Elon Musk changes his mind about Bitcoin more often than Bitcoin changes its price. To the moon, right?
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Are you ready, my Shifties!?!

 

Today, like most other days, is a good day, but it's not without a pinch of sadness. This is the last SHIFT Newsletter from me, Matthew — the guy that's been writing these for the past few months. You should really know that by now.

 

Yes, it is true. I am moving on and leaving baby SHIFT to grow old alone. So take a moment, unscrew your sump nut and let your oily tears drain away. I'm sure you'll be fine in the morning.

 

But the show must go on, for today at least. SHIFT is going nowhere, but the newsletter will be on a brief hiatus. We'll be back later next month, so this is your last for now. Enjoy it. Please.

 

Tesla's on-again, off-again relationship with Bitcoin

Tesla, Elon Musk and Bitcoin have been on-again, off-again so many times it makes, well, Bitcoin look quite stable and balanced.

The background: Earlier this year, Musk announced that Tesla had bought a shed load of Bitcoin ($1.5 billion of the stuff).

A short while later, Musk said that Tesla would start accepting Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles in the US.

It was the wet dream of Bitcoin nerds and Tesla stans everywhere. But environmentalists weren't so into it.

The problem: Unfortunately, Bitcoin uses a lot of energy, as much as some countries. And that's a big issue for those that care about the planet and largely see Bitcoin as nothing more than make-believe internet nerd money.

While the amount of energy Bitcoin uses isn't actually a problem, where that electricity comes from is a contentious issue.

There are huge Bitcoin mining farms in Iceland powered entirely from geothermal energy. These are fine, but in some parts of the world — China we're looking at you — they still use a lot of coal and fossil fuels.

Because no one has any clue what's going on with the Bitcoin network, it's kind of hard to definitively say how much renewable energy it's using. Some say 39% of it is powered by green energy, others claim over 70%. No one bloody knows for sure.

A change of heart: As a result, Tesla and Musk faced immense heat from environmental lobbyists. Which isn't exactly ideal for a company that's supposed to be making products that help the planet.

Following the clap back, the EV maker changed its mind about Bitcoin, removed it as a payment option, and began to laud its high energy demand.

Though, Elon Musk is now looking to change his mind again, saying Tesla will accept Bitcoin when it is certain that at least 50% of the network uses renewable energy.

Musk's mind changes more than the price of Bitcoin, huh.

Want to know more? Read the full story here.

This week’s top stories

Uber’s disastrous economic cocktail: Manipulating supply and demand

Ride-hailing Goliath Uber has been in a bit of a pickle. Not only has it been fighting legal battles over how it classifies drivers, it's also felt the full force of the pandemic.

As coronavirus restrictions lift, riders are returning to the platform, except there are no drivers. Uber is literally throwing money at the problem in hopes it will increase supply, but drivers don't seem to be taking the bait.

Demand is high, supply is low, prices are high, drivers are still unhappy.

Click here for the full story.

Dear EV makers, the Pope doesn’t need ANY MORE electric popemobiles

Earlier this week, Nissan gifted the Pope a nice, sparkly, and hopefully blessed, all-electric Leaf.

Now, this isn't the first "green" vehicle the Pope has received. He's already got a hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai. Even Fisker wants to get Pope Francis behind the wheel of an EV and has designed an all-electric popemobile based on its upcoming Ocean SUV.

Click here for the full story

Carsplainer

Carsplainer

EV battery basics: All you need to know about kW, kWh, and charging speed

If you’ve made — or are thinking about making — the shift to an electric car, you’ll have to get up to speed on all the new terminology that comes with it.

While EVs aren’t that different to combustion engined vehicles in practice, the fact that they are powered by electricity throws up a lot of new things to learn when it comes to “filling up” or charging.

Read this handy guide to wrap your head around it.

ev, charging, kw, kwh, car, future, electric, vehicle, battery, kilowatt, kilowatt hours

Stuff you need to know about

🏝️

Greek island lays ambitious plans to become super sustainable — but it’s just a drop in the Aegean Sea (SHIFT)

🏍️

Vvolt launches $1,399 ebikes with a motor made by… Acer? (SHIFT)

🚦

COVID-19 increased reckless driving in the US — road traffic deaths up 7% last year (SHIFT)

Sponsored by TNW

TNW is hiring a Senior Writer

Do you know your way around the world of mobility tech, EVs, and ebikes? Do you also love musing about the future of mobility and travel? Then we might have the job for you!

Come work with us at TNW (not me, I'm the one that's leaving). We're looking for a skilled journalist to join our vibrant team as the lead writer for our mobility publication, SHIFT (the thing you're reading here).

If you're in the Netherlands or the UK, take a look!

Something for the weekend

The original Hummer was a gas-guzzling brute, but is now being reimagined as an electric vehicle. While it won't spew out emissions and drink fuel like the original did, it's still going to be heavy.

Like, really, really heavy. Like so heavy, kids will use it a part of playground insults about "yo momma."

Click here for 5 things that are also about as heavy as the electric Hummer.hummer, ev, car, future, truck, gmc, ultium

Well, that's all I have to say for this week, and forever. Don't worry, SHIFT isn't going anywhere, it's just me that's going on a long drive. I might be some time.

The SHIFT Newsletter will see you next month. I will see you in a place other than here.

This is Matt, signing off... Bon voyage.

giphy-Jun-15-2021-01-18-57-94-PM

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