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Hello everybody, and welcome 
back to another episode of the 

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Elon Musk Podcast. 
Today, we're going to be looking

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into a significant development 
in the electric vehicle space 

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that's going to transform the 
North American landscape. 

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It's a new comprehensive 
electric vehicle charging 

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network set to span across the 
United States and Canada. 

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This is a joint venture backed 
by some of the largest players 

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in the auto industry, including 
BMW, General Motors, Honda, 

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Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and 
Stalantis. 

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These industry leaders are 
coming together with the aim of 

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making EV charging as convenient
as possible for users. 

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This will revolutionize how we 
charge our EV's. 

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Now in addition to that, we'll 
also be discussing Rivian, 

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another EV maker. 
Now this is about the CEO of 

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Rivian, and they share their 
perspective on companies that 

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are truly committed to renewable
energy and the importance of 

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consumers understanding the 
source of their power 

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consumption, where everything 
comes from. 

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We'll take a little dive into 
that and also the future of EV 

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charging. 
So there's a lot to uncover in 

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today's episode and I promise 
that it'll be a nice thought 

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provoking discussion that you 
won't want to miss. 

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So stay with us, we'll take a 
quick break for some important 

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messages from our sponsors and 
we'll be back to delve deeper 

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into these developments in the 
electric vehicle industry. 

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All right. 
Welcome back, everybody. 

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This is a major step for 
electrification in the auto 

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industry. 
This is a global consortium of 

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automakers comprising of BMW, 
General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, 

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Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Solantis.
And this is a joint venture to 

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build a comprehensive EV 
charging network across the US 

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and Canada. 
This is a formidable grouping. 

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Currently unnamed, they don't 
have a name yet, and they 

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pledged to erect user friendly 
DC fast chargers along the 

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highways and within urban 
environments of the US and 

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Canada. 
The plan aims to install at 

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least 30,000 high speed EV 
chargers by 20-30, with the 

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initial one set to become 
operational by the summer of 

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2024 in the US. 
Now, to fulfill this goal, this 

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group intends to harness the 
National Electric Vehicle 

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Infrastructure or the NEVI 
funding in the US and draw from 

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both private and public funding 
at the state and federal levels.

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So they're getting the 
government and the taxpayers to 

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pay for most of this. 
And the current EV charging 

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landscape is mainly Tesla 
Superchargers and Electrify 

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America stations dotted all 
across the United States. 

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Now these stations are typically
installed in strategic locations

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where people can shop, they can 
go out to eat, or they can use 

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restrooms. 
And in line with this, the 

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proposed new chargers will be 
positioned along routes leading 

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to holiday destinations and 
within major city limits. 

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Now, these new charging stations
promise seamless connection and 

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charging capabilities for EV 
models manufactured by the 

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partner automakers. 
This eliminates the need for 

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consumers to navigate between 
different charging station 

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applications, thereby ensuring a
smooth user experience. 

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The venture also seems to 
incorporate the emerging plug 

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and charge standard that the 
Federal Highway Administration 

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is striving to standardize. 
Mary Barra, the CEO of General 

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Motors, voiced her support for 
the initiative, saying the 

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better experience people have, 
the faster EV adoption will 

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grow. 
She pointed to the current issue

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plaguing many charging networks,
which require unique apps and 

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suffer from reliability 
concerns. 

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Notably, Tesla's Supercharger 
network hailed us among the best

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globally will accommodate 
vehicles from automakers 

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including Ford, GM, Volvo and 
more, all without necessitating 

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activation via an app. 
In line with global 

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sustainability initiatives, the 
joint venture plans to have its 

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operation fully powered by 
renewable energy. 

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Although it's unclear whether 
the renewable energy will 

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directly power the stations or 
whether the companies will 

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purchase credits. 
Is eco conscious approach is 

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indicative of the industry's 
increasing shift towards 

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sustainable practices. 
Now Canadians are great 

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Neighbors to the North will have
to wait until a later stage 

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before the initial charging 
stations are installed. 

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All stations will include 
standardized Tesla North 

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American Charging standard 
ports, the NECS and the widely 

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used Combined Charging System 
plugs, the CS. 

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This announcement comes at a 
time when the environmental 

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credentials of companies are 
under scrutiny. 

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Now the Rivian CEO expresses 
frustration at companies 

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overstating their green 
achievements. 

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He believes consumers can't 
discern the difference, and the 

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companies often hide the true 
source of their power 

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consumption, he said. 
This is just so conceptually 

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complex, drawing a clear line 
between companies that invest in

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renewable energy to offset their
emissions and those who merely 

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want to pay a teeny little 
incremental amount more to get 

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the ability to pat ourselves on 
the back and say we're using 

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renewable energy. 
That's what they said. 

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Now they position Rivian as a 
company that aspires not only to

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offset its own carbon emission, 
but also to contribute to the 

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creation of new renewable energy
capabilities. 

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This commitment led him to 
support the development of a new

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solar energy center in Kentucky 
built the top of former coal 

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mine. 
Now the mine Starfire, once 

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bustling with miners hauling 
millions of tons of coal 

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annually, is set to be 
transformed into a solar farm, 

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aiming to generate 800 megawatts
of energy, enough to power 

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160,000 homes per year. 
Bright Night, a company based in

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Florida, which is a solar 
company, is additionally 

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constructing A10 mile 
transmission line to add another

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GW of power capabilities in the 
future. 

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A Rivian has committed to 
purchasing 100 megawatts of 

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energy from the project under a 
virtual power Purchase 

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agreement, the PA, which means 
the power is clean energy and it

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won't directly power Rivian's 
electric vehicles or its 

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corporate infrastructure. 
However, it will contribute to 

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powering up to 450,000,000 miles
of renewable driving every year.

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Now, the commitment to renewable
energy doesn't stop with Rivian,

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though. 
Other automakers like Solantis 

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and Mercedes-Benz have also 
signed on to virtual PPA's to 

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help meet their sustainability 
goals. 

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Now, virtual PPA's are growing 
in popularity amongst American 

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corporations, and in 2021, 
corporations purchased a record 

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31.1 gigawatts of clean energy, 
which was over 10% of all new 

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renewable energy capabilities 
added worldwide that year. 

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Tech giants like Amazon, Meta, 
Microsoft, and Google accounted 

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for more than half of those 
agreements. 

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Now, the Rivian CEO asserted 
that without these virtual 

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Ppa's, many renewable energy 
projects wouldn't even get off 

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the ground. 
The commitment to the purchase 

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power for these projects ensures
their financial viability and 

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their completion, and Rivian's 
commitment to the solar project 

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in Kentucky shows that they're 
in it for the long haul. 

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Rivian also champions 
transparency and reporting 

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environmental impact. 
It's striving to achieve Scope 3

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neutrality. 
This is an objective that means 

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the company aims to eliminate 
all indirect emissions from its 

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supply chain and the life cycle 
of the Ev's it produces. 

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Moreover, Rivian plans to offer 
a package allowing drivers to 

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match their charging regardless 
of location with renewable 

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energy Now. 
This commitment to offsetting 

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carbon emissions positions 
Rivian as an industry leader in 

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the shift towards renewable 
energy. 

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Now this collective venture of 
global automakers to build this 

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new EV charging network is a 
huge move and this will 

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electrify an eco conscious 
future for the automotive 

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industry. 
Now the commitments towards 

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renewable energy signals a shift
towards sustainable practices in

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the automotive sector that we've
never seen before and hopefully 

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will help promote wider EV 
adoption in the future. 

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Thank you so much for listening 
to the Elon Musk podcast today. 

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I really do appreciate your 
support and I appreciate you 

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spending your time here with me 
today. 

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If you could take a second and 
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follow button on your podcast 
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I greatly appreciate it helps 
out the show a lot. 

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So thanks so much everybody. 
Lease take care of yourselves 

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and each other and I will see 
you in the next one.