Published by EVs for All America
EV journalist and law student Max Patten speaks to experts in government and the auto business to de-polarize electric cars and learn about how they’re key for a renewal of American manufacturing and the survival of our auto industry.
Listen on Apple PodcastsDario Pagani transitioned from ChargePoint to Autel Energy years ago as the compancy, once a scan-tool manufacturer from Shenzhen, was building out its transition to charging hardware with a North Carolina factory and California-based innovation center. He's ready to share some of the trends he's seen in both the level 2 (slow) and DC (fast) charging industries for EVs, where market and incentive structures are shaping a lucrative but novel business that's part-construction, part-manufacturing reliant on global supply chains, and part-technology company. Max and Dario go over - The aggressive pace of EV charging relative to modest EV passenger adoption in the US - The challenges since COVID of being a global manufacturer who produces their own hardware - The evolution of his role from being at a CPO (Charge Point Operator) to a company that ships interoperable hardware that is flexible - Trends he's seeing in the charging business as retail and multifamily adoption grows 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Check out Dario's LinkedIn ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America (and buy our merch!)
Jamie Butters was the Editor in Chief of Automotive News, has covered the Motor City at outlets like the Wall Street Journal, and is hosting a regular radio show called Auto Town speaking to folks inside the American car industry. Max speaks with him to get an idea at how Detroit is doing in the current US moment where oil prices are high, consumers love hybrids, and fuel standards are absent, giving automakers a spout of relief but also uncertainty for the future ahead as Chinese cars continue their global conquest abroad. Max and Jamie go over - The pause in fuel economy standards giving American automakers relief - Hybrid portfolios and the hype over "EREVs" in Detroit - The tension of value per dollar to the consumer and privacy/national domestic manufacturing that Chinese EVs present to North America - The enduring, emotional appeal of combustion to enthusiasts 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Listen to Jamie's Auto Town on Radio or Podcast Feeds ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America (and buy our merch!)
Transportation electrification is often framed in environmental terms, but Ben Prochazaka and his colleagues at the Electrification Coalition present a different reason to plug in. Oil dependence is a dangerous addiction for economic and geopolitical reasons, as current events have reminded many Americans. He joins the show to explain the progress made in EVs, both passenger and freight, and how barriers like affordability are rapidly becoming less steep. Max and Ben go over - The roadblocks to EVs in charging, supply chain, and affordability - Oil dependency in the US and why electrification is a must - The progress in medium and heavy duty electrification with Tesla Semi - The unfair surface transportation bill being proposed to unduly tax EV drivers 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Tell your Congress person about the unfair EV bill Stay tuned to the Electrification Roadmap ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America (and buy our merch!)
Many new EVs like GM's EV pickup trucks, Ford's upcoming UEV, and Tesla's Cybertruck are capable of exporting onboard power from their large batteries into someone's home to act as a bckup generator, or even back into the grid to act as a grid stabilizer that could save people money on their bill each month. This is the promise of vehicle-to-grid. However,. the rules around vehicle-grid interconnection are fractured, local, and still nascent. Zach and his team at the Vehicle Grid Integration Council (VGIC) have been working to change that, making sure EVs and utilities are ready for the future in a safe, responsible way. Max and Zach go over - The bottlenecks to adoption that have slowed the technology - The promise VGI has for a more strained than ever grid - The work some states like Maryland have done to advance the ball - The interoperability problem around vehicles, chargers, and gateway switches - Driving down the cost of V2G systems, which are expensive today 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Check out VGIC's work Follow Zach on LinkedIn ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America (and buy our merch!)
James Bell is the head of PR and comms for Kia in America, and he's overseen the brand evolve from being a budget/used car alternative into a premium competitor, particularly in the EV space. Hot on the heels of announcing the affordable EV3 for the US, James speaks with Max to discuss how Kia isn't letting up on its EV platforms and strategy despite the doom and gloom of some US market forecasters. In fact, he's quite confident EVs are an inevitable future for passenger transport, even if some of his colleagues at other OEMs are taking big writedowns and blaming EVs for strategy failures. Max and James go over - Kia's reinvention as a premium, tech-forward brand competing with European auto - The Georgia plants where many Kia are built in the US and consumers wanting desirable product regardless of origin - The new EV3 which competes with the Bolt and Nissan LEAF as an affordable but desirable compact car - His experience almost running out of range in a tiny Mercedes B-class electric during the very early days of EVs 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Check out the new Kia EV3 ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America (and buy our merch!)
Alan Clarke, executive director of Advanced EV Programs at Ford, joins Max to discuss his team's work on the Universal EV Platform—an ambitious plan to make low-cost, next-gen vehicles that make the existing Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning look old-school. Ford's first BEV efforts were well received but had no path to profitability and were simply too expensive for consumers. Now, his team of Tesla vets and auto industry outsiders is using first principles engineering to do more with less, starting with a Ranger-sized pickup truck around $30,000. Max and Alan go over - The engineering tradeoffs going into the design like battery chemistry choices - Emerging use cases like vehicle to grid and vehicle to home - What first principals engineering looks like and the benefit of starting fresh - Merging Michigan and California cultures to create a startup environment inside of one of the world's largest automakers 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Check out Ford's Bounty Hunters video ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America (and buy our merch!)
Ed Kim joins Max from AutoPacific, where he's the chief analyst, to discuss data and insights he's gotten from working with nearly every major OEM on EVs' near future outlook. The good news? There's lots of work on affordability. Also, Republicans really are warming to EVs, as our own polling also shows. The bad news? The affordable EVs can't come soon enough, as fire sales on existing inventory is likely unsustainable for the industry., Max and Ed go over The exciting recent news out of Detroit with Ford's Universal EV Platform The upcoming launch of the affordable R2 The rise of software-defined vehicles across the industry Where the industry goes after the loss of the tax credit ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Check out AutoPacific's Insights ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America
Corey Cantor from the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) joins Max to discuss some positive trends for EVs going into the new year. 2025 was a rough year for EVs with the axing of federal support after Republican-led legislation dropped the $7,500 credit on new vehicles, and sales have shown it. However, automakers are bringing new compelling products out in mainsteam market segments, the used market has never been better for EV-curious shoppers on a budget, and fast chargers are expanding rapidly. Max and Corey go over How providers like IONNA and Mercedes are racing ahead in charging The market effects of used EVs, plug-in hybrids, and range-extended EVs Advancing state and federal policies like surface transport reauthorization What this moment of recalibration means for the long term Western EV market ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Check out ZETA's work and Corey's research ⚡ Stay Plugged In Support EVs for All America Subscribe to Directly Current
Staff writer for InsideEVs and auto journalist Kevin Williams joins Max to discuss his experiences reporting on and driving Chinese EVs. How compelling are they in 2026 and how do they stack up to Western automakers? What does he make of Canada's new policy to lift tariffs on them and allow Chinese cars into their market? Max and Kevin go over The tech going into new EVs from Xiaomi, XPENG, Geely, and others How it compares to what Western OEMs have done Why China's EV market may not be as bulletproof as it looks Canada's warming to Chinese imports The feasibility of joint ventures with US and European companies ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube 🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Follow Kevin's work View our new batch of polling at EVs for All America ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
Veteran political guru and pollster behind EVs for All America, Mike Murphy, joins Max to chat about his scheming with Governor Newsom for a new California EV tax credit that could fit into the state budget. He also shares a new batch of polling we've conducted at EVs for All America, highlighting several interesting demographic shifts for EVs going into 2026; including a shrinking partisan gap (Republicans dislike EVs much less than they used to!). Join the two for a fun chat and a return to form for Directly Current in the New Year. The new season is on! ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: View our new batch of polling at EVs for All America ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
Executive director of EVs for All America, Dan Krassner, joins Max to discuss the work that our team has been doing on local advocacy in California to make installing charging in apartments and multifamily units a lot easier. Californian apartment dwellers make up more than the population of at least 30 US states, and they'd be a huge get for EV ownership if the lower costs and home charging convenience worked out for them. With some polling and research, Dan and Max go over what might work and why the tide's on the side of more charging in apartments. ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: https://www.evsforallamerica.org/news/category/multifamily-charging/ ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
Ex-SpaceX engineer and founder Quincy joins Max once more to talk EV charging with his company Electric Era's new launch, RetailEdge. It's a sleek unit that uses AI and a friendly interface to make charging easier while allowing retailers who host charging sites to get customers in the door of their establishment and spending money. ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: https://electricera.tech/products/retailedge ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
PSE&G is New Jersey's largest utility and is over a century old, but under Dawn Neville's team they're doing an agile and decent job of adapting to EVs with programs that subsidize home charging and forecast load for necessary grid uprades. Max speaks with Dawn to learn more about the challenges a utility faces with EVs, as well as some of the opportunities that come about from peak shaving and distributed energy storage from EV batteries. ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: PSE&G's EV Programs ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
John Voelcker has been reporting on EVs and hybrids for longer than almost anyone. The editor in chief of Green Car Reports for almost a decade, and now a frequent freelancer for magazines like Car and Driver and websites like InsideEVs, John is an engineer by training who has reported on major developments like General Motor's turnaround on producing batteries as well as the formation of the IONNA national charging network. Max and John go over The history of hybrids from the Prius to today and the complexities and problems with "plug-in" models The state of the US auto market, including the fortunes of the big three and their success in investing in EVs Cheap EVs finally within reach including the new Nissan LEAF and Slate Pickup Truck The Chinese market and the untested promise of the software defined vehicle ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: John's Side Project: Tempting Fate Tours ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
It's time for a news roundup on Directly Current, and Max is joined by Republican strategist and EVs for All America boss Mike Murphy to discuss the positive market developments in German and American EV manufacturing, as well as some bad news with an ICE raid at Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions' battery plant in Georgia which went about as well as an episode of Keystone Cops. Max and Mike go over BMW's Awesome Neue Klasse Platform debuted at the IAA in Germany with 400 miles of range and very rapid charging (15 minute 10–80%) Mike's sitdown with Gavin Newsom on apartment and multifamily charging for over 7 million citizens in California Ford's American plan to reinvent the Assembly of Cars and Build a $30,000 EV Pickup Truck The Hyundai ICE immigration raid, the South Korean government's response, and the implications for US manufacturing Mike's summer EV road trips in his BMW iX and the good news of fast charging deployment ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Electric for All at the MAGNET Conference IRS Guidance on EV tax credits phaseout (Act before September 30th!) ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
Veloz is a nonprofit leading the charge with a national messaging campaign to sell the public on EVs—not for environmental advocacy but for practical cost of ownership and tangible benefits. Josh Boone, their executive director, joins Max for a chat on their new Electric for All campaign we've partnered with them on—featuring the iconic voice of Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation). Max and Josh go over The progress EVs have made in adoption in just the last few years The major investments automakers have made which have yet to fully realize The improving technology making range and charging concerns of the past The environmental concerns people have about EVs and their wrong assumptions ▶️ Watch the episode : YouTube Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform Resources and Links: Electric for All IRS Guidance on EV tax credits phaseout ⚡ Stay Plugged In Subscribe to Directly Current Support EVs for All America Visit the EV Politics merch store
Our Next Energy (ONE) is developing LFP battery cells in Michigan. If you're an EV nerd, you know how big of a deal that is. These kinds of chemistries are what are going to enable durable, long lasting, and most importantly, affordable EVs and China already specializes in them and currently basically chokes the world's supply, not just in terms of minerals, but also IP know-how and manufacturing for this super valuable battery chemistry. But ONE came to the market at a time a few years ago with a promise to make a hybrid battery, called Gemini, utilizing some LFP and an anode-free manganese-rich chemistry to give you the best of all worlds—performance and long range. They demonstrated this in a BMW iX chassis showing that vehicle to double its factory range at the time. The Gemini battery never came to market in production cars. However, ONE has been toiling away quietly—working on continuing LFP chemistries for not only the automotive industry, but also battery energy storage systems, which are crucially important in the age of AI and data center where we can't make our grid resilient quickly enough. Max speaks with the Chief Strategist at One, Deeana Ijaz. , She's the daughter of the founder and CEO Mijeeb Ijaz. Deanna come from a neuroscience and public health policy background but is leading the charge at ONE in turbulent times for the automotive industry to survive and thrive. Watch the full episode on YouTube Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. More about Our Next Energy Stay plugged in: Support our work at American EV Jobs Alliance Shop EV Politics merc h
You've probably heard that the electric grid is under severe strain and that electric cars are of no help. And this is in some ways a little bit overblown, but it's also true, particularly in the era of large data centers and AI. But it doesn't have to be that way. Electric vehicles can be part of the solution. We've spoken on this show briefly before about concepts like vehicle to grid and vehicles like the Ford F-150 lightning being used as a home backup power source but to do grid solutions at scale. That's going to take a lot of smart software and coordination, enter WeaveGrid. WeaveGrid CEO Apoorv Bhargava speaks with Max Patten on how they work with utilities, OEMs, and customers to enable a new kind of smarter power grid. The upshot for ratepayers, aka customers? You pay less and maybe even realize incentives for letting your EV flexibly charge (and one day, discharge) while you sleep. Watch the full episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/-uyEtDhQVT8 Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more: WeaveGrid Incentive Finder WeaveGrid's Active Programs for Drivers/Consumers Stay plugged in: Subscribe to Directly Current Support our work at American EV Jobs Alliance Shop EV Politics merc h
One of the biggest sources of electrification isn't your home or your neighbors', but the commercial fleets and trucks that power American business. Wex is a company doing fuel card services, but their EV charging solutions have taken off and they're continuing to invest in it despite federal headwinds. In this episode of Directly Current , host Max Patten speaks to Libby Bittman , the Business Development Director for EVs and Mobility at Wex. Previously, she's worked at companies like ChargePoint, ChargeLab, and Tesla. Libby also has an EV car, truck, and motorcycle in her household, so she's no stranger to the electric liffetyle. Max and Libby discuss how EV adoption continues to prove itself on cost of ownership merits in the commercial sector even without the White House's support. Regardless of politics, businesses love margins! Some of the ground Max and Libby cover; Why Fuel Cards Need an EV Analogue Charging Hubs dedicated to business fleets Electric motorcycles are very fun, but unlike cars and light duty, aren't yet cost-competitive! Libby is a great speaker, advocate for EVs, and a pragmatic and seasoned participant in the business world. Enjoy! Watch the full episode on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VeV_AXRb88 Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more: Wex for EVs Sawatch Labs Fleet Electrification/Emissions Software Stay plugged in: Subscribe to Directly Current Support our work at American EV Jobs Alliance Shop EV Politics merc h
Max speaks to Quincy Lee, founder and CEO of Electric Era, a charging business that's integrating high-quality hardware with smart software and batteries to deploy rapidly at retailers like Costco for low cost. It's a story of entrepreneurship, quality-obsession, and paving the infrastructure for the future. Electric Era's Site Quincy's Twitter Quincy's LinkedIn American EV Jobs Alliance Messaging Campaign Subscribe to Directly Current