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Stand With Crypto’s bus tour through five battleground states kicked off last week in Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance

A big purple bus adorned with “AMERICA ❤️ CRYPTO” started making its way across five swing states last week, on a mission to get out the vote ahead of the presidential election.

The campaign, initially launched by Coinbase, has a shorter-term objective: Getting a crypto question asked at Tuesday night’s presidential debate.

The Stand With Crypto Alliance, created last year, initiated a letter writing petition five days ago to pressure ABC News to raise a crypto question in the first — and perhaps only — presidential debate between Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The group, which is hosting 2,500 debate watch parties across the country, has gotten over 2,000 people to sign a pre-drafted letter on its website.

“I am one of the 52 million Americans who own cryptocurrency,” the letter says. “On behalf of myself and all American crypto owners, I urge you to ask the candidates their position on cryptocurrency and its place in the American economy.”

In recent months, Trump has branded himself as the pro-crypto candidate. Harris hasn’t yet made her official stance known on digital assets, but the Biden administration’s aggressive crackdown on the industry has created an opening for the former president.

Trump has pledged to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who’s taken on companies including Coinbase. In addition to the presidential race, the group is backing crypto-friendly politicians in Congress as it pursues more favorable laws. In May, the House passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, with the help of more than 70 Democrats.

Stand With Crypto’s bus tour through five battleground states is all about getting people registered to vote.

Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance

“Bipartisan crypto legislation has already passed the House of Representatives, and more and more elected officials are coming out in support of crypto,” the letter says.

ABC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

On its website, the alliance gives Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, “A” grades for their support of crypto. For Harris and running mate Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, the group gives a grade of “N/A” and says, “pending stance on crypto.”

Many crypto fanatics see the November election as a defining moment for the sector, and they’re showing up with their wallets. Nearly half of all donations made by corporations this cycle have been from crypto companies, according to a Public Citizen report.

Stand With Crypto’s tour through battleground states is more about turning out the vote than raising cash. And the group has been trying for months to get presidential candidates to talk about the issue.

The alliance previously lobbied CNN with 2,300 emails asking for a crypto-pegged question ahead of the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, who at the time was the presumptive Democratic nominee. The network didn’t broach the topic.

Between online and in-person efforts, Stand with Crypto has signed up 104,000 people through its voter registration tool. Along the way, the group has put on concerts and delivered speeches to throngs of fans.

Stand With Crypto’s bus tour through five battleground states kicked off last week in Phoenix, Arizona where Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spoke about electing lawmakers who understand cryptocurrencies.

Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance

The bus tour kicked off in Phoenix last Wednesday, with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat who’s now an independent, stoking the crowd with an impassioned speech about electing lawmakers who understand cryptocurrencies.

“Sensible, reasonable regulation that allows the industry to continue to innovate and grow – that’s what we got to stay focused on,” Sinema said.

The bus then headed to Las Vegas, where crypto advocates heard from the state treasurer and chief of staff for the lieutenant governor. According to data shared by the alliance, 385,000 Nevadans are crypto owners, and more than 16,000 people in the state have signed up to be Stand with Crypto advocates.

Arizona and Nevada are two of the seven states considered critical and up for grabs with less than two months until election day and the contest in a virtual tie. This week, the crypto bus will make stops in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which are also among the key swing states.

The final event takes place in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18. Several top Coinbase execs, including Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, will speak, and music duo The Chainsmokers will be performing at a nightclub.

Stand With Crypto’s bus tour through five battleground states stopped in Las Vegas last week, where crypto advocates heard from the state treasurer and chief of staff for the lieutenant governor.

Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance

The movement hasn’t entirely committed to Trump.

Coinbase policy head Faryar Shirzad, who will also be speaking in D.C., said on X that he’s been “pleased to take part in a number of discussions with the Harris team.” He described the approach as “constructive” and said “the dialogue had been an important first step.”

Though Harris hasn’t formally come out with her campaign position on crypto, members of her team have been meeting with crypto industry leaders for months.

“I think we’re going to hear from Vice President Harris soon on this,” Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina told CNBC in an interview in July on the sidelines of the biggest bitcoin event of the year in Nashville. “And I’m very optimistic we’re gonna get a reset. And that, I think, will matter in a major way.”

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also told CNBC at the time that he had been in dialogue with the Harris team on the issue.

Democrats have since gotten more vocal. At a virtual town hall in August, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said a crypto bill could pass his chamber this year.

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Kia’s first electric hatchback is here and it has nearly 400 miles range: Meet the EV4 hatch

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Kia's first electric hatchback is here and it has nearly 400 miles range: Meet the EV4 hatch

Who said hatchbacks are going out of style? Kia’s first electric hatchback, the EV4, went on sale in the UK on Monday, offering the longest driving range of any of its EVs to date. Here’s a full breakdown of prices and specs.

Meet the EV4, Kia’s first electric hatchback

After launching the sedan version in Korea in April, the EV4 already took the top spot as the best-selling domestic electric sedan in its second month on the market. It’s already being called a “box office hit.” Now, the new hatch variant is officially on sale.

Kia opened orders for the EV4 hatchback in the UK on Monday, starting from £34,695 ($47,700). The EV4 is Kia’s first crack at an electric hatchback.

With an impressive 388 miles of WLTP driving range, it’s also the longest driving range of any EV Kia has ever produced.

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The hatch is based on the same E-GMP platform as the EV4 sedan and Kia’s other electric vehicles, but it’s custom-tailored for European buyers.

The base EV4 “Air” is available with two battery packs: 58.2 kWh or 81.4 kWh, providing a WLTP driving range of up to 273 miles or 388 miles on a full charge. Kia said it’s the brand’s first electric vehicle offering a range of over 380 miles.

Kia-EV4-first-electric-hatchback
Kia EV4 hatchback GT-Line (Source: Kia)

The sporty “GT-Line” and top-spec “GT-Line S” variants are available exclusively with the extended range (81.4 kWh) battery, which offers a range of 362 miles.

All EV4 hatchback models are powered by a single front motor with 201 bhp (150 kW) and 283 Nm of torque, good for a 0 to 62 mph sprint in 7.5 secs.

Kia's-first-electric-hatchback
Kia EV4 hatchback (Source: Kia)

The interior features a similar setup to Kia’s latest EV models, like the EV3 and EV9, with its new connected car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC) at the center. The setup features dual 12.3″ driver clusters and infotainment screens in a curved panoramic display. An additional 5.3″ touchscreen for climate control is included for easy access to heating and ventilation functions.

Like the EV3, Kia’s electric hatchback will include an AI Assistant, powered by ChatGPT. It will also be the brand’s first vehicle with several entertainment settings, including “Rest mode” and Theatre mode.”

Kia-EV4-first-electric-hatchback-interior
Kia EV4 hatchback interior (Source: Kia)

With all the seats upright, the electric hatch has a boot space of 435 liters, which Kia claims makes it “one of the most practical vehicles in its segment.”

With a length of 4,430 mm, a width of 1,860 mm, and a height of 1,485 mm, the EV4 hatchback is about the size of Kia’s XCreed.

The EV4 hatch can recharge from 10% to 80% in 29 minutes, while the larger battery will take approximately 31 minutes to charge using a 350 kW DC fast charger.

Kia EV4 hatchback trim Starting Price Driving Range
(WLTP)
Air Standard Range £34,695 ($47,700) 273 miles
Air Long Range £37,695 ($51,700) 388 miles
GT-Line £39,395 ($54,000) 362 miles
GT-Line S £43,895 ($60,200) 362 miles
Kia EV4 hatchback prices and range in the UK

Kia opened orders for the new electric hatch on Monday, July 1. It will join the EV3, EV6, and EV9 in the brand’s European lineup. The EV4 hatchback will be built at Kia’s plant in Slovakia to expedite deliveries, which are scheduled to begin in the Fall.

Kia also announced on Monday that a new EV4 Fastback variant will join the lineup, but didn’t offer any additional details. More info, including prices and specs, “will be revealed in due course.” Check back soon for the latest.

What do you think of Kia’s first electric hatchback? Would you buy one in the US? Unfortunately, it’s not likely to make the trip overseas, but we will see the sedan version launch at some point in early 2026. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Tesla (TSLA) is about to release Q2 deliveries: here’s what to expect

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Tesla (TSLA) is about to release Q2 deliveries: here's what to expect

Tesla (TSLA) is about to release its Q2 2025 delivery and production results. Here, we examine what Wall Street expects and what would make sense in reality.

Wall Street has struggled to understand Tesla’s decline in deliveries over the past year.

The analyst consensus for the first quarter was over 450,000 deliveries in January, but that number dropped to 377,000 deliveries by the end of the quarter.

They had to adjust down by 73,000 units, or about $3 billion in sales, over just two months, and they still got it wrong by more than 40,000 units.

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Something similar is happening this quarter.

The Wall Street consensus was for 444,000 deliveries in April, indicating that analysts believed Tesla when it stated that the poor performance in the first quarter was solely due to the Model Y changeover and that it could return to growth or maintain demand, as it had delivered approximately 444,000 vehicles in Q2 2024.

However, that consensus waned throughout the quarter as data confirmed that Tesla is not production-constrained, yet still faces significant demand issues.

The Wall Street consensus for Tesla’s Q2 deliveries is now at 385,000 vehicles.

This represents a 13% decline year-over-year, despite Tesla currently offering record discounts and incentives, including 0% financing on both the Model 3 and Model Y in most markets.

However, it is likely that analysts are again overestimating deliveries.

Electrek’s Take

We have great data in Europe and China, where Tesla is basically down by a few thousand units despite the new Model Y being widely available during the second quarter.

The only primary market with limited data for the second quarter is the US.

The US is likely where the new Model Y had the biggest positive impact, and Tesla will need to perform well there for deliveries to surpass its Q1 2025 results.

The automaker has no chance at annual growth in the second quarter, but based on the best data available, I think it should end between 330,000 and 360,000 units – way below the current analyst consensus.

The lower end of the spectrum would result in a massive 25% drop in annual deliveries, while the higher end would result in a still significant 19% drop.

There’s no other way to cut it: Tesla’s automotive business is in crisis.

The crazy thing is that Wall Street is completely missing this story and only adjusting for the decline throughout the quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, analysts still expected Tesla to avoid a decline in deliveries in 2025, with approximately 1,850,000 vehicles.

The consensus now stands at 1.6 million units, which is still likely too high by 100,000 units, representing billions of dollars in sales.

Furthermore, they predict that Tesla will experience a resurgence in growth in 2026, despite the EV tax credit being eliminated in the US, its least affected market so far.

Tesla has minimal prospects for returning to automotive growth beyond some significant reforms that are nowhere in sight, given Musk’s leadership.

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Tesla (TSLA) crashes after Trump threatens to set DOGE on Elon Musk

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Tesla (TSLA) crashes after Trump threatens to set DOGE on Elon Musk

Tesla’s stock (TSLA) crashed by as much as 5% in pre-market trading after President Trump threatened to set DOGE on Elon Musk, who has been criticizing his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’.

After being kindly shown the door to the White House last month, Musk had a brief moment of clarity and started to criticize Trump and the Republican party, which he helped elect with almost $300 million of his own money in the 2024 elections.

He highlighted how Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is expected to increase the deficit and debt. The Tesla CEO even linked Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, something that has been well known for decades, but Musk conveniently ignored it as he was backing the President and wearing hats that read, “Trump was right about everything.”

Musk quickly calmed down and even apologized for “going too far” and started praising Trump again.

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That didn’t last long.

Over the last few days, as the Senate attempts to pass Trump’s budget and tax bill, Musk has renewed his efforts to halt the legislation.

The CEO appeared to renew the attacks after the Senate updated the bill to kill the EV incentive sooner and to increase taxes on solar and wind projects.

However, Musk said that he doesn’t mind EV and renewable energy subsidies going away, but he believes that fossil fuel subsidies should also be removed, which is not in the plans at all.

Trump campaigned on Musk’s money, claiming that he would get America to “drill, baby, drill” again.

The CEO went as far as threatening any Senator who vote for the bill, all Republicans, to face his money in their next primary. He added that if the bill passes, he will create a new “America Party.’

Musk’s attacks have focused on the bill itself and the Republicans voting for it, but Trump likes to call it his bill, and unsurprisingly, he is unhappy with Musk.

Last night, he took to Truth Social to highlight again that Musk “would probably have to close up shop and head back to South Africa” without US government subsidies.

The President then suggested that he could have DOGE, a department that Musk created, go after him and the subsidies that his companies get:

Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!

Tesla’s stock dropped by more than 4% in pre-market trading following the President’s threat.

Musk responded to the President by pointing out that he is asking to remove the subsidies, but he didn’t add his usual caveat of also removing all subsidies for fossil fuel.

Electrek’s Take

It’s both sad and funny to see Elon now. It’s sad because the US is plunging back into an energy dark age of relying on fossil fuels. Still, it’s amusing because Elon is acting as if he’s just now realizing what he has done, despite everyone but a few cult members screaming at him that this was going to happen for the last year.

Elon got what he wanted out of Trump with his $300 million, and now, he realizes that his influence has limits and that Trump is going to do way more damage than just what Musk wanted out of him: to stop illegal immigration and the so scary “woke mind virus.”

The result will be a significant blow to the growth of electric vehicles and clean energy in the US, and Tesla will be affected in the process, exactly what we have been saying for the last year.

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