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A recent job opportunity on LinkedIn posted by Lucid Motors less than 24 hour hours ago, hints at an incoming of new media app infotainment for its EV drivers. According to Lucid’s new role of senior product manager, media partner management, one of the key responsibilities includes work with Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other “media app partners.”

Lucid Motors ($LCID) remains a relatively young EV startup with one flagship model on the market and another in the pipeline, we are sure to learn more about before year’s end. While the overall response to the Lucid Air sedan has been primarily positive, its top-tier pricing as an ultimate luxury and performance vehicle has isolated its customer base.

Air sales continue to trickle in, but the American automaker is sitting on a ton of inventory. According to Lucid’s recent Q3 report, it produced 1,550 cars – a near 29% drop compared to a quarter prior, setting the stage to fall well short of its target to produce 10,000 EVs this year.

To drum up some hype, Lucid introduced a new referral program benefiting new and current owners. Meanwhile, while infotainment might not be the deciding factor in a consumer’s choice to go through with an Air purchase, convenience and familiarity certainly don’t hurt.

That’s why it makes a lot of sense and Lucid is apparently looking to add access to both Apple and Amazon Music in its EVs. Furthermore, a recent job posting begs the question, “what other media apps could se soon seen added to Lucid’s infotainment screen?”

Lucid Apple
Credit: Lucid Motors/LinkedIn

According to the following job posted 17 hours ago by Lucid Motors, its new senior manager of media partner management will get working on implementing Apple and Amazon Music to its EVs right away. Here are the duties of the new role, according to the job post:

  • Fulfill responsibilities of Product Owner for Apple, Amazon Music and other Media app partners
  • Work with internal stakeholders to define requirements and deliver solutions that bring value to our ecosystem of third-party systems
  • Be an expert for our internal business partners’ needs, motivations, and challenges
  • Perform qualitative and quantitative research to discover feature ideas and validate them before development
  • Work closely with Program Management, Engineering and Partner Development team to develop the roadmap and own specifications, development cycle, and monitoring for success
  • Plan and prioritize work across multiple projects, and communicate priority to relevant stakeholders
  • Plan and prioritize product feature backlog and development for internal systems team(s)
  • Be responsible for identifying and hitting the key performance indicators
  • Use data and statistics to inform decisions
  • Leverage metrics to improve system usability

Given this information, it appears the addition of Apple Music is imminent. The automaker finally introduced Apple CarPlay to Air owners via an OTA update this past March, so further integration of Apple technology makes sense. What may be even more interesting however, is the latter part of the first line of responsibilities – “other media app partners.”

With Spotify, Tidal, and IHeartRadio already available, plus Apple and Amazon Music assumedly on the way, Lucid appears to have the major music apps covered. So what other media apps will we see next? AppleTV+? Amazon Prime Video? Netflix? What about YouTube? Lots of options.

However, if you’ve been inside an Air EV before, you’ve probably noticed the center display is vertical, not ideal for video streaming. Surely that is something the automaker has already considered when discussing video streaming and will perhaps provide a solution in its Gravity SUV.

This is all hearsay at this point, but it does seem like Lucid Motors is making moves (or at least hiring the best staff to make those moves) in the realm of media apps.

Perhaps we hear more during its upcoming Q3 report. Stay tuned.

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Block leads rebound in fintech stocks as analysts downplay JPMorgan data fee risk

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Block leads rebound in fintech stocks as analysts downplay JPMorgan data fee risk

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.

Handout | Via Reuters

Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.

The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.

In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”

In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.

Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.

JPMorgan announces plans to charge for access to customer bank data

Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.

Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.

PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.

While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.

WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street

Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street

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EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes

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EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes

The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.

China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting

More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.

While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.

In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.

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Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.

North America is stuck in the slow lane

Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.

Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.

And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.

Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.

Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”

Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024

  • Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
  • China: 5.5 million (+32%)
  • Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
  • North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
  • Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)

Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025


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The Lucid Air is crushing the competition as the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US

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The Lucid Air is crushing the competition as the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US

Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.

The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan

The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.

It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.

That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.

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According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.

Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.

Lucid-Air-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan
Lucid Air (Source: Lucid)

Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.

Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.

Lucid-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan
Lucid Air Pure interior (Source: Lucid)

Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.

And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.

Lucid-Air-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan
Lucid Air (left) and Gravity (right) Source: Lucid

Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.

Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.

The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.

Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.

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