Three years behind schedule, Tesla Semis will finally join their diesel-guzzling pals in boxing you in on the interstate. Last night, the automaker delivered its first electric semitrucks, which are expected to be more powerful and able to travel further than any EV currently whizzing down I-80.

The first company to get the trucks will be Pepsi, which was in the long haul for the long hauls. It ordered 100 trucks when they were first announced in 2017.

The industry is pumped for the Tesla Semi

Right now, electric trucks are limited by their range: Renault’s EV semi, for example, can only travel ~125 miles on a single charge. These electric trucks are used only for local and regional trips so they can charge at factories and distribution centers overnight.

But Elon Musk promised that his truck could drive 500 miles on a single charge, a feat that would change the game for adoption of heavy-duty EVs.

However, there are more speed bumps for EV semis than even an 18-wheeler can clear:

1. Batteries in these trucks are extremely difficult and expensive to produce—especially right now as lithium, the main component of an EV battery, and other crucial minerals are in short supply.
2. The amount of electricity required to power EV trucks is staggering. Seriously—the projected power needed to convert a single gas station into a charging station to support smaller EVs and semis by 2035 would be the amount a small town needs, according to a study from National Grid.

Unlike personal EVs, which have taken off in recent years, EV semitrucks are still on training wheels. If the Tesla Semi succeeds, it could be a big win for 1) the young commercial EV industry and 2) Tesla, which needs a boost after its stock plunged more than 50% this year and its CEO Musk got distracted fighting with Stephen King on Twitter.—MM

Student debt relief is headed to the Supreme Court. The highest court in the land will decide if the Biden administration can enact its plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt per federal borrower. The justices agreed to hear the case after the DOJ asked them to lift an injunction from an appeals court that stopped the program from taking effect. That hold will remain in place for now, but SCOTUS fast-tracked the student debt case and will hear arguments in February. Last week, Biden again extended the freeze on student loan repayments.

There’s a lot going on with the British royals. Let’s start with the racism scandal: The late queen’s former lady-in-waiting, Lady Hussey, stepped down from royal service and apologized after she was accused of repeatedly asking Ngozi Fulani, founder of the charity Sistah Space, where her “people” came from at a reception. Lady Hussey’s actions drew a rebuke from her godson, Prince William, who is in Boston with his wife, the Princess of Wales, for their first US visit in eight years. On top of all that, yesterday Netflix dropped the trailer for its documentary about Prince Harry and Meghan, which is sure to portray the monarchy in a negative light.

The College Football Playoff expands. The new playoff format, slated to begin in 2024, will include 12 teams, a big jump from the current four. That means more high-stakes college games throughout the winter and a championship game (on January 20, 2025) that’s more than a week later than the date of this year’s title game. It also, of course, means more money. The new format is projected to generate an additional $450 million in gross revenue for conferences and schools that make the top 12. But, hey, if your team doesn’t make it, there’s always the Cheez-It Bowl.

Lavish feasts underscored with simmering tension: It’s the recipe that’s led to The Crown receiving 63 Emmy nominations and also something that occasionally happens IRL, too. President Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House last night for the first state dinner held since 2019—a diplomatic honor reserved for the US’ closest allies.

If you’re a fan of luxurious meals, this one’s gonna hit hard for you. The night featured Maine lobster, trolley car shuttles, and live music by Jon Batiste. Both presidents exchanged vinyl records.

In hosting Macron for his administration’s first state dinner, Biden is doing the world-stage equivalent of sending an ice-breaking monkey meme in the fantasy football chat after an unsanctioned Josh Allen trade. The dinner is part of an effort by Biden to repair the relationship between the two countries after a controversial US submarine contract with Australia last year undermined a French deal and caused Macron to recall his ambassadors to both countries.

What else is throwing the vibe off? Well, France pretty much hates Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Macron criticized the legislation’s EV tax credits, which he and other EU leaders feel discriminate against European producers. For his part, Biden acknowledged “glitches” in the law and said there were potential tweaks to be made for European allies.—MK

If you’re fed up with flaky texters, you might want to hit up ChatGPT, a new chatbot from OpenAI. ChatGPT will never ghost you and is capable of responding with cogent wisdom to queries on a wide range of topics, from Modern Monetary Theory to relationship advice.

Many observers are marveling at ChatGPT’s prospects as a replacement for traditional search engines, and human jobs like tutoring and economics punditry. But while this chatbot can in some cases be more helpful in tackling a coding problem than your Intro to Python 101 classmates, it probably isn’t coming for your 9-to-5 any time soon. It even says so itself.

OpenAI warns that its chatbot can generate false information, often uses verbose language, and is mostly ignorant of current events after 2021 (perhaps it should subscribe to the Brew). Users are finding issues ranging from annoying to potentially dangerous: The chatbot is prone to nonsensical rambling, but it can also be easily tricked into sharing harmful information.

Zoom out: ChatGPT runs on a reinforcement learning algorithm, relying on human feedback to get better. The current iteration of the chatbot was released to the public to collect “external feedback,” OpenAI says. So go play with it.—SK

Stat: Your family may have aired a lot of grievances around the Thanksgiving table, but one thing they probably didn’t complain about was gas prices. The national average price for a gallon of regular ($3.47) is now lower than it was in February when Russia invaded Ukraine, which caused oil and gas prices to spike. While lower gas prices are a welcome holiday gift for drivers, they’re also a pessimistic sign for the economy: Demand for fuel is dropping as the world hunkers down for a potential recession.

Quote: “Having watched two interviews, the word ‘delusional’ kept coming to mind.”

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s been on a whirlwind apology tour in the media, is failing to convince industry leaders that he didn’t commit massive crimes. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz told Bloomberg, “The reality is that Sam and his cohorts perpetuated a fraud,” and in an interview with TMZ, Mark Cuban said SBF should be “afraid of going to jail for a long time.”

Read: Two conspiracy theories about cola. (Dynomight)

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to dropping your phone on concrete, gingerly picking it up while fearing the worst, and finding out that the screen didn’t crack.

It’s that satisfying. Ace the quiz.

Friday jam: “Seven Nation Army” but on seven devices.

Life, in pictures: 10 powerful visuals about psychology and life.

Become more data-driven: You’ll learn all the basics of business analytics, evaluating company financials, and financial modeling in the Brew’s Business Analytics Accelerator. Check out the program guide for a course breakdown.

Prioritize your mental health: Taking care of yourself matters, and BetterHelp can connect you to a therapist who fits your needs within 48 hours—without having to leave home. Get 25% off your first month.*

Our gift picks: The Brew editors scoured the web to find the perfect gifts for the WFH devotee, the gadget obsessed, the peeps who practically live at the airport, and everyone in between. Check it out.

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Picdoku: Scheduling update…Picdoku is now moving to Fridays! Today’s puzzle is dedicated to all the philatelists who read the Brew. Don’t know what that means? Click here to find out.

Friday puzzle

The words “won” and “sun” rhyme despite having different vowels. Can you name four common, uncapitalized, four-letter words that a) rhyme with each other b) have only one vowel each but c) all have different vowels?

Marketing Brew explores how Abercrombie & Fitch changed its brand image and used influencers to win over a new customer base.

On Business Casual, Nora talks to the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, Jen Glantz, and Zola’s co-founder and CEO, Shan-Lyn Ma, about disrupting the wedding industry.

Are you overwhelmed by data? Don’t hit that panic button just yet. With the Brew’s Data Storytelling sprint, you’ll learn how to create dashboards to keep you on track. Sign up here.

Is your finance team recession-ready? Identify your business’s competitive edge and prepare for an economic downturn with this guide from CFO Brew.