Business
business
Jon Keegan

Ford takes aim at Tesla, offering free EV chargers and home installation to buyers

In a major move to court car shoppers who are leery of EVs, Ford — the number two EV seller behind Tesla— announced a new program to provide free Level 2 home chargers and installation to new Ford EV car buyers, an incentive worth several thousands of dollars. The program could help Ford eat away at Tesla’s dominant share of the EV market in the US.

“We have learned just how important home charging is to overall electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. Nearly 90% of shoppers say they would be more likely to buy an electric vehicle if they knew they could charge at home,” wrote Ford CEO Jim Farley announcing the new program, which is called the “Ford Power Promise”.

The offer is good for any purchase or lease of a Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, or E-Transit Cargo Van starting October 1, 2024 and runs through the end of the year.

Ford recently pulled back from its ambitious EV plans, delaying new EV models and ramping up production of more popular hybrid models.

“We have learned just how important home charging is to overall electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. Nearly 90% of shoppers say they would be more likely to buy an electric vehicle if they knew they could charge at home,” wrote Ford CEO Jim Farley announcing the new program, which is called the “Ford Power Promise”.

The offer is good for any purchase or lease of a Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, or E-Transit Cargo Van starting October 1, 2024 and runs through the end of the year.

Ford recently pulled back from its ambitious EV plans, delaying new EV models and ramping up production of more popular hybrid models.

More Business

See all Business
business
Tom Jones

Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind’s CEO and founder, was also an early Anthropic investor

A chess prodigy and an actual a knight of the realm in the UK, it’s perhaps no surprise that Demis Hassabis has made some strategic moves about his exposure to AI upside. According to people familiar with the matter, the influential AI architect became an angel investor in Anthropic, currently behind many of the leading AI models, per Arena AI leaderboards.

The Nobel Prize winner’s position in the Claude creator was previously undisclosed and, per the Financial Times, highlights Hassabis’ “growing influence across the AI industry.”

Google, which bought DeepMind, the company that Hassabis cofounded and heads to this day, for a reported ~$400 million in 2014, is also a key Anthropic investor. The tech giant reportedly plans to invest up to $40 billion in the AI company as part of the mutually beneficial relationship the pair have forged, with reports that Anthropic has committed to spending $200 billion in the other direction on Google’s cloud services over the next five years.

Im playing all sides, so I always come out on top

In addition to his financial support for Anthropic, Hassabis has also invested in a range of AI startups launched by colleagues, such as Inflection AI, a company set up by DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman (who is now CEO of Microsoft AI), as well as efforts from other collaborators, like David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence.

Hassabis also emerged as a recurring figure on the fringes of the recent Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial, cropping up repeatedly in testimonies and court documents and appearing to live, as The Verge put it, “rent-free” in Musk’s head.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic has recently raised funding at a reported $900 billion valuation, sending it soaring ahead of competitor OpenAI.

The Nobel Prize winner’s position in the Claude creator was previously undisclosed and, per the Financial Times, highlights Hassabis’ “growing influence across the AI industry.”

Google, which bought DeepMind, the company that Hassabis cofounded and heads to this day, for a reported ~$400 million in 2014, is also a key Anthropic investor. The tech giant reportedly plans to invest up to $40 billion in the AI company as part of the mutually beneficial relationship the pair have forged, with reports that Anthropic has committed to spending $200 billion in the other direction on Google’s cloud services over the next five years.

Im playing all sides, so I always come out on top

In addition to his financial support for Anthropic, Hassabis has also invested in a range of AI startups launched by colleagues, such as Inflection AI, a company set up by DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman (who is now CEO of Microsoft AI), as well as efforts from other collaborators, like David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence.

Hassabis also emerged as a recurring figure on the fringes of the recent Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial, cropping up repeatedly in testimonies and court documents and appearing to live, as The Verge put it, “rent-free” in Musk’s head.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic has recently raised funding at a reported $900 billion valuation, sending it soaring ahead of competitor OpenAI.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.