It is a strange week in the US. The coasts are joining forces. The Midwest is burning water. And the future is arriving slower than advertised, but definitely arriving.
The Coast vs. The Center
NYC and LA don’t agree on much. But they both love an electric car. They are teaming up now, lobbying the federal government for help. Not for roads. For incentives. It’s a united front on four wheels. 🚗
Meanwhile, Ford and GM have changed their minds. Again. They were so into EVs yesterday. Today? They are backing off. The new game is battery storage. Why? Because AI needs power, and batteries store it. The automakers are essentially rebranding as energy utilities.
And speaking of federal moves—the idea of a gas tax holiday? Forget it. You might save a dime at the pump. But the roads fall apart. It’s simple math, mostly. Cut revenue, lose infrastructure. Bad trade.
The Tech Glitches Out
The robotaxis are breaking. Or at least, the remote operators are. Tesla dropped details recently. Human operators, piloting from a distance, drove Robotaxis into fences. Construction barricades. Clang. Not the smooth autonomous future promised. It was messy. Slow. And human-error prone.
Waymo has its own problems. Police say the tech was deployed too fast, in too big of a swarm. “Hundreds of vehicles… when it wasn’t really ready.” A local official said that. It sounds like panic. And now, the kids are trying to ride solo in driverless cars. Waymo is cracking down, refining age-verification. Adults report being asked to prove their riders aren’t minors. It’s awkward. It’s necessary. And it’s happening in real time.
Drones? They’re over NYC. Delivery drones, hovering in the busiest airspace in the country. Do they make sense? Nobody knows. But they are flying. For now. It’s temporary, probably. Until it’s not.
Data, Dollars, and Discontent
Chevron is in Texas, asking for a favor. They want to build a data center power plant. But not just any plant—this one comes with a massive school district tax break. Hundreds of millions in savings. The state lawmakers are watching closely, eyeing new rules on these incentives. Oil company meets Big Tech real estate. A strange marriage, but a profitable one.
Speaking of government oversight, a bipartisan amendment could ban police license plate trackers nationwide. Just one line in a highway bill. Strip the funding, kill the tech. Effective ban on automated plate recognition, unless you’re collecting tolls. Privacy advocates will cheer. The police will grumble. The outcome is likely more friction.
Heat, Water, and Vapor
The heat is coming. Water crises in Corpus Christi? Real. The Colorado River? Boiling over, metaphorically and maybe literally soon. This summer, the lack of water stops being a headline. It becomes a daily reality for millions. ⛲️🔥
And then there’s Trump. He’s positioning himself as the hero vapers need. The White House claims it’s “gold standard science.” It feels more like political signaling to a group that rarely votes anyway. Vice-signaling for nicotine in a can. Why? Probably votes, maybe optics. Or just to have an opinion.
None of this resolves neatly. The EV pivot is incomplete. The water is low. The drones are loud.
The technology was deployed too quickly.
Maybe. But we keep driving forward. Into fences. Into drought. Into the next tax break.
What happens next?
