Lei heads to California for a family vacation so Tu takes over for this week’s headlines.

Tu and Lei kick off this week’s pod by talking Faraday Future’s pre-production vehicle that was unveiled earlier in the week. Lei moves the conversation over to the news that NIO is getting into mobile phones and how this is a trend that other automakers and technology companies will follow. Tu broadens the discussion on NIO and the implications of the increased capacity coming online later this year for them. 

The discussion heads over to the brewing Tesla vs. BYD biggest EV maker in the world title that both are vying for with their recent announcements of increased capacity. 

Tu talks about how the west has not only begun to pay attention to China EV Inc but also China Battery Swapping Inc with the news that CATL will be launching a battery swapping service. Where does battery swapping fit into the charging infrastructure conversation and who will end up taking on that technology? Tu explains why battery swapping lends itself so well to the China market.

Lei closes out the pod detailing his experience renting a Hertz Tesla Model 3 for a week in California. It looks like Tesla has another convert!