Why I hope Fidelity Investments is poised to clean Morgan Stanley’s clock.
Technology
GM’s $12.8M Love Tap for Spying on Californians
GM CEO Mary Barra has previously raved that California is home to the best technologists. Here’s another reason she’s come to appreciate The Golden State.
Bob Lutz’s Chevy Volt: The Hybrid Before Its Time
Bob Lutz, an auto executive who held senior positions at the Detroit 3 and BMW, saw hybrids as the future.
He championed a vehicle acclaimed for its technology and beloved by its customers. GM abandoned it.
Toyota shared Lutz’s vision—and is cleaning up.
China’s EVs Expose the Lost American Dream
After driving a Chinese EV for several weeks, Wall Street Journal technology columnist Joanna Stern wrote that she would prefer never to buy an American-made vehicle again.
If middle-class Americans fully understood why their counterparts in China can buy far more technologically advanced vehicles for considerably less, the reaction here would be anything but complacent.
Why Uber Turned Me into a Waymo Convert
Never in a million years did I expect I’d trust a robot over a human driver.
But after years of rising prices, declining service, and watching Uber enrich its CEO while degrading both drivers and riders, I found myself choosing Waymo — reluctantly at first, then repeatedly.
This isn’t a tech love letter. It’s a story about how Uber hollowed out ride sharing so thoroughly that automation began to feel like relief.
Wall Street Owns America’s EV Debacle
In 2021, Wall Street analysts spoke about EVs with near-messianic certainty. Four years later, the strategy is being unwound, billions have been written off, and the media has largely allowed those same voices to move on without explanation or accountability.
Alas, I’m not so charitable.
Trump Didn’t Break EVs. Barra and Farley Did
If you were launching a transformational technology, would you cut marketing by $1 billion?
GM did.
How ChatGPT Almost Moved Me to Substack
A cautionary tale about the perils of deferring to artificial intelligence instead of your own judgment.
Teenagers and China Humiliate U.S. Cybersecurity
From Vegas casinos to federal firewalls, America’s cybersecurity is a house of cards. Teenagers and China keep winning — and I seem alone in my outrage.
Jaguar’s Adrian Mardell’s Dumb “Smart” Factories
Apologies to GM’s Mary Barra and Ford’s Jim Farley, who I’ve long maligned as the auto industry’s worst CEOs. Turns out Jaguar Land Rover’s Adrian Mardell has them both beat.