The Inflation Reduction Act brought with it the promise of some serious discounts on electric cars, with the huge caveat that the vehicles receiving discounts will need to be built in the United States and use batteries that contain a decreasing amount of materials from “unfriendly” countries. Hyundai, which makes no electric vehicles in America and sources some of its battery material from China, was completely cut out from the discount. Until now. Sort of.
For this hump day The Morning Dump we’ll be focused on electric cars and hybrids because that’s where all the juice is, if you’ll pardon the pun. We’ve got Elon Musk basically threatening Tesla’s board in a curious shakedown. BYD is starting to move away from pouch cells over issues with the tech.
And, finally, Fisker’s not having a great week and its stock price has taken a huge hit.
How To Get That Hyundai Cash
Hyundai (and Kia) had a great plan. An excellent plan. The two companies were going to start introducing a lineup of attractive, range-competitive EVs in the United States. There’s the city-ish Kona EV, the big handsome Ioniq 5, and the sleek Ioniq 6 sedan.
The problem with that plan was that it didn’t predict the surprise $7,500 discount in the Inflation Reduction Act for American-built EVs. This meant that competitors like the Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model 3/Y, and Chevy Bolt suddenly had anywhere from a $3,750 to $7,500 advantage. That, coupled with Tesla’s aggressive cost-cutting, quickly made Hyundai’s excellent cars less price-competitive. Sure, Hyundai already planned to start building EVs here, but not until late 2024.
Turnabout is fair play and now many of the EVs that were on the tax credit list have seen those discounts either shrink or outright disappear over increasingly difficult battery requirements. If you’re curious, here’s the new list of qualified electric cars. It’s a lot shorter than it was this time last year.
Hyundai’s response here is pretty smart, I think. Electric cars are too expensive, so Hyundai is mimicking the $7,500 discount for buyers of the Kona EV, Ioniq 5, and Ioniq 6. Go over to their offer page and you’ll see the image above, but here are the details:
$7,500 Retail Bonus Cash available on all Hyundai 2024 IONIQ 5 DISNEY100 PLATINUM EDITION AWD, IONIQ 5 LIMITED AWD, IONIQ 5 LIMITED RWD, IONIQ 5 SE AWD, IONIQ 5 SE RWD, IONIQ 5 SE STANDARD RANGE RWD, IONIQ 5 SEL AWD, IONIQ 5 SEL RWD purchased from dealer stock between 1/3/2024 and 1/31/2024.
Customers who participate in a Special Lease or Low APR program through Hyundai Motor Finance (HMF) do not qualify for Retail Bonus Cash. See participating dealer for details. Retail Bonus Cash offer ends 1/31/2024.
If we take the total MSRP + freight charge we end up with a Kona EV at a very competitive $34,010 before the incentives. Add in that $7,500 discount and the price becomes $26,510. In New York, it’s also possible you can qualify for another $2,000 in state incentives, bringing the cost down to $24,510. We’re in Chevy Bolt territory, though it’s harder to find a Bolt these days.
There’s an even better deal on the Ioniq 5 and 6 if you own a competitive car (there’s no competitive car list on the site but I’m going to assume the usual mix of electric cars) you can get another $2,500 off. A standard range Ioniq 5 SE is $42,985 delivered, which becomes $35,485 after the $7,500 off. Then it becomes $32,985 if you’re trading in a competitive vehicle. Finally, if you live in a state like New York, that additional $2,000 off gets you a new EV at $30,985. That ain’t bad. A Model Y with the full $7,500 discount is $36,490, though with a superior EPA range of 260 miles to 220 miles.
This deal only lasts until January 31st, so act now!
Elon Musk Holding Tesla Board Hostage
There is a strategy in gambling to be aggressive early and often. It doesn’t usually work out, but it tends to deliver spectacular results when it does. This is the case for Elon Musk, who seems to constantly bluster himself into success.
Already one of the richest individuals in the world, the extra billionaire said that he’d be “uncomfortable” helping Tesla develop AI and robotics unless he got more control of a company that already seemingly lets him do whatever he wants. Here’s the full quote from his post on X/Twitter:
I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned.
Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla. You don’t seem to understand…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024
He currently has about 13% of Tesla’s stock, which makes him outrageously wealthy. Could Tesla have gotten where it’s gotten today without Musk? It’s hard to imagine it happening.
Is it legal for Musk to do this? Reuters asked some people that question:
“The problem is his tweets suggest that in his capacity now as CEO and director, he is not only turning down profitable Tesla opportunities based on his personal preferences, but also redirecting them to his private companies,” said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane Law School.
“That’s a conflict of interest that suggests a violation of his fiduciary duties to Tesla.”
Some analysts also said any move to shift technology development outside Tesla would only damage the value of its shares by removing potential growth opportunities.
Musk seems to get away with everything so I’ll assume he’ll get away with this as well until I see otherwise. He also tweets a lot of random stuff that doesn’t happen. Remember that time he was going to fight Mark Zuckerberg? Yeah, me neither.
BYD Backs Off On Pouch Batteries For Hybrids
The debate over the best EV battery format includes differing views on both chemistry (LFP or NCM?) and cell type (pouch, cylinder, or prismatic?).
Tesla, for instance, insists that pouch cells are bad and only uses cylindric batteries. GM’s been using LG-supplied pouch cells for a while, including on its new Ultium-based cars, though it’s reportedly considering switching to cylindrical cells. Volkswagen used pouches for the launch of its ID.4 but has since started incorporating CATL-built prismatic cells.
Automakers tend to like pouch cells because they’re lightweight and easy to stack/package with decent and dependable performance. Unfortunately, automakers have also had issues with pouch cell performance lately.
Case-in-point, Reuters is reporting that BYD is going to nix its pouch batteries in the brand’s hybrids over leak concerns:
The world’s top seller of battery-powered cars last month began converting production lines for pouch-type cells in two of its factories situated in Shaanxi and Zhejiang provinces to produce prismatic batteries instead, said one of the people, who had direct knowledge of the matter.
It is still making pouch-type cells at a third factory in Qinghai province to minimise disrupting production of its hybrid vehicles, which accounted for almost half of its global sales last year, but plans to switch that too and completely stop using pouch cells by early 2025, the person said.
There are plenty of automakers still using pouch batteries so it’ll be interesting to see if this is part of a trend towards prismatic and cylindrical cells.
Fisker Is In Trouble
Ahhh Fisker. The EV automaker’s stock hit a high in 2021 of almost $28 per share but has since Humpty Dumptied off the wall and fallen more than 90% to its current stock price of just about $0.86. What happened? It’s been a string of bad news from lost CFOs to an admission that it’ll need dealer help to sell cars.
The worst of it, for the moment, is the announcement of a NHTSA investigation into braking problems in its only car, the Fisker Ocean.
Here’s what NHTSA has to say:
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 9 complaints alleging loss of braking performance in model year 2023 Fisker Ocean vehicles manufactured by Fisker Group Inc. The complaints allege a partial loss of braking over low traction surfaces, without alerting the driver. This results in a sudden increase in stopping distance. Some complaints allege that while braking over a low traction or bumpy surface, the vehicle may exhibit an intermittent loss of blended braking function (a combination of the service brake system and regenerative braking). One of the complaints alleged a crash and injury.
What I’m Listening To While Writing This
I gotta jam this morning, so it’s Wet Leg’s raucous and funny self-titled debut album. listen to “Chaise Longue” and try not to laugh.
The Big Question
If you could qualify for $7,500 of a Kona EV, Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 6 would that make the cars competitive enough for you? Is an Ioniq 5 the best deal? Is it still a Model Y?
They mean the Fisker does exactly what many other cars with anti lock brakes do and not lock on rough and loose surfaces?
So today we learned Hyundai could sell american customers cheaper EVs, but have been gouging them, knowing the difference would be offset by tax payers
So taxpayers should just cancel these EV incentives and automakers will reduce the price ….. why are we even doing these incentives anymore??
Considering the Musk record for outside ventures, the Tesla board should say “you get on with your bad self”.
I’m sorry but I fail to see a future where AI Robots don’t take over the world and Elon Musk isn’t a Bond Villian Overlord. That being said “All Hail Elon our Overlord Master” BTW looking for a job the higher it pays the less I am worried about ethics. At least we aren’t bowing done to China.
Let’s see…
Says rando things – check
Exhibits antisemitic tendencies – check
Creates memes of himself – check
I got it! Elon is an AI!
I’m not sure AI and robotics should be developed under the Tesla umbrella. That would be a bit like saying SpaceX should be part of Tesla because they’re both in the transportation space. Yes, there’s a tenuous connection, but that doesn’t mean they should be the same company.
That said, this is an enormous deal for Tesla investors because the company is currently being valued as if they are going to branch out into other industries, and if they instead split all of that out into different companies the stock price loses its last miniscule grip on reality. If Tesla is just a car company there is no rational way to justify its market cap.
The local Hyundai dealers are pocketing most of that cash. Typical scum, giving $2500 off MSRP and hoping nobody notices the extra $5k they’re pocketing. Nice cars but will never own one thanks to their awful dealers.
I dont know if I am missing something but the Fisker issue seems normal behavior to me. If you are using regen and you hit a patch of ice for example, regens stops because the tires are now sliding, its more dangerous to continue with the same braking power. Its pretty much know that one pedal driving should not be used during slippery conditions.
Another situation I noticed, when you are using regen or one pedal driving and the ABS kicks in, it will switch to regular braking power and guess what, your foot is not in the brake.
The Ioniq 6 SE Long Range has got to be the best bargain in 350+ mile range EVs available in the U.S. right now, under the assumption that in the long term it will hold up at least as long as the Tesla Model 3 long range. That is not a safe assumption, but we’ll eventually find out how well they hold up past warrantee.
On that same pack, if we had it in a more narrow car with even lower drag(say CdA value comparable to an Aptera 2E), I think 600+ miles in good weather is possible, even if the car still weighed 2 tons.
Yeah, so with this deal (I don’t have a competitive vehicle) I could get one for $9,500 off the $43,500 price so… $34k roughly. Not bad!
it’s a great album. they claim the bands name was an anagram done with refrig magnets but…
I thought it was because they’re from a remote British island where they refer to tourists as “wet legs” because you can only get there by water?
We’ll she did get the Big D at school.
I’m assuming that was a grade or an abbreviation for Diploma.
An additional advantage for the Ionic 5 and 6 is that you get free 30 minute DCFC sessions at Electrify America for the first 2 years of ownership. Since they can charge at up to 350kw, a 20-30 minute charge will usually charge it up. If you have a station near you and don’t mind stopping for a 20 minute charge when needed, you’ll have no energy costs for those first 2 years. That’s probably worth $500 or more a year if compared to charging at home.
In Colorado you can get an additional $5000 tax credit for EV. That knocks $12500 off the price. Might need to start looking at an Ioniq 5…
I just looked at my local dealer and all of their Ioniq 5s and 6s have between $12,500 and $20,000 off, and only when you dig into the details does it state they are including the $7500 discount AND the $5000 Colorado credit. Not bad though, as they have a bunch of Ioniq 5s for around $25k and a few Ioniq 6s for around $30k.
Yeah, $12,500 off an Ioniq 6 is a good deal.
I’d give them more consideration if I had a real use case for one. The family minivan is approaching needing replacement, but since it is also our road trip vehicle, a hybrid makes more sense.
Colorado’s credit bumps up to $7500 if the MSRP is under $35k. So that Kona will be $19k here.
I keep watching the local dealers for what they’re asking for the Ioniq 6, but the dealer websites are incredibly opaque on which discounts are applicable, combinable, exclusive, or otherwise effective on their cars, rendering it impossible to get an accurate price without subjecting myself to the irritation of dealing with a Hyundai salesperson.
On the chaise lounge on the chaise lounge on the chaise all day long on the chaise lounge!
Love Wet Leg. That record has no skips and is one of the more unique and interesting rock albums of the last several years. It’s also unapologetically weird, which I respect. Anyway noted whack job/wannabe Lex Luthor Elon has begun referring to artificial intelligence THE DIGITAL GOD, and now he’s trying to consolidate more power over the technology?
Sounds totally normal! Nothing to see here. This timeline is totally fine, thanks for asking!
The Ioniq 5 is popular around here, and I’d shop that over any Tesla.
PS that song is legit, most of the stuff you post sounds like barnyard noises.
It’s a great album!
Barnyard Noises is one of the top records of 2023 what
Elon in a bid to to continue to amass all of the world’s money, as a desperate, Freudian plea to get his father to hug him and say, “I’m proud of you,” is throwing a temper tantrum to attempt to blackmail the Tesla board of directors into giving him more control of Tesla which means more money for him and him alone. Therefore, I propose that every new mention of him he is to be referred to as Mr. Krabs
We’ve all bore witness to what happens when Mr. Krabs is given total control over things, and surprise they do poorly.
This is more about voting control though, isn’t it? He’s not asking for extra stock options or extra compensation beyond what the board was already considering, he wants his existing shares to carry more voting rights than they currently do, sort of trying to mimic the Ford family’s special voting rights at Ford Motor Company in excess of the percent they actually own.
I mean, it comes down to money eventually, but his current scheme seems to be more about power and control vs adding more cash to the on-paper net worth calculation
I’d be curious if the board even has the power to give him what he wants, this feels like something that should have to be voted on at a general shareholders meeting, since he’s going to be diluting the voting power of 87% of the company’s stockholders. Though, many of them are also Musk groupies (Muskies?), so it might end up being sort of rubber stamped there, too.
After he tweeted about it, “Shares of Tesla rose about half a percent to $219.91.” Tell me how this isn’t about the money, otherwise that would have been discussed internally with the board.
I don’t think that was a foreseeable outcome, in fact I think it defies logic, Tesla shares should have declined on the announcement if they were being treated as a normal company with a CEO behaving this way
Telsa stock doesn’t function as a regular company’s stock and hasn’t for many, many years.
It’s basically a meme stock on steroids
He’s not exactly running the show at SpaceX, and uh what he’s done with Starlink isn’t exactly stellar.
If I were looking for an EV, then Hyundai’s more affordable options would look good enough to get on the short list. That is assuming they’ve resolved the issue with their power regulator/controller.
Got a neighbor that bought the Ioniq 5 when it came out. Nice car till it had that power regulator/controller issue and was at the dealer for an indefinite amount of time. The weather Gods were smiling on him and destroyed the car with hail while sitting in a large lot of other cars waiting for all sorts of other Hyundai type issues to be fixed. Insurance paid out and he bought another Ioniq 5. He loves the newer one also and I have to say it is a nice car.
Yeah some of the early adopter bugs seem like a real pain in the ass. I’m perpetually browsing car listings in my free time and if you’re looking at EVs you’d be shocked how many current ones already have branded titles. The Carfaxes all essentially show that the first owners took them to dealerships for issues a few times then they were bought back and given replacement batteries.
You can get a screaming deal on them but I can’t imagine what it would cost to insure an EV with a branded title. They’re very pricey to insure even with clean titles. As I say here all the time…if you want an EV you should lease one.
do you have any more info on this? Im in Maine and dont see such deals. If it took going outside my normal search area I would be willing to talk to my insurance about insurance rates.