Latest / Auto Collabs / "Charging" Forward (yes, that's an EV pun) with Elena Ciccotelli

Transcript

"Charging" Forward (yes, that's an EV pun) with Elena Ciccotelli · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  So for Christmas, my wife nailed it this year [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs In the stocking was a bunch of things that I just use in regular life, like duct tape- Paperclips... pretty close.
• 0:18
  Like metal clamps to hold things to a workbench. And the only thing that was not like one of those functional utilitarian items, which I loved, was the Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson. Mm.
• 0:29
  The same guy that wrote, like, the Steve Jobs one that's over my head here. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And it's, like, 600 pages, 500 pages.
• 0:35
  But I got, like, 200 pages in and I realized something about EVs, and that is it's a miracle that Tesla ever even made it. Cool. And now we're in this- Oh, yeah...
• 0:46
  and now it's like, but to see it go from, like, this, and as an entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, we can appreciate this, the, like, the hairline between we're doing something really innovative that everyone's gonna love and we're about to go out of business.
• 0:59
  [laughs] Like, that experience, it was so- Oh, look... rewarding to watch that happen for Elon Musk over and over and over. They, uh, this is what's crazy. They went public at a buck 38 a share in 2010. In 2020,
• 1:16
  they were under, well, just at the start of 2020, or end of two, 2019 is when they went over $20 a share. Now we're, you know, they got this massive market cap. It's- It's, you know... $250 a share, like, all this stuff.
• 1:31
  And it was as high as 400 at one point. Right. But that's, that was a, I mean, that's nine years that it took for them to become- That's-... a, like, legitimate thing? That's the thing.
• 1:43
  When, when I was reading the book and it has the date ranges for, like, Tesla, and by the way, like, Elon Musk didn't start Tesla. Do you know this? No. Nope. He didn't.
• 1:51
  And the founders are the people that started it and, like, the, the path that goes there. And the partnerships, Toyota actually invested 50 million in Tesla- Right... at one point.
• 1:58
  Like, all the things that lead to the adoption, it's easy for us to think of it in terms of the last three to five years of being the real conversation, but oh my gosh, this conversation has been going on and happening and being dreamt about for a decade more, more than that.
• 2:12
  And so, I don't know, it was just kind of one of those eye-opening events that I thought I knew a lot of context, but there's so much more to the story.
• 2:20
  Well, it's like your wife knew that we were gonna be c- recording our first podcast- She definitely was not-... of the new year... thinking about that. [laughs] With Elena Ciccotelli, uh, of the EVs For Everyone podcast.
• 2:31
  I'm excited to have her on today. She's one of these, like, just infectious personalities that's, I feel like she never doesn't smile. Uh, which I don't know how that's possible.
• 2:41
  This woman just have- Be around her when the Eagles are playing. [laughs] There you go. You'll see a whole other side. [laughs] There you go. [laughs] Right. Of course, she's from Philly, so. She is from Philly.
• 2:51
  There you go. I mean, Michael's from Dallas now. I, I was just cur- uh, like, are you guys gonna let us talk to her or- [laughs] Nah... are we gonna get into this episode?
• 2:58
  [laughs] We're just gonna, we're having so much fun, we're gonna skip the interview and go right to the outro. No, [laughs] no, we're gonna get into this conversation.
• 3:06
  We know it's always a lively one with Elena Ciccotelli. [upbeat music] So tell us about your dad, Michael. My, my dad's from, uh, [laughs] southern Italy. You know what I didn't know?
• 3:18
  Perhaps you invite a podcast host to be the guest. [laughs] You know what I didn't know until maybe five years ago? That people in southern Italy, technically they don't speak Italian. What do they speak?
• 3:28
  They speak, like, when you go to northern Italy, like Rome, where they speak Italian, southern Italy's like this weird
• 3:36
  gerb- gerbil-ed up, like, weird dialect that they, they, I mean, it's Italian, but it's not really Italian. Mm. So you, so my dad's from Italy, my mom's from Portugal. You know what this means? Ugh, this is great.
• 3:47
  This means the Italian in me wants everything, the best money can buy. I want the 85-inch Sony TV. The Portuguese in me wants it for $0 or less.
• 4:00
  [laughs] Well, you know, y- that, that's, you should probably do an ad for The RealReal then. You should, you be like- [laughs]... [laughs] you guys should do a collab. [laughs] It's just me- So amazing...
• 4:14
  ending conflicted in a Best Buy. I'm like, "Z- z- z- eh." [laughs] Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. [laughs] I don't know. Please excuse the shenanigans. You kinda knew what to expect, right?
• 4:24
  No, I, this is- You kinda, you kinda showed up for the show, didn't you? [laughs] I showed up for the sh- I, y- you know what? I, I feel like I won the, uh, golden ticket. Like, I unwrapped the Wonka bar.
• 4:36
  I got the golden ticket, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes right now, because you guys know I'm super fans of what you do. So I am- Oh, gosh, that, that actually goes both ways... so excited to be here.
• 4:47
  [laughs] That goes both ways. And just so we can make sure everybody understands what you're up to these days, give us the quick summary, because I love your content. I love the podcast.
• 4:56
  You're getting super creative with the, like, let's pile a bunch of people in a car and go for a ride and record it all. That, that's my podcast of the year 2023. I'm giving it. Just FYI. No way. I'll double second that.
• 5:06
  Have you watched that? I will second that. Yes. No way. Oh my gosh. Um- Fantastic. Serious podcast. I mean, I've listened to a lot of podcasts. I l- you know, like, you got- Gotta watch this one...
• 5:15
  you know, Smart List is out there in the world, and that podcast- [laughs]... at Used Car Week with Igor and Jimmy and you, like, I think John Foley was in there too. Yep. Oh, they were all in there. It was unbelievable.
• 5:26
  It was- Yeah... no, but you know what? The thing is, uh, Scott Case from Recurrent, um, the K-pop- Right... uh, you know, so I, listen- [laughs]...
• 5:34
  the thing, [laughs] the thing with that episode was I just said, "I want to talk about," and really this is the theme of the show, "I wanna see who you are as a person," right?
• 5:43
  We come to work, we come to, uh, events, and we are, obviously, we're putting our best foot forward. But it's also like, Paul, who are you as a person? Michael, we had a very nice conversation about your father.
• 5:57
  So, like, I want to get those tidbits [laughs] about what you do and what you're about, because then, yeah, we can talk about electric vehicles, we can talk about EVs, but I feel that-People wanna get to know you.
• 6:11
  They wanna get to know what you're about, and you guys do this so well, um, just in all of the content you create and all of the, the community that you've built and just all of the things that you do.
• 6:24
  And I think there, there needs to be more of that in the auto industry, and I'm, I'm just happy to play a very small- Amen to that. So that's- s- we completely agree, first of all. We completely agree.
• 6:34
  [laughs] This has been an advertisement for a show. Thank you very much. [laughs] Um, okay. So but here's, here's what's interesting to me, and I think the way that you position that, specifically around EVs, because
• 6:49
  we know as an, i- in auto, at least internally, there's been this, we, we feel, and the reason why this podcast is Auto Collabs, there's this, this almost sense that there's, there's four different types of personas, and they're all against each other, right?
• 7:02
  Yeah. OEMs and industry partners and dealers and consumers, and they're all butting heads. Yeah. And so we just feel like it would be better if they came together.
• 7:10
  And then there's this, there's almost this, like, new entrant into the, the space, which is anybody that puts EV anywhere near their, it- it's, like,
• 7:20
  anywhere near their title or their job description or things that they do, as well as just the car that is the EV. And so we just reject any personification of, like, that, that personhood. Yeah.
• 7:35
  Do you feel that that's, that that, that's, like, a reality that you're experiencing? I feel like this is a therapy book. Yeah, very much so. No- You reject the personification of the personhood.
• 7:43
  I'm like, one, two, three. [laughs] Which is the real me? [laughs] No, but the thing is, is that, the thing is, Kyle, is I understood what you said. So it was- Right... it was articulated- Because you're smarter than me.
• 7:54
  [laughs] No, it was articulated beautifully, and the sad fact is, is that this is such a polarizing topic, and you guys know this in being in media, yeah, it kind of helps to have a polarizing topic as the topic of your show.
• 8:06
  [laughs] Like, it, it just, it is what it is. [laughs] It does. Right? I mean- We could've been like that, frankly. [laughs] So but at the same time, there's gotta be a, there, there's gotta be a, a way forward.
• 8:18
  You guys keep saying keep pushing back. I say keep charging forward. Mm. Like, there's, there's a, there's a path for- No pun intended... there's a path forward somewhere. And so- She used the word charge in that, too.
• 8:28
  Z- right. So I think- [laughs]
• 8:32
  So I think there, there are, yes, Kyle, there are a lot of people that are very passionate, I would say, in one direction, and then there's the 180-degree passion in the other direction.
• 8:47
  I just want to report on what's happening and what's interesting and, and also getting the story behind the folks that are doing something a little bit differently. So I'll just give you a quick example.
• 9:01
  So I had, um, uh, this woman's name is Natalie King. She has a charging manufacturing company, and she is building commercial-grade chargers in Detroit.
• 9:15
  Um, and I had her on the show because I said, "Natalie, not a lot of people know about you. Like, you've done all of these amazing things."
• 9:23
  She worked in solar, now pivoted over to, she saw the, the, um, the opportunity in electric vehicles. She's using a lot of the community in Detroit as her workforce and has this, like, really holistic approach to it.
• 9:37
  So there's, there's really cool, inspiring people doing really neat things in the community around electric vehicles.
• 9:44
  So I wanna shine a light on maybe some of the more lesser-known things that are happening, almost like the Guy Fieri of, like, electric vehicles.
• 9:55
  I mean, I know I'm probably not gonna talk about Flavortown on the show, but I, you know, in that same kind of way of, "Hey, let's have a conversation. What are the cool things that you're up to?
• 10:07
  And yeah, we'll talk about electric vehicles and-" First of all, I got a new show for you before I ask my question.
• 10:13
  Because all of these EVs are getting installed at, like, restaurants and gas stations across the country, you should actually, like, merge Flavortown and EV Charging Network- [laughs]... somehow into a show.
• 10:26
  It would be amazing. Okay, so- I would, um, and, and Kyle, you, you guys have to be the first guests then, okay? Can we just say, like, let's do this- I'm in. Absolutely... and we'll do the episode.
• 10:36
  [laughs] You know what intrigues me about this? We've been trying to do a travel show. [laughs] I love it. I love it. You know what intrigues me about this?
• 10:44
  H- h- y- you know what intrigues me about this is that you can actually make a whole show about Teslas. It's the craziest thing. Um- [laughs] It is the, it is the craziest thing.
• 10:52
  You could absolutely do a whole show about Teslas, and- Oh, that's not what your show's about? I saw EV. No, just kidding. [laughs] Oh, Kyle. Come on. Okay. Here's my real question.
• 11:01
  Go back to the beginning, 'cause you talked about these inspiring people. You've done a couple different podcasts in the past. You've worked for some large companies. You've had your own startups.
• 11:10
  Why the switch and the move- Yeah... to delving into specifically communications about EV? Where did that come from? Where did that passion begin?
• 11:20
  It really came from, I think, my, so really my time at Lyft, I think, was, uh, kind of a big eye-opener for me, and that's where I, I met you guys. I know I was still working at Lyft.
• 11:31
  We had the first Ahsoto Con in Philly, and- I know. I was like, "She's from Philly. We're in." [laughs] We're in. I remember thinking that right away.
• 11:39
  [laughs] So but that, that whole experience really kind of, um, made me take a second look and really get into, um, the partnership aspect.
• 11:48
  Like, really my role there was business development and partnership development, and I pri- well, actually, simultaneously while I was at Lyft, this also dovetails into a pretty funny story. I started a podcast.
• 12:00
  It was called the Sci-Gig Central Podcast. It had nothing to do with automotive.
• 12:04
  It was purely like, "Let's talk about your startup, and let's talk about, like, guerrilla marketing tactics that you can use on a shoestring budget," because I'm all about bootstrapping.
• 12:14
  So I did this show, and in the course of launching the show, I wrote this garbage press release. It was absolute garbage. [laughs] And so [laughs] I thought, um, you know, I, at the time, it was 2019.
• 12:28
  Taylor Swift just released an albumAnd I put in there like, you know, "Side gigs are the new economy," and, and I was, you know, I was the auth- the authority from Lyft, and I was keyword stuffing.
• 12:40
  I was like, "Delivery, ride share," uh, you know [laughs] s- sustainability. [laughs] And like all of the... [laughs] And then- I love your transparency with this. I really do.
• 12:49
  So I, [laughs] so I, I submitted the press release. I then was asked by Cheddar Business to do an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to talk about the side gig economy. [laughs] Okay?
• 13:01
  [laughs] You're like, "Oh, crap." [laughs] I will send you the- Yeah. [laughs] I will send you the link to this. And so I did two episodes, guys. Like, I didn't even...
• 13:11
  And when people say like, "Oh, I'm afraid to get started," I did this press release with, I had one episode done. Oh, wow. Like, it was, that was it.
• 13:20
  [laughs] Like, it didn't t- it was all just smoke and mirrors and hype. Listen, we're gonna pretend that we've never done this. [laughs] So it was a, it was the wildest thing.
• 13:30
  But then, okay, so to kind of move on- What happened to that podcast? So it's currently in the podcast graveyard, but I'm thinking about resurrecting it, um, you know, in, in a different way, but maybe rebooting it.
• 13:45
  Um, but I've been just so bus- 'cause EVs For Everyone, just, like, the momentum of this show is way beyond what I was doing before.
• 13:55
  So anyway, the reason why, to answer your original q- [laughs] question, Kyle, the reason why I'm like now all in doing this show is number one, I love it. This is truly my passion.
• 14:06
  I love the, not only the, the people aspect of it, but it's also too being able to put on a show.
• 14:15
  Like, I know this is gonna sound really cor- [laughs] this is gonna sound really corny, but, like, when you have a podcast, it is truly a show.
• 14:22
  And yes, you are entertaining, but then you're also, yes, you're bringing forward information, but people wanna be excited about consuming your content.
• 14:32
  And again, like I keep going back to, you guys do this really, really well and understand this.
• 14:36
  There's only a couple of people, I think, in automotive that truly understand what that's about, and so that gets me really excited.
• 14:44
  Meeting new people, the potential of doing a Guy Fieri b- podcast for EVs with chargers at different, you know, [laughs] different, uh- That'd be great... Buc-ee's- EVee's... or like whatever.
• 14:54
  Um, so I, I think from the experience that I did at, at Lyft was really one of those things where it was, all right, well, I can stay, I can stay comfortable in corporate, or I could really follow and carve this own path that I got going on right now.
• 15:12
  Well, we're super glad that you entered this space because- Man... it is, it is good to have other people that kind of have the same DNA. The people who are ready to do it, the people who are actually Eagles fans.
• 15:24
  I had to throw that in there. [laughs] Golly. Ah, dude, that's all we c- that's all we have now. You just can't let off good people. It's n- What is it with you people? Y- well, that's exactly it.
• 15:31
  You can't do anything about it. [laughs] That's the problem. You can't do... Y- it's a life sentence. It's a life sentence. It is. Are you Eagles fans because Taylor Swift isn't dating anybody on that team yet?
• 15:41
  Actually, Taylor Swift is an Eagles fan. That's the funny part. Like, people are starting to say, like, since she and Travis Kelce started dating, right- Right... like, th- the Chiefs have done terrible.
• 15:50
  And people are like, "Oh, it was her intention all along to scuttle the team." [laughs] Yeah, you're like, yeah, that's her intention. She could buy the team, and really, if she wanted to- Scuttle that sucker...
• 16:00
  relocate them to London, Canada. Yeah. Like, that's her move. Is there, is there a London, Canada? Just damage. Elena, I have a serious question, though. Um- Go for it, Paul. What, we- [laughs]
• 16:10
  um, why is Nick Sirianni- The Eagles are built-... keep running quarterback sneak... I'm just kidding. That wasn't a serious question. I don't know. I don't know. It's just like, like we went from sport. Yeah.
• 16:18
  See, I hit that one. When did you, I might have zoned out, though, a little bit earlier. The, the show that you did from the New York Stock Exchange, when did you say you're reviving that on the ASOTU network?
• 16:28
  Oh my gosh. When, uh, just, just- [laughs]... give me a call. We can like se- j- text me. We'll, we'll figure out a time. The weekend? Yeah. Let's chat. Let's have a conversation about it.
• 16:38
  Like, look, nothing is off the table right now. Like, I said it honestly. We're kind of the same way. Nothing, nothing- So I have a question- Yes... about dealer sentiment and EVs. Yeah.
• 16:47
  So you're, you kind of get the, the advantage of, of having a hand in all the different segments, like EV drivers, industry partners, the charging, the dealership world, obviously, with the events that we go to. Um,
• 17:01
  I've heard a lot of sentiments from dealers. Some seem to be very anti-EV because of things manufacturers are help, he- you know, forcing them to do. Um, other dealers are very pro-EV, and they're doing- Hmm...
• 17:12
  everything they can to adopt it. And then there's like this middle group who are like, "Hey, I'm all for it. We just have to have the right things in place to adopt it."
• 17:20
  W- what pushback primarily do you get when you talk to dealers about EVs? Like, what's the top thing that dealers are like, "This is why I don't think it's a good idea"?
• 17:31
  Yeah, no, and, and like you said, it is very much, uh, a divided topic. And, you know, we've got, credit is tightening. You know, trade-ins are, you know, upside down and, like, record highs.
• 17:45
  You know, EV inventory is creeping up there, right? And so I, that's- Oh, boy... a lot of pushback, right?
• 17:56
  And that just, that garners a lot of, um, uh, just a feeling of th- these are uncharted waters, not really 100% sure.
• 18:07
  Um, but at the end of the day, I think, and, and Paul, I'm gonna actually go back to something that you said at the year-end, uh, extravaganza, your, your final thought.
• 18:18
  Do you remember what you said at the end about how this is g- this is gonna be the year where substance is gonna take... This is the year where folks are gonna be like, "Do you have the substance?
• 18:30
  Do you have the creativity? Do you have the wherewithal to maybe explore something a little bit different- Yeah. But it's-... and get creative?"
• 18:36
  And I couldn't agree- But, but also I think it's also having the depthTo, to back it up, right? Not just to, like, say, "I'm gonna wait out there," but it's actually what's it, what's it tethered to? Yeah. Right. Yeah.
• 18:47
  No, absolutely. And so, um, you know, I know you, you guys, uh, you know, have, have your, your finger on the pulse of dealers, and I, I know that you probably know...
• 18:57
  You- I feel like you would know one or two dealers that, uh, [laughs] that are either in the pro or, uh- Yeah, absolutely... talking. I feel like you guys would know a couple of people. Um, but- All the way.
• 19:08
  I will say this about, about that comment. Um, we do have lots of dealership relationships between the three of us, right? It's easily in the hundreds of personal relationships.
• 19:18
  And I will say that the dealers who seem to be the most progressive and successful, not just the ones dreaming it up, but the ones actually backing it up with sound execution across the board, not in EVs or ICE, but fixed ops, you know, sales, service, all the things, seem to be leaning in on EVs.
• 19:37
  And if it's not sales, it's definitely preparation and education. Um, and Kyle's nodding. Cirillo's just standing there. He's just got us on a camera loop. He's not actually on the call anymore.
• 19:48
  [laughs] No, he's- Yeah, and I- No, he's here. He's here. I- w- well, I- [laughs] Just wanna jump in real quick and, and, um, comment on that.
• 19:55
  So, um, I had, uh, Matt Jones from TrueCar, uh, was one of the interviews I did, also at Used Car Week, and I love what he said, and I have to give him credit for this quote. I cannot take credit for it.
• 20:06
  He said, "I know we always gotta talk about more EV education, more education, more education." He's like, "No, these consumers are very educated.
• 20:15
  You know, they're gonna know, like, down to the, to the kilowatt hour" [laughs] "they're charging." He's like, "They need an EV action plan." And I was like, "Psh, like, what did you just say?"
• 20:28
  [laughs] Like, that was such a, like, a brilliant thing to say because I think he's, he's right. Um, you know, we...
• 20:35
  The, back to your point, Paul, about, uh, that, you know, having people, um, having people at the dealership feel like this is something that they can say, like, "Yeah, I feel comfortable selling this."
• 20:51
  Now, there's the other issue of, like, let's align on, like, how much am I getting paid to actually sell this EV? And again, I was listening very closely again at the, the year-end extravaganza.
• 21:01
  I was like, "What are they gonna sell, uh, say about EVs?" And then some people were like, "Don't force EVs on other people." I was like, "Oh, message received," right? So, [laughs] Mm-hmm.
• 21:11
  So it's, it's interesting to, to, to hear- Yeah, I think, I think it's, like, the, the general, the general sentiment that I'm getting is, is I haven't heard...
• 21:23
  There are, there are a small pocket of dealers that are like, "Forget EVs. We're never doing that," right?
• 21:29
  But by and large, and as evidenced, um, by, uh, a new friend of ours that got 4,000 signatures, that the whole letter to the administration was not, "Don't bring EVs." Mm-hmm. It was, "Let's do it better." Right? Mm.
• 21:46
  That, that there, that we see this as the, as a future, we see this as something that's coming, but let's make sure that we're doing it better.
• 21:53
  Do it better for the consumer, better for the OEM, better for the dealer, better for, uh, you know, like, the infrastructure.
• 22:00
  And I think that that's the, that's the probably the point that, that is probably, is hopefully gonna be driven home through the dealer network to consumers is, "Hey, here's the better option. Here's the better way.
• 22:12
  Here's the action plan. Here's how you can go from your gas-powered vehicle to a hybrid, to an, uh, to a plug-in, uh, you know, a plug-in hybrid, to an EV, and feel comfortable about the transition.
• 22:24
  And if you're in an apartment complex and you want an EV, what does it look like for you to charge that vehicle in different locations?
• 22:32
  Like, here are ways that we can educate you on your ownership and not just your, your purchase." Mm-hmm. Which, uh, which, which will drive retention in the end. Actually, it's a massive opportunity. This is... Mm.
• 22:44
  See, now- I'm genuinely, I'm genuinely- And I'll preach in here. Yeah, you are. Yeah. Yeah. We're picking it up. I'm preaching, I apologize. But- We're, we're picking up what you're putting down.
• 22:51
  But the whole thing is, like, there's a, now we have an opportunity at retention that we haven't had for a long time because we now will be- Mm. If we become the source,
• 23:01
  then retention is a, is potentially a lot easier because of the changeover in the type of vehicle, right? Do you think... Ge- genuinely, this is a genuine question. Do you think we
• 23:15
  hurt the whole EV narrative by coming out of the gates so strong on the environmental play? Mm. Oof. Right? 'Cause that's where we started. It was like, "We gotta save the environment."
• 23:29
  And then now you have dissenters who are like, "But have you seen how much cobalt and the mining process and the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah?"
• 23:39
  Like, do you think we should've just came out of the gate saying, "Here's a different way to drive a vehicle"? Hm. Has it been- It wouldn't have gotten off...
• 23:47
  I think it wouldn't have gotten off the ground because that's how government money got involved. Mm.
• 23:52
  Oh, see, now- No, no, you're not, you're not getting, you're not getting federal funding just to see if we can have a better way to drive a car.
• 23:59
  No, I'm genuinely cur- curious because you're right, that kind of caused a narrative. And- So I'll tell you what. I am 200 pages into the Elon Musk book. Yeah.
• 24:10
  And it has totally changed my perspective fully on the synthesis of EVs, how they came to be- Right... why they came to be. And I, I don't think that why we started is why we're going to finish.
• 24:24
  I think that EVs overall may have started in the funding and, and, like, the, the higher, the higher level purpose of let's get off a reli- Well, some people it was different.
• 24:33
  Some people said let's do it because it's bad for the environment, and there were a lot of people that said it's bad to be that dependent on an energy source that isn't produced... here in the US.
• 24:45
  I think that was also a big driver. It was energy- Mm... security and people saying, "That's a source of a lot of overseas conflict, is fighting over the oil." And I think, like, all of that got mashed up.
• 24:54
  I think at this point, where we are right now, EVs are going to slowly become more adopted, and it's not an either/or. I think it's gonna be a both end world.
• 25:03
  But at the same time, I think the reason they're gonna continue to be adopted is because they actually are really great to drive, and they actually are real convenient. And Steve- That's right...
• 25:12
  Fields said it in his thing this morning. He's like, "The shift is going on from people looking at a car from something you buy and put gas in to something you plug in, like your phone and a device."
• 25:22
  And, like, to me, it practically makes sense as soon as some of the, the infrastructure catches up. So I don't think the reason we started is the reason we're gonna finish.
• 25:30
  No, that, and that's so well put, and I think also, too, like, people wanna be able to afford a vehicle. [laughs] Like, like- Yeah, right, like that's always the driving factor.
• 25:38
  Like, we, yeah, like we- It's not a fourth or fifth car. Right. Yeah, exactly.
• 25:41
  And then so I, I think also, too, what's, kind of, cool about talking to all of these different areas of the EV ecosystem is that it is, it's, it's like an octopus.
• 25:55
  There's so many tentacles and so many different stakeholders. It's, um, it's almost like you have to, like, herd... I know we say herd the cats a lot in [laughs] like- Oh... auto retail.
• 26:10
  It's, it's herd the cats times a thousand with, with EV, right?
• 26:15
  Because never before have you had, um, you know, such, like restriction, regulation, um, mandates, all of the things that, you know, as dealers, as entrepreneurs are like, "Ah, what, what is, what is this?"
• 26:29
  [laughs] Right? This is not- Mm-hmm... you know, uh, business as usual. This i- this is something, this is a different animal, this is a different beast. But at the same time, is it really? Okay? So- No, no... right?
• 26:42
  You know, so, uh, it, it gets, it, it gets a little bit cra- but at the same time, this is the reason why I wanted to do this show, because- Right... love getting everyone's- [laughs]... opinion.
• 26:54
  [laughs] And when there are a lot- There is. There is... of opinions, there's a lot of listeners, we have to ask the question that everyone really wants to know. Do you drive an EV? I do. Yes, I do. What is it?
• 27:04
  And actually, I don't, I don't drive a Tesla. I drive a, a Chevy Bolt, uh, EUV. And- Oh, wow... yeah, I- There's other electric vehicles? [laughs] Yeah, there's actually other ones- Stop it... other than a Tesla.
• 27:18
  [laughs] But yes- That's awesome... the answer is yes. I was like, "Look, I gotta walk the walk," right? I mean, that, that would not make sense whatsoever, but, hey, it's a great car.
• 27:28
  I, you know, like so many of us here, work from home, so it, it suits me for what I need it to do, and I don't know. I like it. Shout out to Mary Barra. Cool. Yeah. [laughs] I like it a lot. There you go.
• 27:41
  [laughs] Do you use... The real question is, do you use CarPlay? Um, ooh. Oh. That's a good question. Actually, I don't even really, I don't even really plug in my phone. Like, I'm kind of an o- like- There you go.
• 27:51
  So she doesn't-... old school either... care that the new ones are gonna have CarPlay. I don't even care. No, I actually, I actually- She gets into the car, slaps open the eject on her Sony Walkman cassette- Yes.
• 28:01
  [laughs] I know... IBM. Oh my gosh. Michael is roasting me so much. Opens up- I thought we-... the 15 CD folder. I- He's roasting you about Teslas- Yeah... now Sony Walkman. Hey, hey, but you know- He likes you.
• 28:14
  That means he likes you... you know Italians can only roast people they love. He said, "'Cause she's Italian." No, I, I thought we had a nice thing going with our conversation about Italy.
• 28:21
  Now you're roasting me- You and my-... about my Sony Walkman... Italian friend, Tom. Hey, well, to be fair, my own father, the earliest compliment I can remember from my own father was, "Hey." "What? What?"
• 28:34
  "You look funny when you sleep." [laughs] [laughs] And that's when I knew he loved me. [laughs] That's just very- 'Cause he was watching you sleep. That's just abs- There you go... pure love.
• 28:46
  "I've never told you you look like a turtle." Yeah. What a mess. It's a true story, I bet, too.
• 28:50
  Well, Elena, we have had, I, like, I think we all could have a hour-long podcast at this point, but we've run out of time on Auto Collabs this time. People are gonna have to head over to EVs For Everyone.
• 29:01
  It's evsthe, number four, everyone.com. You can find that. They'd l- you sh- you should go listen to that. If you're not already subscribed, mash that button, like it all over, uh, for her.
• 29:12
  Um, and thank you so much for joining us on Auto Collabs. It's been a pleasure. Oh, thank you Kyle, Paul, Michael. This has been amazing, and we absolutely need to do a follow-up at NADA.
• 29:22
  I know you're going crazy at NADA, but we need to- Me either. Can we just go and get breakfast and that be the episode? Definitely. Yes. It'd be fun. In a, in a- All right. Let's do it. Let's do it.
• 29:33
  [laughs] I think that would be, that would be just phenomenally spectacular. [upbeat music] Okay, well, I've been dying to know this since the, uh, intro.
• 29:43
  Ho- how many, how many, uh, jokes you can toss at someone, or how much shade you can throw? Is that- No. What? I, I think if we had a shade counter- [laughs]... like, it'd be like, "Ding." I just... No. "Ding."
• 29:54
  I thought- "Ding"... what an endearing individual. But what I was really thinking about was you'd mentioned all of the things you use in daily life in your stocking, uh, before this conversation. Mm-hmm.
• 30:06
  Uh, you brought up the, the beautiful segue into our conversation with Elena. Uh, did your wife passively aggressively put any everyday items that she believes you should use in the stocking?
• 30:18
  [laughs] That's a great question, and no. I hope. [laughs] She didn't. And she also, like, it's almost like, to her chagrin, she puts in items that would require me to do something else. Because- [laughs]...
• 30:31
  she knows that my propensity is to just go get into something. And so- [laughs]... she just, she loves me. What can I say? She knows me, and she loves me. So there was Gorilla Tape in my stocking.
• 30:41
  You know what really, I really enjoy just, a- aside from Elena's, um-... infectious kind of happiness, which I love.
• 30:51
  The day and age we live in where there, where, who, who's the futurist that said we are experiencing basically 100 years of advancement in technology every five years?
• 31:02
  I can't remember his name, but he was like some futurist that, like, Warren Buffett relies on. Yes. And, and here we are today speaking to an individual who has enough subject matter to talk about EV.
• 31:13
  Like, we are in the Jetsons time period, guys. Mm-hmm. That she, that there is enough to talk about EVs going on. Like, it is- Yeah... crazy to me. It's exciting to me. It's like mazel tov to, to her podcast.
• 31:28
  But imagine the insight she's getting, like the undercurrent of insights that she's getting, similar to your book about Elon Musk. For real. For real. For real. I mean, yeah. Think about that.
• 31:40
  Like, we existed before the phones did, the three of us mostly. And- The cell phones... the cell, that's what I meant. Yeah, not Alexander Graham Bell. I told my kids about pagers the other day. They were like, "What?"
• 31:51
  I love talk- That'll blow your mind. I love talking about pagers. I have all kinds of pager stories. Um- We have vehicles that are powered by batteries. Yep. The end. And they're so fun to drive. The end.
• 32:04
  They are fun to drive. I'll give you that all day, every day. [laughs] So fun to drive. All day, every day. Well, hey, you gotta check out, uh, Lynna's podcast.
• 32:13
  Uh, we'll probably have her on again, 'cause it was too much fun for all of us. Yeah, we will. And, uh, on behalf of myself, Mike Cirillo, and Paul Jay Daly, thanks for joining us on Auto Collapse today.
• 32:22
  Sign up for our free and fun-to-read daily email for a free shot of relevant news in automotive, retail, media, and pop culture. You can get it now at asotu.com. That's A-S-O-T-U.com.
• 32:35
  If you love this podcast, please leave us a review and share it with a friend. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
• 32:41
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collapse. Welcome to Auto Collapse. [laughs] Why are we recording?
• 32:58
  [laughs] Are we rolling yet? Not yet.