AUTO

Musk Charges the Batteryfield

“It’s a little bit hard to read the room with everyone in cars.”

That’s a quote from the one and only Tesla CEO Elon Reeve Musk at the company’s shareholder meeting and “Battery Day” event yesterday. Musk did his thing (touting Tesla’s manufacturing capabilities and talking cathodes) onstage for a crowd...of parked Teslas. With shareholders inside them to practice safe social distancing.

Setting the scene

The EV battery sector is heating up like your MacBook when you have too many tabs open, and Musk teased an exciting battery announcement in the days leading up to the event. Automakers like GM are pouring resources into developing their own, while companies like China’s BYD are jockeying to offer the cheapest, most powerful option. 

The company update: To paraphrase...we’re in beast mode. Musk said 2020 deliveries will rise between 30% and 40% over last year. That works out to between 477,750 and 514,500 cars.

• Tesla is also working on updates to its driver-supporting software Autopilot; it will release a beta of the "full self-driving version" in the coming months. 

The battery update: Musk announced next-generation batteries, the 4680, that will have 6x more power, provide 5x more energy, and increase driving range by 16%...at half the cost. 

• Why is that a tease-worthy announcement? Reducing battery price is key to making EVs cost-competitive with gasoline-powered cars. Tesla's helped bring battery costs down from over $600/kWh to about $150/kWh...but it needs to land at around $100/kWh to achieve what you could call "petroleum parity," writes the WSJ.
• Musk said the goal was to make a $25,000 EV...that’s also “fully autonomous” in three years. 

Looking ahead...“To be clear, it will take us about a year to 18 months to start to realize these advantages,” Musk said. 

QUOTES

On the Record

Tuesday’s top quotes:

“I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee”—Sen. Mitt Romney cleared the way for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick to move forward with the confirmation process.  

“There are some break-glass options available”—Facebook’s Head of Global Affairs Nick Clegg told the FT the company would take extraordinary measures to stop the flow of content if uncertainty around the election led to unrest or even violence.

“We've reached a perilous turning point"—British Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced new coronavirus restrictions to prevent a second wave from turning into a tsunami. Pubs, bars, and restaurants will have to close at 10pm and employees are encouraged to work from home for the next six months.

“The whole thing is a crock”—Barry Diller, media mogul and chairman of Expedia and IAC, is not a fan of how the TikTok sale was handled. “Its original aims are out the window. It has just [become] a whole political mismash,” he told CNBC.

“It’s time”—Disney’s parks chief pleaded with California officials to allow Disneyland to open in Anaheim.

ENVIRONMENT

Let the Climate Countdown Begin

On Saturday afternoon, a giant clock began counting down in NYC’s Union Square, but it wasn’t Mayor de Blasio jumping the gun on New Year’s. The Climate Clock shows how long humans have, based on current emissions rates, before depleting Earth’s “carbon budget” and sending temperatures rising past the critical 1.5℃ threshold.

The activists who installed it aren’t the only ones worried about a ticking time bomb. At yesterday’s virtual UN General Assembly, China pledged to go carbon neutral by 2060. 

• President Xi Jinping wants emissions to peak before the decade’s up. However, as the world’s biggest polluter, China will have to drastically cut emissions to reach net-zero.

On the corporate side…big names including Walmart, Morgan Stanley, Google, and Amazon have made big sustainability promises ahead of Climate Week NYC this week. Compared to years past, these promises look less like marketing pamphlets and more like to-do lists, Axios’s Ben Geman writes. 

BP, for example, is pledging to significantly cut oil production in the next 10 years as part of its broader shift away from fossil fuels. And Walmart is planning to zero out operational emissions without buying carbon offsets.

SPONSORED BY HINT WATER

This Water Doesn’t Fall Far From the Fruit Tree

Some apples fall far from the tree, but Hint Water falls as close to the fruit tree as flavored water possibly could.

Hint’s top fruit-infused flavors are watermelon, blackberry, and pineapple. And while Hint might come in bottle-form, it tastes like you’re biting into a fresh piece of one of those tasty fruits (among many others).

And just to be clear as water, Hint achieves this mouth-watering, fruity taste without sugar, diet sweeteners, calories, or preservatives.

Hint gives you all the benefits of drinking water, tastes delicious, is a great alternative to sugary drinks, and new customers can get 36 bottles for $36—only $1 per bottle and free shipping. 

Get started now by choosing 3 cases of Hint's top flavors.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Airlines Ask for Covid Pop Quizzes

Fearing mandatory quarantine policies are keeping travelers from breaking out their neck pillows, the International Air Transport Association called for a universal antigen testing requirement for international passengers yesterday. 

Antigen tests are diagnostic tools that look for proteins made by Covid-19. Within 15 minutes and for as little as $10, they can detect if someone is infected. Don’t confuse them with antibody tests, which check whether your immune system has already beaten the virus. 

Antigen testing is less reliable than lab-based diagnostics, but airlines, cruise lines, and event operators are hoping the cheap, fast, and easily deployable tests can unlock the pandemic-stricken economy. 

• Case study: Over Labor Day weekend at the Utopia music festival in the Poconos, 200+ people were screened before entering. Six were turned away, but organizers say the event was otherwise successful at creating a “bubble.” 

Bottom line: As antigen tests become more widely available, they could make it easier for people to get tested more regularly (or even test themselves at home). Frequent and rapid results could help schools, sports stadiums, offices, and clubs welcome guests back safely.

GAMING

Choose Your Fighter: Sega vs. Nintendo

The Xbox vs. PlayStation rivalry will be in full force this fall. But long before siblings fought over Microsoft or Sony, the console wars were waged between Nintendo and Sega. 

Today, CBS All Access’s first feature-length documentary, Console Wars, spills all the ’90s corporate tea (Espionage! Intrigue!). Let's take a quick hop down memory lane.

Sega declares a war for thumbs

Nintendo was the gaming industry’s Regina George until Sega rolled into gamers’ hearts at the turn of the ‘90s with Sonic the Hedgehog, the Genesis console, and an ad campaign that boasted its 16-bit graphic supremacy: “Genesis Does What Nintendon't”.

When Nintendo and Sega both released Mortal Kombat in 1993, Nintendo swapped sweat for blood. Both versions of that game set off criticism that videogames inspire real-world violence and sent both companies to court. 

• The companies spent two years in front of congressional committees belittling each other’s tech, but it did result in the creation of a game-rating entity. 

Sega put up a good fight, but Nintendo landed the K.O. in 1996 with the N64 console. The same year, the CEO of Sega of America stepped down, and by 2002, the company gave up on consoles altogether to focus on making games.

For more, catch the documentary or read the acclaimed book by Blake Harris. 

Bonus trivia: Was Sonic or Mario the first videogame character to have a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Answer's at the bottom of the newsletter. 

FITNESS

Need to Squeeze Some Reps Between Pitch Meetings?

That’s upscale fitness club Equinox’s new fully outdoor gym in Century City, LA, which opened Monday. It sprawls across 27,000 square feet and features all the typical Equinox stuff: treadmills, weights, lockers, and the absolute most attractive person you’ve ever seen in your life doing squats. 

Zoom out: Covid-19 dropped a barbell on the IRL fitness industry, and the allure of Kiehl’s moisturizers might not be enough to keep Equinox afloat. The rooftop gym, called Equinox+ In The Wild, is an attempt to find a solution. 

The gym is only temporary, though, and only viable in places like LA, where seasons haven’t been invented yet. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Nike's earnings crushed estimates. Online sales grew 82% annually last quarter.
• Carvana, an online used car marketplace, projected a record-setting Q3 and shares gained over 30%. 
• Ralph Lauren is cutting 15% of its global workforce as it shifts more of its business to e-commerce.
• Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf angered some employees this summer when he said there was a “limited pool of Black talent” to recruit from, sources told Reuters. 
• Amazon is trying to undercut Peloton with the $500 “Prime Bike.”
• Microsoft launched a “virtual commute” feature through Teams.

SPONSORED BY ETTITUDE

Save the trees, catch some zzz’s. ettitude’s 100% organic bamboo sheets aren’t just as soft as silk, you can sleep soundly knowing they’re better for the planet (and you). Hypoallergenic and stylish, ettiude’s bamboo fabric keeps you naturally cool by wicking away moisture and regulating your body temp. Try ettitude's best-selling sheets today for 15% off.

BREW'S BETS

The art of the pivot: It’s National Small Business Week, and we’re celebrating small businesses that turned pandemic lemons into lemonade. Join Morning Brew's Samir Sheth and panelists Heather Atkinson from Salesforce, Brian Taylor from Harlem Doggie Day Spa, and Sam Eitzen, cofounder and CEO of Snapbar and Keep Your City Smiling, for a conversation on successfully pivoting your business during a pandemic. It’s on Thursday and it’s free. Register here.

A fresh perspective: YouTube talk show The Carlos Watson Show asks industry titans, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and more about the most important topics of 2020. This week, Watson’s chatting with Padma Lakshmi, Cory Booker, and Adam Grant. Tune in here.

Ignorance is bliss...but we can’t resist this one. Find out how much money you woulda, coulda, shoulda made had you invested in Apple, Google, etc. [insert number of years] ago.

Ice-smashers: This Google Doc is full of creative icebreakers, because “Which kitchen utensil are you?" peaked in 2013. We can’t wait to ask “If you had to take a bath in a food, which food would it be?” or “If you could safely eat any inedible object, what would it be?”

• Get more recommendations like these by signing up for our twice-weekly newsletter, The Essentials.

NAME THE PRODUCT

Which popular food product has the following ingredient list:

Whole Corn, Corn, Vegetable Oil, Corn Dextrin, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, Whey, Monosodium Glutamate, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese, Whey Protein Concentrate, Onion Powder, Corn Flour, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Dextrose, Tomato Powder, Lactose, Spices, Artificial Color, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Skim Milk, Red and Green Bell Pepper Powder, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate.

ANSWERS

Name the product: Doritos (Nacho Cheese flavor, specifically)

Thanksgiving Day Parade: Sonic the Hedgehog was the first videogame character to fly in the parade, but in an oddly prescient twist, the balloon went down and deflated amid high winds.