal tax credits — especially if gas prices stay relatively high — but only if they're available. Inventories are tight, and prices are rising sharply.

In the long run, building a domestic EV supply chain should make electric cars cheaper — eventually.

What's next: The House of Representatives is expected to approve the bill Friday and quickly send it to Biden's desk. After that, figuring out which vehicles will qualify for what portion of the tax credit over time will take some doing. 

It's up to the U.S. Treasury Department to implement guidelines for measuring battery and mineral content by year-end. 

Then each automaker must figure out how much individual vehicles qualify. 

The bottom line: Lots of unknowns remain about this legislation's consumer impact.

If you want an electric car, buy one this week

Biden's about to sign a bill that would instantly make many EVs more expensive

If you&#x27;re thinking of buying an electric car any time soon, you&#x27;d better place your order before President Biden signs the Democrats&#x27; big <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="climate, tax and health care package" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/07/senate-democrats-tax-climate-healthcare-reconciliation" data-vars-content-id="9b3d4e90-860c-4fd5-84ee-94d298ef866f" data-vars-headline="If you want an electric car, buy one this week" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/07/senate-democrats-tax-climate-healthcare-reconciliation" target="_self">climate, tax and health care package</a> into law — which could happen as soon as this weekend.Why it matters: Democrats <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="initially hoped" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/29/climate-bill-electric-vehicle-credits" data-vars-content-id="9b3d4e90-860c-4fd5-84ee-94d298ef866f" data-vars-headline="If you want an electric car, buy one this week" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/29/climate-bill-electric-vehicle-credits" target="_self">initially hoped</a> to dramatically increase EV adoption via the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, by expanding the existing consumer tax credits for battery-powered vehicles.

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Joann Muller

Stories

If you want an electric car, buy one this week

Who will pay for all the electric car chargers? Pretty much everyone

What we're driving: Kia's electric, control-morphing EV6

GM's hands-free driving tech is set for a massive expansion

Florida among leading states in EV adoption

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✏️ Next-gen schools

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🏡 Solar gets cheaper

🚗 Buy your EV now

🧊 Next-gen urban cooling