Anything that Moves

Mike Murphy shares insights from his work at EV Politics on how partisan political affiliations influence EV ownership and adoption dynamics. Mike also delves into the economic, infrastructural, and regulatory challenges facing EV adoption, as well as how seriously to take Chinese competition in the EV market. 

If this episode so moves you to buy EV Politics merchandise, Mike has kindly offered listeners a 10% discount at the EV Politics store. Just enter the code MANIV at checkout.

What can be learned from the operational experience of a combined 3.2 million vehicles under management? Join Oana Duma and Zingha Lucien as they dive into the world of commercial fleets, unpacking key insights from Arval and Element’s annual (in our opinion, blockbuster) Barometer Report. Discover why electrification of commercial vehicles seems to lag passenger vehicle electrification, what to make of telematics data, and possible contrasts emerging between North American and European markets. Brace yourself for bold perspectives on the future of fleets and some electrifying (forgive us) takes on the place of BEVs in today and tomorrow’s commercial fleets.

Venki Padmanabhan joins the podcast to discuss all things manufacturing, supply chain, and labor in the mobility world. So many promises have been in mobility innovation... Venki talks about what is involved in actually building the damn thing. He also suggests a new paradigm for labor relations in the automotive world, and answers whether a sub-$20,000 vehicle is even possible anymore.

Mike Granoff, former Board Director at Better Place... and Maniv's Founding Partner, looks back at the audacious startup that tried - and failed - to spur large-scale vehicle electrification 15 years back. Mike explains the logic behind the startup's battery swap model, and explores why the company declared bankruptcy six years and $850M in investment after its founding. Mike even tackles his decision to back Better Place in place of Tesla's Series B investment round.

For bonus Better Place reading, Mike's reflections on the ten year anniversary of the startup's founding can be found here.

Roy Fridman, CEO of ⁠C2A Security⁠, shares a (possibly) contrarian view of automotive cybersecurity: away from disaster prevention and towards product enablement. Roy shares why cybersecurity is not the "world's worst insurance policy" and what shifting in-car value from hardware specs to software capabilities means for players across the automotive value chain.

Steve LeVine, Editor of The Electric and author of The Powerhouse, joins Anything That Moves to talk about the battery supply chain, second life for lithium batteries, and where human psychology meets the charging challenge. Plus: a discussion of why this transition is so tricky for ICE automakers and why it is so hard to take new battery chemistries to market.

A note to our listeners: 

You'll forgive Steve and Meir for geeking out with some deep industry battery acronyms – they couldn't help themselves; for the rest of us, here's a glossary of terms.

Steve's book, The Powerhouse, is a great resource if you want to dig deeper. 

LFP (Lithium-iron-phosphate) – Lower energy density, cheaper than the main alternatives; in theory, longer range and safer (less likely to blow up).

NMC (Lithium nickel-manganese-cobalt) – Most common in today's vehicles. Higher energy density, longer life cycle, and more expensive than LFP. 

NCA (Nickel-cobalt-aluminum) – Most common in Tesla's higher-end models. More expensive than LFP, batteries are similar to NMC packs with better lifespan. 

Long-time Florida State Senator Jeffrey Brandes and current President of the Florida Policy Project joins the podcast. Jeff sheds light on the elegant simplicity at the center of today’s gas tax, why it is so essential to maintaining roads and other infrastructure, and how even a modest increase in EVs on the road is going to leave a dent. He makes the case that whatever follows the gas tax will have to contend with everything from fragmented tax collection and enforcement to data privacy concerns.

Diarmuid O'Connell, current board member of Volvo Cars and former VP of global business development at Tesla, shares a podcast’s worth of first-person Tesla lore. Hear his views on the company’s original raison d’etre, why it’s proven to be so uniquely polarizing, and why he doesn’t think its success is easily replicable today. Bonus: the scene – Christmas 2008: A startup in trouble, managers being forced to dip into their own pockets to make payroll…even if you know how this story ends, there’s nothing like hearing it from the source.

Nicole Nason, ex-US Federal Highway Administration, ex-NHTSA, and current VP of Federal Affairs at Boeing, joins the podcast. Tune in to hear how she got a ride in one of the first Tesla vehicles, why she challenges the notion that federal policy has lagged on mobility innovation, and get her hot take on electrifying the skies. Plus - a dire warning to mobility startups who sleep on hiring a government affairs team and the first and last Kardashian reference on Anything that Moves.

Is impact investor Assaf Harlap, owner and board member of importer and distributor Colmobil, worried about the new direct to consumer OEM business model? Tune in for his hot takes on the new Hyundai and on the staying power of dozens of new Chinese automakers in Western markets. Plus: why the automotive market in Israel is an interesting case study (but really!) and where a car dealer sees an existential threat to his business model (surprise: it's not ride-sharing.)