From Wall Street to Detroit to Silicon Valley, all eyes will be on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California, on October 10, when Tesla is slated to reveal its highly anticipated robotaxi.

The event could mark a major step forward for CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to turn the electric-vehicle maker into an AI and robotics company worthy of a $1 trillion-plus valuation. But given the challenges of deploying autonomous vehicles at scale—as well as Tesla’s own spotty track record on safety and deadlines—it’s also sure to generate a lot of questions.

“It’s a big deal,” Ram Machness, chief business officer at radar technology company Arbe, told Tech Brew. “Everybody is looking at it.”

It comes as Tesla faces myriad challenges including growing competition, recent financial results that underwhelmed Wall Street, and scrutiny into its self-driving vehicle tech. It also comes just before the company reports Q3 earnings on October 23.

The reveal is expected to have a significant impact on Tesla’s stock.

In a July research note following the news that Tesla was delaying the event from August to October, Wedbush Securities analysts wrote that they “believe a linchpin to Tesla reaching $1 trillion-plus valuation and ultimately higher over the next year is contingent on the AI/[Full Self-Driving] story materializing into a monetization path over the coming years.”

On the company’s Q2 earnings call, Musk reiterated his view that “the biggest differentiator for Tesla is autonomy.”

With all of that in mind, here are a few themes to watch for come October 10.

Keep reading here.—JG

Between extreme weather, ups and downs in renewable energy production, and stresses brought on by new technologies, the electric grid of the future could be a bit more of a daily roller-coaster ride.

Battery storage will likely be key to weathering these ebbs and flows, but the hefty price tag on most home units puts them out of reach for the average consumer. Or at least that’s the premise of a well-funded new startup called Base Power that’s offering home batteries in Texas for significantly cheaper than many other options on the market.

“The way we think about it is existing home batteries on the market are like Lamborghini batteries, and we’re building Corolla batteries, which is kind of a joke, but kind of serious. And you wouldn’t build a taxi fleet out of Lamborghinis, right?” Base co-founder and CEO Zach Dell told Tech Brew.

Base offers to install a 20-kWh battery for just $3,000 in up-front costs—a similarly sized unit could cost up to $18,000 from other companies without installation. The catch is that Base then becomes the customer’s energy provider and takes a cut of future savings, though it promises to always charge less than a market-average power bill.

The company also plans to offset costs by turning its network of customers into a distributed battery farm of sorts that will offer grid services to power companies.

There are many reasons why Texas is a ready-made laboratory for this kind of power-business experimentation.

Keep reading here.—PK

Q3 appeared to be a lackluster one for new-vehicle sales in the US—but electrified vehicles were a silver lining.

Several automakers reported YoY sales declines as consumers dealt with high prices and steep interest rates. The EV market has faced its fair share of challenges this year, too, with much of the industry pulling back on investments amid growing competition and slowing demand.

Still, Q3 appeared to be another record quarter for EVs. Indeed, sales of battery-electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid were up by double digits for many automakers even as others reported overall declines.

“The story is steady demand, a slower pace, yet record sales,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive’s director of industry insights, said of Q3 EV sales during a recent presentation.

Cox forecast a 2.1% YoY sales drop, but an 8% YoY increase for EVs.

“As competition continues to heat up for the remainder of the year,” Valdez Streaty said, “brands with the right product, right price, and great consumer experience will gain share.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Tapping tips: We’ve all been typing out messages with our digits for pert near two decades at this point, but what if it could be easier and less error-riddled? The New York Times has some helpful pointers about how to make your thumbs better communicators.

Turns out these bots aren’t super discreet: AI is getting tossed into workplace tools whether we want it or not. Whether you see it as a useful helper or a nuisance to swat away, it’s worth being aware that it could be hanging onto your every word—and perhaps reporting those words to clients and colleagues. The Washington Post detailed a few of these oh no moments.