| | | | | | | Presented By Deloitte | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Joann Muller, Jennifer A. Kingson and Alex Fitzpatrick · Jan 25, 2023 | | Ever heard of VinFast? No? Well, that may soon change, as Joann reports today. - Join Axios Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Washington, D.C., for a News Shapers event featuring policymakers offering an inside perspective on Congress' agenda. Register here.
Today's newsletter is 1,143 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: VinFast aims to challenge Tesla |  | | | The VinFast VF8. Photo courtesy of VinFast | | | | Launching a car company is difficult — just ask VinFast, the ambitious Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) startup struggling to gain traction in the United States amid early missteps and an explosive price war, Joann Muller reports. Why it matters: The EV market is still taking shape, and it's rarely a bad thing for consumers to have more options and competition. Driving the news: VinFast is the latest in a crop of new automakers hoping to emulate EV market leader Tesla. - But it's up against long odds — especially after Tesla, facing its own challenges, recently slashed prices by as much as 20%, threatening to stifle VinFast's U.S. plans while it's barely gotten out of the gate.
- VinFast is scrambling to respond. "As a new brand entering the market, when other brands reduce their prices we have to come up with promotions to ensure VinFast's competitiveness," a spokesperson said in a statement.
Where it stands: VinFast's first models, the VF 8 and VF 9, have U.S. starting prices of $59,000 and $83,000, respectively. - Meanwhile, Tesla's basic Model Y is now $52,990, down from $65,990.
- VinFast's imported cars don't qualify for a $7,500 U.S. federal EV tax credit. That puts them at a further disadvantage against Tesla's cars, which do qualify.
By the numbers: VinFast says it has taken 65,000 global reservations for its first models, the VF 8 and VF 9 SUVs. - Its initial shipment of 999 cars arrived in the U.S. at the end of December, but many early reservation holders were disappointed, judging by discussions on VinFast's official community website and other forums.
- That's because the first batch of VF 8s, a previously unannounced "City Edition," came with a smaller-than-expected battery and a driving range of only 179 miles.
Be smart: Tesla isn't VinFast's only competition — entrenched American automakers such as Ford and GM are also busy electrifying their offerings. Catch up fast: VinFast has been making cars for just three years, entirely in Vietnam. - But it's already planning a $2 billion North Carolina factory and a listing on the Nasdaq.
- With nearly unlimited resources from Vietnam's wealthiest entrepreneur, the company aims to shake up the global automotive industry with a full EV lineup and an innovative battery subscription pricing model — albeit one that's yet to materialize.
The backstory: While VinFast is new to the U.S., it's not a typical startup. - Founded in 2017, it's a unit of Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, which has interests in real estate development, education, and technology.
- It's owned by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, who got his start selling fast-cooking ramen noodles in Ukraine in 1993, MotorTrend writes.
- The $39 billion conglomerate includes Vinpearl luxury resorts, VinWonders amusement parks, Vinhomes housing developments, Vincom shopping centers, and the non-profit Vinmec health system.
What's next: VinFast's first VF 9 models will be delivered to customers this year, a spokesperson says. - The company will soon begin taking reservations for its smaller VF 5, VF 6, and VF 7 models.
The bottom line: VinFast may never become a household name in the U.S. — but other foreign automakers, like Hyundai and Kia, quickly evolved from no-names to power players in the American market, blazing a trail the company may yet follow. Share this story. |     | | | | | | 2. How ChatGPT became tech's next hot thing |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | ChatGPT has captured the public imagination in a way the tech world hasn't seen since the iPhone's 2007 debut, Axios' Erica Pandey, Dan Primack, and Ina Fried write. Why it matters: Most of us are only now getting a glimpse of just how smart artificial intelligence has become. It's awe-inducing — and terrifying. Catch up quick: ChatGPT is a free (for now) site that lets users pose questions and give directions to a bot that can answer with a conversation, term papers, sonnets, recipes — almost anything, in almost any style you specify. How it works: Most software is specifically coded to do certain tasks. If the programmer didn't think of it, the software doesn't do it. - Generative AI programs like ChatGPT, though, can create unique content in response to user prompts.
The big picture: AI might one day handle complex tasks better and more efficiently than humans. And it might lead us to dark places we can't anticipate. Read the rest. | | | | | | | | 3. Doomsday clock moves closer to midnight |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the symbolic Doomsday Clock on Tuesday to 90 seconds to midnight, Axios' Ivana Saric reports — closer to midnight than ever before. Catch up quick: The Doomsday Clock is a figurative tracker of the world's proximity to total human-caused destruction. - The clock's hands are moved closer to midnight to suggest humanity is nearer to self-made catastrophe, and farther when that risk appears to fade.
The big picture: The move was due "largely, though not exclusively, because of the mounting dangers in the war in Ukraine," Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said during a press conference Tuesday. - The group also cited China and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, plus the climate crisis and bio-threats.
Read the rest. | | | | | | | | A message from Deloitte | | Don't just dream it — build it | | |  | | | | Unlock technology as powerful as your vision and push the boundaries of the possible with Deloitte. Our practiced human experience combined with innovative technology can help you build tomorrow — today. Let's build the future together. Learn how Deloitte can help you Engineer Advantage. | | | | | | 4. Remote workers commute less, work more |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Working from home saved workers around the world an average of 72 minutes in commuting time every day in 2021 and 2022, according to a paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Axios' Emily Peck reports. Yes, but: Many plowed that time right back into working more. Why it matters: The data underscore that remote work's benefits flow both to employees and employers. - 40% of workers used the time saved to work on either a primary or secondary job.
- 34% used the time for leisure activities, including exercise or watching TV, and 11% used it for caregiving.
Read the rest. | | | | | | | | 5. The D&D fan revolt, explained |  | | | Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios | | | | A two-week revolt by Dungeons & Dragons fans has sent the company behind the venerable tabletop role-playing game scrambling to make amends, Axios' Stephen Totilo reports. Driving the news: Hasbro-owned Wizards of the Coast says it will refrain from implementing some of the recently leaked upcoming changes to a license that allows fans and game makers to use elements of D&D in their own spinoff games. Catch up quick: Under the original license, content creators — from fans to small businesses that make their own popular tabletop games — have been able to freely use some of D&D's dice-rolling, stat-counting mechanics and legacy character elements. - A leaked revision would have constricted the deal with registration requirements, a royalty structure for top earners, and more.
What they're saying: "It's genuinely heartbreaking," Troy Knowlton, a longtime D&D player from Boston, tells Axios. - He viewed the moves as an affront to third-party tabletop role-playing game creators, who "shepherd new players into the game and invigorate the veterans by establishing new content."
The other side: Wizards of the Coast says the leaked version was only a proposal meant to generate feedback, and that the final version wouldn't include a royalty system. Read the rest, and sign up for the Axios Gaming newsletter here. | | | | | | | | A message from Deloitte | | Let's build the future together | | |  | | | | In the business world, you can either build your own future or bet on someone else's. Stay a step ahead with the latest innovations in technology and the thinking to help you transform what's next into what's now. Don't just bet on the future, build it. Learn how Deloitte can help you Engineer Advantage. | | | | Big thanks to today's What's Next copy editor, Patricia Guadalupe. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next by signing up here for our free newsletter. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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