Lloyd Doug Jessee

NEWS: Ford's electric vehicle division lost $800 million in Q1 2026, flat YoY, while EV revenue was also flat YoY with $1.2 billion, the company just reported. Its EV unit had negative EBIT margin of -63%. The company says it's preparing to launch affordable, highly scalable EVs on their new UEV platform soon.

Just IN: Tesla quietly expands its robotaxi fleet in Texas. 6 new unsupervised vehicles were added today, pushing the tracked total to 25 across the state. These numbers come from a crowdsourced tracker, so the real count is likely higher. Current breakdown shows Austin at 19 vehicles, Dallas at 3 and Houston at 3. Reporting depends on riders submitting license plates, and even competing fleets like Waymo are undercounted in the same system. What stands out is the scale sitting in the background. There are staging lots with around 80 robotaxis each, ready to be deployed. That suggests this rollout can accelerate fast once Tesla flips the switch.

Tesla has released new visuals showcasing two production trims of the Tesla Semi. Standard Range (shorter version): • Range: ~325 miles • Has about the same turning radius as a Model Y • 4680 cells, designed to last 1M miles • Fully electric steering assist (vs hydraulic before) • Uses beefed up Cybertruck actuators • 48 volt architecture • Powertrain: 3 independent motors on rear axles • Drive Power: Up to 800 kW • Curb Weight: <20,000 lbs • Energy Consumption: 1.7 kWh per mile • Fast Charging: Up to 60% of range in 30 mins • Charge Type: MCS 3.2 • ePTO (Electric Power Take Off): Up to 25 kW Long Range (longer version): • Range: ~500 miles • 4680 cells • Fully electric steering assist (vs hydraulic before) • Uses beefed up Cybertruck actuators • 48 volt architecture • Powertrain: 3 independent motors on rear axles • Drive Power: Up to 800 kW • Curb Weight: 23,000 lbs • Energy Consumption: 1.7 kWh per mile • Fast Charging: Up to 60% of range in 30 mins • Charge Type: MCS 3.2 • ePTO (Electric Power Take Off): Up to 25 kW Both will be built at Tesla's new manufacturing facility next to Giga Nevada, which when fully ramped will be capable of producing 50,000 Tesla Semi trucks a year. Volume production starts in the coming months.

According to whom? 😂 I’ve literally never been more bullish on Tesla as a company.

I don't want to be an asshole here, but I'm worried we're losing the concept of personal responsibility

I bought Rivian stock on IPO day. November 10, 2021. $172 a share. I bought 58 shares. That was $9,976. I remember the exact number because my girlfriend asked what I spent ten thousand dollars on and I said "the future of transportation." She said "you drive a 2017 Civic." I said "exactly." $1,000 invested at IPO is now worth $149.06. I have that number memorized. I check it before coffee. I check it after coffee. I check it during meetings where I'm supposed to be listening. The number changes by pennies. The pennies matter to me now. The thesis was simple. Rivian was the next Tesla. They had the Amazon delivery vans. They had the adventure truck. They had the factory in Normal, Illinois. I told people the factory was in a town called Normal. I thought that was meaningful. A sign. The future of transportation, built in a place called Normal. The factory produced 24,337 vehicles in its first full year. Tesla produced 1.8 million. I called that "room to grow." I have been through six theses on Rivian. Thesis one: they're the next Tesla. (Stock dropped 40%.) Thesis two: the Amazon vans are the real play. (Amazon cut the order.) Thesis three: the R2 platform will be the mass-market breakthrough. (Delayed 18 months.) Thesis four: the Georgia factory changes everything. (Paused indefinitely.) Thesis five: Volkswagen's $5 billion investment validates the technology. (Stock kept falling.) Thesis six: Uber robotaxis. This is the pivot. Every time the stock drops, I find the new thesis. I don't look for it. It finds me. I open Reddit. I open the Rivian subreddit. Someone has written a post titled "Why this is actually bullish." It has 400 upvotes. I read it. I agree with it. I was going to agree with it before I read it. The agreement is the point. The DD is the prayer. My cost basis is $172. The stock is $14.06. I am down 91.8%. I could have bought a used Rivian R1T with the money I've lost on Rivian stock. I have not done the math on this. I'm doing it now. Yes. I could have bought one. A 2022 with 30,000 miles. I would have the truck AND the remaining money. I drive a 2017 Civic. My coworker Dave bought index funds. Dave is up 34% over the same period. Dave brings a sad lunch to work every day. Turkey sandwich. Same sandwich. Dave will retire at 65 with a comfortable nest egg and a lifetime of turkey sandwiches and he will never know what it felt like to be early. I am early. I have been early for four and a half years. At some point early and wrong have the same return on investment. But they feel different. Wrong feels like a mistake. Early feels like a strategy. I feel like a strategy. The Uber partnership was announced Tuesday. I texted three people. One was my brother. One was a guy from the Rivian subreddit whose real name I don't know. One was my girlfriend. My ex-girlfriend. She stopped asking about Rivian in 2023. She stopped asking about anything in 2024. The stock jumped 10%. It gave half back the same day. But for eleven minutes I was only down 81% instead of 85%. I called that momentum. I took a screenshot. I still have the screenshot. Rivian will build robotaxis for Uber. Rivian has not built a profitable vehicle for anyone. Rivian lost $38,784 on every vehicle it delivered last year. That's not my number. That's their 10-K. But I don't think about it that way. I think about it as investment in scale. Scale means you lose money faster until you don't. Uber needs thousands of autonomous vehicles. Rivian needs to not go bankrupt before 2027. These are complementary needs. That's a partnership. That's synergy. That's the pivot. Dave asked me yesterday how much I'm down. I said "I'm long-term." He said "it's been four years." I said "Tesla was down 80% once." He said "Tesla was also profitable once." Dave went back to his sandwich. Dave doesn't understand pivots. I bought more shares this morning. This is the pivot.