Don’t plunge into the current panic

Today is Money Morning … there are a lot of crashes in this space … Electric cars can get a big boost from the war in Eastern Europe … it’s easy to get into the current panic … and much more …

Musicians Imani Lauren (aka Sachs Bay) and Kaleen Ellis never met before getting together in this sunny rooftop parking lot overlooking the city.

You see, Ford has posed both challenges: to create a song together using only the energy from the “butterfly” of its new Ford F-150 Lightning. The F-150 Lightning is an electric version of the Ford F-150, their best-selling pickup.

If you don’t know what a “butterfly” is, it’s basically a trunk that’s in the front of the car. You’ve probably seen sports cars like the Audi R8 with the engine at the rear and the trunk at the front.

But recently, this term has become much more applicable to EVs because they don’t have an internal combustion engine under the hood.

In the case of the Ford F-150 Lightning its “mega-system” has 14 cubic feet of space along with a rear bed for storage.

When the two musicians met on the roof, Kelin began to get his equipment off the bar. A big speaker, a small speaker, a table, a set of drums, a laptop and a keyboard … all from where the engine should be.

I mean, more space is great, especially if it’s a pickup, and it gives you the ability to store things out of sight rather than on a truck bed.

But what Sachs Bay and Kaleen Ellis do next is even more impressive.

They continue to manage this whole thing from the bar to give a musical performance. Understand, the F-150 Lightning has four 120V sockets and two USB sockets on the side, allowing the owner to power things like instruments or, in this case, music equipment.

As Sachs Bay said:

‘It was incredible. That this truck could drive everything we were doing now is just ridiculous.‘

A short video called “A Frunkin Performance” is a new series on YouTube from Ford, showcasing the F-150 Lightning.

In another episode, “The Frunkin Cookout,” they challenge Ghetto Gastro, a culinary group from New York, to cook. The two co-founders connected a blender, electric stove and grille and then set the table on the truck bed to sit down and eat.

You can watch the episodes here.

The truck can provide electricity from anywhere, but it doesn’t stop there. The pickup can even be used as an emergency backup generator for your home when a power outage occurs.

Properly equipped, the F-150 Lightning can power a home for three days on a single charge or up to 10 days when power is normalized.

The fact is that now is an interesting time for EV.

Electric cars not only reduce emissions, there are many disturbances in this space, and eventually EVs can bring more benefits than their gasoline counterparts.

And there may be a big catalyst for EVs to appear in our path.

Electric machines could get a big boost from the war in Eastern Europe

When it comes to oil prices, it was a little difficult.

On the one hand, oil demand is falling as China struggles with rising COVID cases and imposes blockades. On the other hand, the European Union has considered sanctions on Russian oil, which is likely to raise oil prices.

Europe wants to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

But while some EU countries have already taken some steps to reduce their dependence on Russian oil, some members are still very dependent on it.

The decision must be unanimous by all members, and at the moment Hungary, which is very dependent, refuses to support sanctions.

In particular, transport is still highly dependent on oil in the European Union, as you can see below:

Europe is currently considering diversifying oil imports from other countries to places such as the Middle East to reduce dependence.

But it is still a really short-term solution that still makes it vulnerable to oil failures.

If the conflict has shown anything, it is that Europe needs to be more energy independent. And even if the war ends tomorrow, these effects will remain for a while.

Renewable energy and accelerating the transition to electric vehicles are indeed a long-term solution. Remember that Europe is one of the largest car manufacturers in the world.

And the numbers are starting to show that this trend is starting to pick up some speed.

Despite disruptions in the global supply chain, in March this year, the world registered 851,489 vehicles, which is 60% more than the same period last year, and market share rose to 15%.

While overall car sales in Europe fell this month, it was a different story for EV. About 250,000 new cars with a stand were registered in Europe this month, which is 10% more than in the same month last year and this is the second highest monthly result of all time.

Thus, higher oil prices and unreliable supplies can really accelerate the proliferation of electric locomotives.

It is easy to pick up the current panic

In recent days, there has been great fear in the markets.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s something to worry about. Pandemic, inflation, rising interest rates, deficits… It’s time to be careful.

But for me, the transition to renewable energy is as exciting as it was a few months ago.

This is a megatrend that will operate for many years. It will be difficult and it will have its ups and downs, but it is an area where everything is about innovation and setbacks, and from this there will be many interesting opportunities.

So while everything looks awful, remember that there are still many possibilities.

Until next week,

Selva Freigeda,
For Morning money

PS: Despite the fact that the world is changing, my colleague Jim Rickards believes that now is not the time to sit idle. In fact, he made a whole presentation on what to do during that time. To book your own place, click here.