Dear Studio Fam,
This week we’ve got news of X’s CEO’s first public interview, an update from the SEC on its seemingly never ending onslaught against crypto companies, and positive developments in California for the future of autonomous vehicles. Finally, we look at yet another new electric vehicle announcement that is bringing some much needed style and luxury to the American EV market.
CEO Linda Yaccarino Says X
It’s been two months since Elon Musk hired advertising executive Linda Yaccarino to be the new CEO of X and the honeymoon period is over. In her brief tenure, the company went live with a new API framework and deployed a total brand overhaul. And now she’s pounding pavement to assure advertisers that X is a safe place for them to run advertising and not going anywhere.
“We’re pretty close to breakeven,” she said on CNBC this week in the face of political activist claims that Twitter continues to permit hate speech and misinformation. Those claims are coming from multiple sources, including the UK-based political lobbyist group Center for Countering Digital Hate which is now facing litigation from X for spreading unfounded claims.
SEC Appeals Ripple Ruling
Last month, the SEC received a partial victory in its lawsuit against Ripple. The crypto company, the SEC argued, had illegally sold billions of dollars of unregistered securities in the USA and abroad. But the judge only partially agreed: institutional sales of Ripple tokens were illegal but not “programmatic” sales to individual users. Ever since, whether or not the SEC would appeal this novel distinction has been at the forefront of crypto regulatory reporting.
That question is now settled, as the SEC has not only announced its intent to appeal but also a motion to consolidate and expedite the outstanding legal issues related to Ripple’s institutional trading. The appeal was practically guaranteed since another Federal judge issued a contradictory opinion in a similar lawsuit against Terraform, another crypto token maker that has been pursued by SEC regulators. In that case, the judge noted that it “rejects the approach recently adopted by another judge of this District in a similar case” and declined to “draw a distinction between these coins based on their manner of sale” as Terraform argued it should.
If the Terraform judge’s logic is ultimately sustained, Ripple would likely cease all operations in the United States.
Robotaxis Go 24/7 In California
Fully autonomous vehicles have been operating on the roads of select American cities for years now, and you’re about to see a lot more of them. In San Francisco in particular, multiple robotaxi operators have been permitted to operate during select hours despite local protests from progressive groups who oppose automation who sabotaged robotaxis by placing cones on their hoods to confuse their sensors. But starting September 1, robotaxis will now be allowed to operate continuously throughout San Francisco and eventually all of San Mateo County.
The decision was made after a six-hour public hearing in which advocates and opponents made their cases before a packed audience. Ironically, disability groups were split: some argued that robotaxis provided superior mobility service to existing access-a-ride services, while others argued that cars without drivers were inherently dangerous to pedestrians with disabilities. Labor groups were critical of automation going mainstream that would eliminate working class jobs.
Cadillac Unveils The Electric Escalade
It’s another week with another new electric vehicle announcement, this time from GM who finally unveiled the electric version of their most popular and most profitable vehicle: the Escalade. Coming in the end of 2024, the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ will feature massive range, massive luxury, and a massive price tag. Starting at over $130,000, the Escalade IQ will have 400 mile range and state-of-the-art charging capabilities thanks to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard.
While the price might seem insane, the Escalade IQ will start at just $15,000 more than its gasoline equivalent, the Escalade ESV. It also puts it on par with other full size luxury SUVs like the Range Rover, Audi Q7, and category leader Tesla Model X. Considering the rather spartan and utilitarian nature of Tesla interiors, the Escalade IQ might tap a demand amongst luxury buyers. The Escalade IQ will be built in Detroit on top of the GM Ultium battery chassis produced in coordination with South Korea’s LG Chem.