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We’re thankful for Thursdays as we give you a fly over of all things pop culture in this unique episode of The Automotive Troublemaker. We also talk about some motorized momentum in new mobility stocks as of this week.
- The Porsche IPO has topped initial expectations with its final offer price coming in at the very high end of the initially proposed price range, settling at $79.93. The list price brought in over $9.1 Billion dollars making it Europe’s largest IPO in a decade
- Puts Porsche’s valuation very close to the total market cap of VW Group which owns VW, Audi, and several other brands
- The funding will provide a boost to the company’s electrification plans and proves the brands loyal following with such a strong showing in overall challenging market conditions
- Reuters reports Harley-Davidson spun off its electric motorcycle division in a SPAC deal creating the first publicly traded electric motorcycle company in the U.S.
- Yielding $1.77B in cash, Harley Davidson has retained 74% ownership in the brand
- LiveWire currently produces 2 motorcycles at a starting price of $16,999
- Tesla’s annual AI Day is tomorrow where the likely star will be the company’s Optimus humanoid robot. Tesla revealed the project last year and is promising to show off an actual working prototype of the bot which is intended to replace humans doing dangerous, repetitive, or boring tasks.
- As designed, the 125-pound, battery-powered, human-size robot will move with the aid of 40 mechanical actuators, including 12 in its hands for "human-level" functioning. It'll lift 150 pounds and perceive the world using eight cameras. Tesla's design showed it using the same computer that controls Tesla's cars.
- Tesla will also be featuring updates to its FSD capabilities and live streaming the entire event on its YouTube page
- Our friends at Retail Wire are reporting Walmart has moved to the metaverse. The retail giant on Monday launched two immersive experiences on the Roblox gaming platform.
- Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play are the retailer’s first attempts to connect visitors with virtual merchandise (AKA verch) that have real life matches on walmart.com and in the chain’s stores.
- While no real money will be changing hands, users can earn coins to exchange for toys and other items, have a dance challenge, and engage in a Stranger Things trivia experience. Look out for the overhead blimp that randomly drops toys.
- NFT Trading volume is way down YoY. Bloomberg first reported on data hosted on Dune Analytics that showed trading volume for NFTs has gone from $17 billion to just $466 mi
Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.
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