Juggling Dynamite

Danielle was a guest with Jim Goddard on Talk Digital Network talking about recent developments in the world economy and markets. You can listen to an audio clip of the segment here.

As mentioned in this segment, Stanford’s Solutions Project has done engineering blueprints for the world’s major countries and cities, which can be accessed on their website here. Below, I have captured the summary of Vancouver’s pathway to 100% renewable power and Canada’s as a whole. Note that in both cases higher efficiency in the renewable system helps overall energy demand drop by 43 and 63 percent respectively, compared with the present approach. Click on the images to enlarge them.

Tesla’s 2023 Investor Day on March 1, 2023, outlined important context and data for the global transition to electrified energy and transportation. The big-picture data presented here are not new. They have been verified and published by other scientists and engineering experts in this space, including Stanford’s Mark Z. Jacobson and The Solutions Project. And yet, most people are completely unaware of the reality and feasibility of what’s unfolding. This is happening.

A direct video link starts at 29:21 on the play bar and the overview continues until 58:00.

Part 1: Earth and Sustainable Energy 0:31:15 – Master Plan Part 3 (Elon and Drew) Part 2: Tesla’s Contribution 0:58:08 – Vehicle Design (Franz and Lars) 1:10:31 – Powertrain (Colin) 1:19:17 – Electronic Architecture (Pete) 1:27:53 – Software (David) 1:38:20 – Full Self Driving (Ashok) 1:48:12 – Slight Optimus Update (Elon) 1:53:41 – Charging (Rebecca) 2:01:51 – Supply Chain (Karn and Roshan) 2:22:55 – Manufacturing (Tom and Drew) 2:36:15 – Energy (Mike and Drew) Part 3: What This Means for Tesla 2:49:06 – Impact (Laurie and Brandon) 2:55:42 – Financials (Zach) Conclusion 3:20:30 – Livestream Restarts 3:21:24 – New Gigafactory Announcement (Elon) 3:23:38 – Q&A (Tesla Executive Team)

The US Money Supply has contracted 1.7% over the last 12 months (graphed below, courtesy of Charlie Bilello)–the largest year-over-year decline on record (data back to 1959). Many other countries, like Canada, have seen a similar trend. This massive liquidity reversal is a formidable headwind for asset markets globally over the next few quarters.

At the same time, interest rates have exploded, with the 6-month US Treasury yield moving to 5.18%–the highest level since February 2007. As shown below, this yield was at 0.69% one year ago and 0.05% two years ago. Let those numbers sink in for a moment.

This rate of change was previously unimaginable, and for the indebted and consumption-dependent economies like Canada and America, it’s a veritable horror show. But for those with savings and no debt, the income jump on guaranteed deposits is yield-boosting manna from heaven. Respect for capital is back.