🚗 EV road trip

Plus: Southwest's CEO | Monday, February 06, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Brilliant   Axios What's Next By Joann Muller, Jennifer A. Kingson and Alex Fitzpatrick · Feb 06, 2023 Joann is setting off on a 2,700-mile electric road trip this week — and she'll have plenty of dispatches from the drive to share. Before she gets underway, the three of us are headed to an Axios company event — so our newsletters will be shorter than usual for a few days. This Wednesday, we'll have a deep dive on electric vehicle equity that we can't wait for you to read. Today's newsletter is 872 words ... 3 minutes.     1 big thing: Electric road trip Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios   Joann here. People are increasingly curious about electric cars. Before they buy, though, most want to know whether they can drive one on a long road trip. I'm about to find out. What's happening: My husband Bill and I are sick of winter in Michigan, and decided we'd rather work remotely in Florida for the month of February. We'll drive to the Sunshine State and back — 2,700 miles or so — in a Kia EV6 on loan from the automaker's press fleet. Bill will do the first leg of the trip solo, since I'm in Washington, D.C. this week for Axios' annual staff retreat. After we meet up in D.C., we'll take our time getting to Florida. That's partly by design: We've been warned by other electric vehicle (EV) road trippers to expect delays and build in extra time for charging. Why it matters: If Americans are going to switch to electric cars, they want charging to be as convenient and seamless as filling up the gas tank. But U.S. public charging infrastructure is spotty, which is why the federal government is investing $7.5 billion in new charging stations, mostly along highways. Even though most people will do their daily charging at home, they want the security of knowing there are abundant highway chargers for that rare road trip. Worth noting: If we were driving a Tesla, our trip would likely be a lot easier. Tesla has the fastest, most reliable and extensive charger network. Its SuperChargers recognize your car and automatically bill you — no fumbling with credit cards or phone apps. Other charging networks and carmakers are just beginning to roll out similar plug-and-charge features. How we prepared: Unlike some other EVs, such as the Mercedes EQE, the EV6 doesn't have a built-in charging planner in its navigation system. So we downloaded several route-planning apps — A Better Route Planner, PlugShare and Chargeway — to guide us toward the best charging stops. Enter a destination and the car you're driving, and the apps suggest where to charge along your route. They predict the car's battery level, and also advise how long it will take to recharge and be on your way again. We also set up accounts with all the major charging networks, including Electrify America, EVGo and Chargepoint to speed the billing process. The bottom line: Every road trip is an adventure, but this one promises to be even more so. Let me know what you're most curious about, at whatsnext@axios.com. I'll share updates in the coming days and weeks. Share this story.     2. Southwest CEO: "We have a lot of work to do" Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP, Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images   Southwest CEO Bob Jordan is focused on ensuring December's operational meltdown never happens again, Axios' Eleanor Hawkins reports. She scored an exclusive interview with him a year into his tenure as head of the beleaguered carrier. What they're saying: "I think the biggest misconception right away was that it was a technology issue," said Jordan about the holiday snafu. "We tried to be really clear that while the technology got overwhelmed, it is not what caused this." "It was a weather event that turned into a crew and aircraft routing network event, that then pushed the technology to a point that it couldn't help us because it was having to solve [operational] problems that were already in the past — but it wasn't a technology event." That said, Southwest is making big tech investments, Jordan added. "We spend a lot of money on technology and recently put in a new state-of-the-art maintenance system, a new reservation system and a new human capital workday system." The big picture: Jordan says it was impossible for Southwest to accurately communicate what was unfolding in the moment, which led to outside speculation. "In the moment, all of our efforts were focused on getting the network restored and running ... and let's be honest, we didn't have an answer for our customers," Jordan says. "We were very quick to communicate internally every single day, but I think 'did we communicate externally, quickly enough?' would be the ultimate question." The bottom line: Now Jordan is over-communicating in an attempt to explain dense, operational snafus to consumers, shareholders and legislators. "We have a lot of work to do to make sure each group understands what went wrong and what we're doing to fix it," says Jordan. "You've got to be transparent and not defensive. That builds trust." Read the rest.     A message from Brilliant AI won't take your job, but someone using AI will     Future-proof your skill set with Brilliant and learn the concepts behind tech like AI, neural networks and more. Here's how: Brilliant's bite-sized interactive lessons let busy people grow their skills in minutes a day. Join 10M+ people learning on Brilliant — try it for free, then get 20% off.     3. "Lagoon communities" make a splash Rendering courtesy of Megatel Homes   Texas developer Megatel Homes is about to break ground on a new subdivision built around an ersatz lagoon, Axios Dallas' Michael Mooney reports. The big picture: Megatel has 12 lagoon communities in the works right now — in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Florida — according to the company's website. Details: Megatel's latest development will have more than 1,200 single-family homes and 600 beach-themed apartments surrounding its manmade lagoon, per the Dallas Morning News. House prices will start at $435,000. The lagoon will occupy a little more than 2 acres, and will feature several waterslides and a surf machine. Megatel told local leaders that the lagoon could open for kayaking and paddleboarding by the end of this year, and should be fully staffed and operational by summer 2024. 💬 Alex's thought bubble: Who called them "lagoon communities" and not "lagoonities?" Read the rest.     A message from Brilliant Sharpen your math, CS and data skills in a few minutes a day     For professionals and lifelong learners alike, Brilliant is one of the best ways to learn. The deets: Bite-sized interactive lessons make it easy to level up in everything from math and data science to AI and beyond. Join 10+ million people building skills every day. Start with a free 30-day trial.   Big thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern. 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. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: