News
How EV adoption is soaring in unlikely circumstances, and what could make it better
The adoption of electric vehicles has continued to skyrocket over the past several years despite challenging supply chain conditions, less-than-ideal geopolitical scenarios, lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the soaring cost of EV materials. How this optimism remains was examined in a recent white paper from Cox Automotive, which outlined how EVs continue to defy all odds and gain market share, despite monumental challenges standing in the sector’s way.
EV Adoption grows despite rough conditions
The state of EV adoption is relatively healthy, with more Americans buying EVs than ever despite increased costs and extended wait times for delivery. Automakers across the EV manufacturing industry have been forced to adjust prices and vehicle lineups due to the increased cost of materials and supply chain deals. Tesla, for example, axed the $35,000 Standard Range+ Model 3, and its most affordable vehicle now starts at well over $40,000. Rivian was forced to push prices upward due to materials costs soaring after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and these examples are just two of many.
Supply chain bottlenecks have also forced consumers to push back wait times for EVs considerably. Some configurations of EVs are not available until next year due to extensive order logs; take the Long Range Tesla Model 3, for example, which won’t be available until 2023 because of its heavy demand.
Despite this, EV adoption has increased every year since 2019. “Americans are buying EVs at a record pace despite rising prices and long waits for delivery. The fleet industry is also taking note with fleet operators highly motivated to replace their gas-powered fleets with EVs to achieve sustainability goals, drive efficiency and reduce total cost of ownership,” Cox Automotive wrote in the summation of its white paper.
Price Parity and the EV Tax Credit
Price parity has always been talked about when it comes to EVs. It does not take a genius to figure out that the average person will choose an affordable car over an expensive one, even if the expensive one will not require weekly stops at the pump. However, one of the biggest things keeping EVs from extremely rapid adoption is the prices of the cars themselves, which have increased considerably over the past year due to materials costs soaring.
Luckily, consumers can take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will provide EV buyers with tax credits based on where their vehicle was manufactured and whether the car equips a U.S.-manufactured battery. “Tax incentives available as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will be critical to consumer adoption, helping offset the cost of pricey EVs.” This is a key point in the mass adoption in EVs, and consumers will likely stick to gas-powered cars as long as they are able to if they are more affordable than a quality EV.
Supply Chain Disruptions have slowed EV adoption considerably
Related to other points already made, supply chain disruptions and constraints are slowing EV adoption. U.S.-based EV manufacturers are too reliant on foreign companies for parts, Cox said. Automakers are pushing to produce battery packs and other parts in the U.S., which will eventually help combat slow logistics times.
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“Global computer chip and material shortages are impacting production, raising the price of new and used vehicles, and contributing to long waits to buy new EV models.” Consumers want affordable and they want it now. Costs will continue to remain high, and wait times will stay long if U.S. automakers do not adopt domestic supply chain strategies.
Superior EV tech is keeping the U.S. competitive
Domestic supply chain bottlenecks may have some consumers willing to spend a little extra opting for other vehicle options. If someone is willing to spend $160,000 on a car and they can buy a 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 and get it in two weeks, they’re more likely to buy that instead of waiting months for a Tesla Model S Plaid if environmental reasons and fuel savings are not being considered. Tech and the innovations of battery chemistries and recycling are keeping the U.S. automakers in focus. If battery makers can develop various battery chemistries comprised of materials that can be sourced in the U.S., wait times will reduce and cars will have more availability.
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Investor's Corner
SpaceX and Nvidia team up on Musk’s orbital AI bet
SpaceX revealed a new Nvidia satellite partnership, then Musk pledged an exclusive Nvidia hardware commitment.
SpaceX and Nvidia are now working together on the hardware that will power Musk’s orbital data center ambitions. SpaceX announced on X on Tuesday that it is partnering with Nvidia to design the compute payload for Starmind AI1, the first satellite in a planned constellation built to run AI workloads directly in orbit. Each Starmind satellite will carry Nvidia’s Rubin GPUs and Vera CPUs, according to the post, which included renderings of the payload design.
The announcement landed hours before SpaceX’s first earnings call as a public company, where Musk went further, saying the company has committed to building its AI infrastructure exclusively on Nvidia hardware. “We think the Vera Rubin architecture is the best architecture. We think it’s the best AI computer, and we greatly value our close cooperation and partnership on many levels with Nvidia,” Musk told investors on the call,. “So we’re exclusive to Nvidia.”
Musk said SpaceX plans to deploy Nvidia’s Vera Rubin NVL72 rackscale system, codenamed Kyber, both on the ground and in space. He set a target of 2 gigawatts of compute capacity online by the end of this year, scaling to roughly 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027.
SpaceX’s newest Starmind will make earth data centers obsolete
Starmind has been in development since Musk confirmed the name in June, following an xAI trademark filing that tipped off the project before SpaceX made it official. The idea is massive in scope and instead of moving data down to ground based servers, satellites equipped with onboard processors and large solar arrays would compute AI workloads in orbit and beam results back to Earth. SpaceX has already filed with the FCC for a constellation of up to one million satellites to support the effort, citing constant solar power and the absence of zoning restrictions as advantages over terrestrial data centers.
The Nvidia exclusivity marks a shift in tone from just two weeks ago, when Musk was busy knocking down a report that SpaceX had ordered $52 billion worth of Nvidia GPUs through Foxconn, calling it fake news at the time. The dollar figure in that rumor may have been wrong, but the underlying direction seems correct. SpaceX’s AI division already leases Colossus compute capacity to Anthropic and Google, and Tuesday’s earnings report showed AI revenue climbing sharply as those deals ramp up.
Nvidia shares rose roughly 3% in Tuesday trading on the news, while SpaceX stock climbed nearly 9% during the day before giving back gains after hours as investors digested the earnings report’s capital spending figures.
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SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) reported a beat in revenues and EBITDA in its first earnings call report while also minimizing losses as its business continues to gain momentum.
After its IPO in July, SpaceX saw some tough losses on Wall Street due to a major selloff after a delay in its 13th Starship test flight. The ship launched later that week and completed what was arguably the most successful IFT operation in the Starship program’s history.
Nevertheless, the company is continuing on and reported some encouraging financials while also promoting what appears to be a robust outlook moving forward in its Space, AI, and Connectivity divisions.
SpaceX to report first-ever earnings today: here’s what to expect
Earnings Results
- Revenues: $7.8 billion reported vs. $6.7 billion expected
- Adjusted EBITDA: $3.5 billion vs. $2 billion expected
- Net loss of $541 million, an improvement of $467 million from net loss of $1.0 billion
Additionally, CFO Bret Johnsen had these comments:
“2026 has been a momentous year so far, and the second quarter demonstrated the true power of SpaceX. Revenue growth accelerated across all our business segments and we delivered strong operating leverage, with significant margin expansion led by our new AI compute agreements. Our unparalleled leadership in launch, Starlink subscriber growth, new enterprise and government partnerships, and best-in-class AI infrastructure underscore our ability to drive meaningful scale and deliver attractive returns. As a newly public company, we are delighted to welcome our broad base of shareholders and bondholders. We ended the second quarter with $100 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and $47.5 billion in backlog. This financial strength gives us substantial capacity to invest in Starship, Starlink Broadband and Mobile satellites, and our AI platform, while maintaining a disciplined long-term capital allocation framework.”
Space Business Highlights
SpaceX shared some of its biggest Space Business Highlights for Q2:
- Space revenues grew 55% sequentially and 29% year-over-year to $962 million, driven by a higher number of large customer launches and a favorable customer shift compared to the prior year
- Total costs and expenses for the Space segment were up by $389 million year-over-year, as we continued to accelerate R&D investments in our Starship program, which we believe will reduce the cost to orbit by 99% or more relative to the historical average, and unlock significant revenue potential across all business segments
- Leading launch provider for the world with 78 launches and 1,041 metric tons of mass to orbit deployed over the six months ended June 30, 2026, primarily allocated to Connectivity for the deployment of our Starlink constellation
- Starship V3 development continued to advance towards full and rapid reusability:
- Completed Starship V3’s first suborbital mission in May, Flight 12, which achieved a successful lift off from our new Starbase pad, a precision landing of Starship’s upper stage, and deployment of modified V2 Starlink satellites
- Subsequent to the second quarter, completed Starship Flight 13 in July, which achieved all flight objectives including deploying 20 production V3 satellites, demonstrating in-space relight of a Raptor engine, and executing the softest ever splashdown of Starship, providing critical views of an intact heatshield
SpaceX will report its earnings today at 4:30 P.M. EDT.
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Elon Musk issued a second pointed warning to SpaceX short sellers on Tuesday, just hours before the company was set to release its first quarterly earnings as a publicly traded firm. Responding to a report highlighting elevated short interest, Musk wrote on X: “I try to warn them, but they just double down …”
The comment came as data from S3 Partners showed roughly 95 percent of available SPCX shares to borrow were on loan, translating to about 34 percent short interest as a percentage of the float. The stock has traded under pressure since its record-breaking IPO in June 2026, declining significantly from early peaks.
I try to warn them, but they just double down … 🤷♂️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2026
This marks the second such message from Musk in under three weeks.
On July 17, amid post-IPO volatility, he stated: “The survival probability of firms who maintain a significant short position in SpaceX over time is very low.” At that time, SPCX had fallen roughly 30 percent from its peak above a $2.6 trillion valuation, with short sellers reportedly realizing gains of about $8.7 billion.
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Musk’s warning aligned with optimistic analyses projecting that Starship-driven cost reductions could enable a multi-trillion-dollar space economy through applications such as orbital solar power, asteroid mining, data centers, and Mars-related projects, positioning SpaceX as critical infrastructure.
SpaceX is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the market close later today, followed by a webcast. Analysts anticipate revenue near $6.9 billion, reflecting growth in Starlink, launch services, and AI-related segments. The earnings release precedes a major lockup expiration on August 6 that could free hundreds of millions of insider shares.
Musk has a long track record of confronting short sellers, particularly regarding Tesla, where he has argued that persistent bearish positions underestimate transformative technologies. Critics view his optimism as overly ambitious given near-term stock fluctuations, while supporters see temporary dips as opportunities in a longer-term expansion of the space economy.
As SpaceX opens its books to public scrutiny for the first time, the high short interest and Musk’s repeated cautions set the stage for heightened market attention on the results and management’s commentary.
SpaceX and Nvidia team up on Musk’s orbital AI bet
SpaceX reports beat in first earnings while minimizing losses
