The US State of Massachusetts is following in the footsteps of California with plans to ban the sale of new gasoline vehicles by 2035.

State Governor Charlie Baker laid out the plans in his 2050 decarbonization road map, which included measures to reduce emissions from passenger vehicles, Car and Driver reports . The most notable of which being; the ban on new gasoline car sales.

Residents will still be able to buy second-hand gasoline vehicles, though.

Massachusetts says that 27% of its statewide emissions are created by passenger vehicles, and the goal is to reach net zero by 2050.

There are also plans to expand public charging infrastructure for EVs, which is an absolute requirement if a ban is being put in place.

President-elect Joe Biden has been quite vocal over his desire to incentivize Americans towards electric vehicles .

So with that and Massachusetts joining California with a ban, it’s likely that we’ll see many more states follow suit in the coming years.

Over in Europe, these types of bans are becoming quite common . Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands all have similar plans in place.

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Tesla and VW are the EV industry’s hottest frenemies

Last Thursday, 200 Volkswagen executives gathered for a conference in Alpbach, Austria, to discuss the electric transform the Group, with special reference to the conversion of the Wolfsburg plant, the company’s headquarters.

Well that sounds pretty boring, but trust me, it gets better.

There was one special and utterly unexpected guest who joined the meeting from far-off Texas… Elon Musk.

Yep, you read that right. In fact it was Volkswagen’s CEO Herbert Diess himself who invited Musk to join the meeting via video call.

As participants of the conference reported to the German newspaper Handelsblatt , Diess lectured vigorously about why he considers Tesla alone to be Volkswagen’s greatest challenger.

In fact, Diess noted that Tesla is ahead of VW in many aspects, especially when it comes to engineering.

And as an example of the brand’s prowess, he mentioned its fast reaction to the chip shortage by developing its own software that could use different chips within just 2-3 weeks.

So, who would think that following these words Diess would actually bring to the stage the so-called “most dangerous competitor” Elon Musk?

And the situation gets even weirder…

Musk went along with the flattery lovefest and extended the ‘sportsmanship,’ praising Volkswagen for being an “icon” and Tesla’s greatest competitor.

According to the paper, when Diess asked him why Tesla is more agile than its rivals, Musk naturally assumed responsibility for the success and said that it all comes down to his management style — he is “primarily an engineer” with an eye for “supply chains, logistics, and production processes.”

He was, nevertheless, confident that VW would achieve the desired (electric) transformation, and tried to dispel worries about possible job cuts.

“ More employees are required for vertical integration,” he noted.

Diess took the opportunity to make it clear once again that his announcement last Wednesday that the conversion of the Group into an electric car supplier would cost 30,000 jobs in German production was a false report.

Reportedly, the CEO said the following at the conference:

Diess said that at the core of VW’s transformation strategy lies the Trinity project : a new series version of electric vehicles that will be produced with considerably fewer variants.

He noted that the aim is a “dramatic” reduction in the complexity of the offerings. Instead of up to ten million possible variants for the VW Golf alone, there should be fewer than a hundred in the future, given the difficulty this poses to dealers and purchasers alike.

Tesla can work again as role model. For instance, the carmaker offers three drive variants, five different paint finishes, two rims, and two colors for the interior for its entry-level Model 3.

The new series version will roll off the assembly line in 2026 at t he Wolfsburg plant, with which Volkswagen aims to compete with Tesla and its soon-to-be gigafactory in Gruenheide, Germany.

Elon Musk’s appearance at the VW conference as an expert and a role model for a company that considers Tesla its biggest rival is contradictory, to say the least.

Especially since Deiss has previously thrown shade on IONITY — which is partly owned by VW — when he couldn’t find appropriate charging points.

So is this a weird kind of sportsmanship? Or is it an uncommon marketing strategy for both companies?

And given that Herbert Diess has announced on twitter that VW will “soon” visit Tesla in Gruenheide, are we to expect a cooperation between the two?

If so, I’d like to give a suggestion to the CEOs: how about a Golf Model S?

Uber claiming it’ll accept Bitcoin is nothing but a marketing ploy

One day, you may be able to pay for your Uber with Bitcoin. Or, at least, that’s what Dara Khosrowshahi, the company’s CEO, told Bloomberg .

This sounds good, but if you ask me? It’s nothing but a marketing stunt.

Before you call me biased, let’s take a closer look at what Khosrowshahi said:

I love the wording here. The certainty of “absolutely” paired with an indefinite future time is the perfect way to make a promise without really making one.

It also reminds me of my own recurring statement to my friends: I’ll definitely enroll at a gym at some point .

No, I haven’t done so yet — and it’s been two years since I said it. And, between you and me, it’s probably not happening any time soon.

Coming back to Uber, why isn’t now “the right point” to start accepting crypto?

Khosrowshahi cited cost and environmental impact as the two main reasons:

Indeed, these are solid reasons.

According to Bitinfocharts , the average Bitcoin transaction fee was $1.9 in January (which isn’t bad), but it’s been fluctuating significantly during the last year, from $0.8 to $62.7.

And yes, Bitcoin mining has raised concerns over its tremendous energy consumption, greenhouse emissions, water use, and e-waste issues.

Let’s not forget the cryptocurrency’s volatility either. On Friday afternoon, a single Bitcoin was worth $42,628 . In November 2021, it hit an all-time high of $69,000 . This fluctuation doesn’t make it an ideal payment tool.

Here’s the kicker: Khosrowshahi’s reasons not to accept Bitcoin are unpredictable. This means it’s impossible to say when — and if — the cost and environmental impact will change to meet Uber’s (totally unspecified) standards.

All this leads me to believe that the company’s courting of Bitcoin is more a marketing strategy than a real commitment.

We have another player within the automotive space using a similar approach: you guessed it, Tesla.

Tesla’s on and off relationship with Bitcoin has attracted a shedload of media attention — and has even affected the crypto’s value as well.

It dived when the EV maker paused Bitcoin payments back in May , and rallied when Musk announced they’re going to re-accept it one month later .

Elon explained users can pay with the cryptocurrency only when around 50% of Bitcoin’s energy use is supplied by renewable sources. Well, at least he gave some specifics — unlike Uber.

In the meantime, Musk thought of another way to use crypto to attract media coverage: Dogecoin. It’s now accepted for some merch in Tesla’s online store .

Resourceful as ever, Elon even nudged McDonald’s to accept the joke coin:

I doubt we’ll see Uber’s CEO embarking on similar stunts — after all, not everyone has Musk’s desperate need for attention. Despite this, it appears the company is adopting some of Tesla’s crypto marketing tactics to gain some column inches and shift its public narrative.

And it has many reasons to do so.

Uber has been hit by the pandemic and travel restrictions , it’s been fighting legal battles with EU countries and taxi associations, it’s suffering from driver shortages , and its stock has been dropping. For reference, Uber’s market value is now down 21.3% over the last year.

Under this light, bringing out the big marketing guns and splashing words like “blockchain” and “Bitcoin” around seems like a good way to grab some much needed press.

Yes, I know . I’m actually helping Uber by writing these words. But what can you do? I simply couldn’t resist.