⛴ No paddle required

Plus: Pickleball (paddles required) | Thursday, March 03, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios What's Next By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Erica Pandey ·Mar 03, 2022 It's March 3. On this day in 1918, the second treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, ending Soviet Russia's participation in WWI. ⚡️ Join Axios virtually at our inaugural What's Next Summit on April 5. Register here to attend livestream sessions with discussions on trends that will revolutionize our future.   Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,135 words ... 4.5 minutes.     1 big thing: A different kind of power boat Arc One, a $300,000 electric power boat. Photo courtesy of Arc   A team of former Space-X engineers and boating enthusiasts is aiming to transform recreational boating with a new speedboat that zips across the water on electricity instead of gas or diesel fuel, Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: Like automobiles, motorcycles and small airplanes, boats are beginning to go electric, which could make lakes and rivers more serene — and less polluted. The big picture: Electric boats have their pluses and minuses. While quiet and efficient, they require a tremendous amount of energy to propel themselves through the water. That means they need a gigantic, heavy battery and can't go very far or very fast— a killjoy for boating enthusiasts. But the traditional option — gas boats — are a tremendous pain to own. "They're really expensive to operate, you have to winterize the engine, they're noisy and unreliable, the fumes are noxious and they're annoying to maintain," says Mitch Lee, a lifelong water skier who is co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Arc Boats. Filling them with gas is expensive too — perhaps one reason that some boat owners never leave the dock. "Taking a boat out on the lake for a day is easily going to cost at least $100," Lee says. What's happening: Today Arc is introducing the all-electric Arc One, a 24-foot cruiser developed from scratch to address the challenges posed by battery-operated boats. It combines a lightweight aluminum hull with a gigantic 220 kWh battery — three times the size of the battery in a Tesla Model Y — integrated into the floor. With a 500-hp motor, the Arc One can travel up to 40 mph, with three to five hours of cruising time, he says. The limited edition Arc One will sell for $300,000 — about twice the price of typical premium sports boats. Lower-priced models will follow. The first deliveries will begin this summer. Where it stands: Other marine companies are shifting to electric propulsion as well. Mercury Marine, whose engines power about half of all recreational boats in the U.S., introduced a new electric outboard motor last week at the Miami Boat show. Candela, a Swedish tech company, just completed a chilly maiden voyage in Stockholm with its unique hydrofoiling electric boat, the C-8. Even General Motors is getting into the electric boat business, acquiring a 25% stake in Pure Watercraft, a Seattle-based electric boat startup. In January, the two companies introduced an electric pontoon boat. My thought bubble: As an avid sailor, I'm content to be gliding along at 4 or 5 knots — or a little over 4 to 5 mph — and I'll be thrilled when the speed boats all around me stop making so much noise. Read the full story     2. Hot new real estate amenity: The pickleball court A doubles pickleball match in Littleton, Colo. Photo: Seth McConnell/The Denver Post via Getty Images   A golf course is so yesterday: The thing to have if you're building a new luxury real estate development is a pickleball court, Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Why it matters: When prominent architects and high-end developers sink their teeth into a consumer lifestyle trend, it's likely to stick around and attract big dollars. Driving the news: Architectural Digest reports that luxury property developers in the U.S., the Caribbean and Mexico can't build pickleball courts fast enough. "A decade ago, golf was a key amenity driving residential sales, especially when it came to vacation homes, but, recently, buyers are more attracted to pickleball," according to Architectural Digest. The big picture: Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America for the second year in a row, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's 2022 Sports, Fitness, and Leisure Activities Topline Participation Report. USA Pickleball, the sport's governing body, says that 4.8 million Americans now play the sport — a mashup of tennis, badminton and Ping-Pong — for a growth rate of 39.3% over the last two years. The pandemic has accelerated the sport's popularity. "It's crazy, where all of a sudden, people are putting up courts in their driveways," Stu Upson, CEO of USA Pickleball, told Jennifer. Read the full story     3. Investing anonymously Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   There are venture capital firms out there investing millions of dollars in cryptocurrency startups without ever learning the founders' names, the New York Times' David Yaffe-Bellany writes. Why it matters: The crypto industry was built in part around anonymity. But it can lead to fraud. Case in point: Investors put hundreds of millions of dollars into a seemingly promising crypto project called Wonderland, Yaffe-Bellany writes. The money went to a crypto developer who went by the pseudonym 0xSifu. Eventually, 0xSifu was revealed to be Michael Patryn, who went to prison for fraud. And Wonderland crashed overnight. What to watch: Cases like Wonderland are pushing those in the crypto industry to reconsider whether the value of anonymity is worth the potential lack of accountability.     A message from Axios 5 ways to sharpen your employee comms strategy     Axios HQ talked to leaders at Lyft and UPS about ways they're keeping hybrid staff engaged. Think: Ways to end inbox overload Ideas to give Slack, email and other platforms a purpose How to test and evolve your 2022 strategy Get the executive summary     4. Old Ford, New Ford Gas-powered Ford Bronco, left, and battery-powered Ford Mustang Mach-e. Photos: Ford   The auto industry is reshaping itself to invest more resources in electric vehicles. The latest: Ford's iconic blue oval is staying intact, but the company's business is being split into the old and the new, Nathan Bomey writes. Why it matters: Traditional automakers want to get credit from investors for their EV investments — and the kind of enthusiasm dedicated EV startups like Rivian and Lucid Motors are seeing. Driving the news: Ford is creating a division devoted to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and one dedicated to EVs and software. "Model e" will encompass Ford's EVs, while "Ford Blue" will house the conventional car business, including the automaker's gas-powered F-series pickups. "Old Ford, new Ford" is how Autotrader analyst Michelle Krebs describes it. What we're watching: "Old Ford" will be the cash cow for the foreseeable future, fueled by highly profitable SUVs and pickups. But the division will also be targeted for $3 billion in cost cuts, the automaker said. Read the rest Related: Ford sells its Spin scooter business Editor's Note: Cox Enterprises, the parent of Autotrader, is an investor in Axios.     5. Not what it looks like Tourists view the world's first bionic whale shark at the Volcano Shark Museum of Haichang Ocean Park in Shanghai. Photo: Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images   The whale shark is the largest shark — indeed, the largest of the world's fishes, the World Wildlife Fund tells us — but this one is robotic, Jennifer writes. Installed this year at Shanghai's Haichang Ocean Park, the 15-foot shark can operate autonomously or by remote control. It can "swim, turn, float and dive like a real shark" and "could potentially replace live cetaceans in captivity in aquariums and theme parks across China," per Blooloop.com, which covers the attractions industry. It's not the only bionic aquarium-dweller in town: "Special effects company Edge Innovations has created an animatronic dolphin," one that weighs 595 pounds, "has a battery life of around 10 hours, and can survive in a saltwater environment for about 10 years," according to Blooloop. What they're saying: "While entertaining aquarium visitors, the bionic whale shark also raises public awareness of the marine environment," XinhuaNet, the Chinese news agency, reports. "Researchers plan to equip the bionic robot with different sensors for water-quality monitoring and underwater photography."     A message from Axios 5 ways to sharpen your employee comms strategy     Axios HQ talked to leaders at Lyft and UPS about ways they're keeping hybrid staff engaged. Think: Ways to end inbox overload Ideas to give Slack, email and other platforms a purpose How to test and evolve your 2022 strategy Get the executive summary   Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next magic by signing up for our free newsletter here. Like this email style and format? Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. 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