EVs Eating Tires, Mega Cruise Ship Pollution, MrBeast In This Weekend's News Roundup

Tire companies have been trying to sell us on the concept of dedicated EV tires for a while. From tires that can handle the torque loads to ones that roll quieter for less road noise, there’s something for every EV buyer. But a recent story out of Florida in The Miami Herald details how EV owners there have been blindsided by how fast they’re having to change the tires on their EVs. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

The Icon Of The Seas is Royal Caribbean’s newest two-billion dollar boondoggle. Boasting twenty decks and capacity for 7,600 guests (plus 2,350 crew), this is the single largest cruise ship in the world. It is scheduled to sail for the first time on January 27, and will conduct seven-night hops around the Caribbean islands until April. Demand for cruise tourism is at an all-time high, and the Icon’s first run on the ocean sold out in October of 2022. This is all despite the cruise industry’s per-passenger carbon emissions more than double that of airlines. - Bradley Brownell Read More

Sammy Hagar has an extensive car collection. From a Jaguar XKE to multiple Ferraris, it’s safe to say that Hagar is a car enthusiast. One of the hardest things an enthusiast can do, though, is part ways with one of their cars. Recently, Hagar announced that he was selling one of his prized Ferraris, a LaFerrari, to the highest bidder. Until a dead battery stopped the sale dead in its tracks. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

Towing companies arriving unannounced at the scene of an accident only to do some shady shit seems to be a recurring theme. It’s the perfect grift unfortunately and it’s happened again, this time to a big rig driver in the Windy City, as Chicago’s WGN9 reports. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

YouTuber MrBeast built an empire out of flashy, high-dollar videos that rake in Zoomer eyes and advertiser cash. Out of apparently sheer curiosity, he recently posted one of those videos directly to Twitter in order to test out the new ad revenue model under Elon Musk — a video that just so happened to tout the features of the Tesla Model X. - Steve DaSilva Read More

Tesla boss Elon Musk has been promising an entry-level $25,000 electric vehicle for six years. He first mentioned the possibility of the car in 2018, saying it would happen within three years, then doubled down on the idea at Tesla’s Battery Day in late 2020. According to reports from Reuters, Tesla has inquired with suppliers to bid the project, aiming for weekly production volume of 10,000 units globally. Reuters’ sources claim the tiny Tesla would hit the market in June of 2025. The American electric vehicle company is aiming to build the car at its Texas and Berlin factories, and is potentially looking to build another factory in India for the new model. - Bradley Brownell Read More

Electrify America’s track record with EV charger reliability hasn’t been the greatest — which is to say, its chargers are very bad. They’re so bad that sometimes they’ve even been known to disable some EVs. This unreliability is unacceptable, and some experts in California think state officials should hold Electrify America responsible for its broken chargers as The Sacramento Bee reports. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

The door plug blowout on a Boeing 737 Max 9 earlier this month has unleashed a tidal wave of self-appointed aerospace experts on social media who firmly believe they have found the root of the planemaker’s woes without any evidence. Former reality TV supporting actor Donald Trump Jr. and sober SpaceX founder Elon Musk are among the uncertified masses declaring that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are jeopardizing Boeing airliners. - Ryan Erik King Read More

The Toyota Prius is the iconic hybrid vehicle in the American hivemind. We’ve had others, sure, but the Prius spent so many years as the shining example of eco-friendly transportation. How could we see the company behind it as anything but the greenest automaker around? - Steve DaSilva Read More

Vehicles in America are novelty oversized, like a universal TV remote from a store in the weird corner of the mall. We’ve known this for years, and the problem has only kept getting worse. Now, though, new data suggests — once again — that the bigger cars are deadlier. - Steve DaSilva Read More