Decoder with Nilay Patel Vox Media Podcast Network

Today, I’m talking with Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath, whom I first interviewed on the show back in 2021. Those were heady days — especially for upstart EV companies like Polestar, which all seemed poised to capture what felt like infinite demand for electric cars. Now, in 2024, the market looks a lot different, and so does Polestar, which is no longer majority-owned by Volvo. Instead, Volvo is now a more independent sister company, and both Volvo and Polestar fall under Chinese parent company Geely. 

You know I love a structure shuffle, so Thomas and I really got into it: what does it mean for Volvo to have stepped back, and how much can Polestar take from Geely’s various platforms while still remaining distinct from the other brands in the portfolio? We also talked about the upcoming Polestar 3 SUV and Polestar 4 crossover, and I asked Thomas what he thinks of the Cybertruck.

Links: 

Can Polestar design a new kind of car company? — Decoder


The Polestar 3 isn’t out yet, and it’s already getting a big price cut — The Verge


The Polestar 4 gets an official price ahead of its debut — The Verge


Polestar makes the rear window obsolete with its new crossover coupe — The Verge


Volvo and Polestar drift a little farther apart — The Verge


Polestar gets a nearly $1 billion lifeline — The Verge


Car-tech breakup fever is heating up — The Verge


Polestar is working on its own smartphone to sync with its EVs — The Verge


Polestar’s electric future looks high-performing, and promising — The Verge


Electric car maker Polestar to cut around 450 jobs globally — Reuters




Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23912151

Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Verge transportation editor Andy Hawkins and I are going to try and figure out Tesla. I said try — I did not say succeed. But we’re going to try. That’s because Tesla has been on a real rollercoaster these past two weeks, in terms of its stock price, its basic financials, and well, its vibes.

If you’ve been following the company, you know that that gap between what the business is and how its valued has been getting bigger and bigger for years now – and lately, with Elon Musk saying he’s going all-in on autonomy and announcing a robotaxi event in August, it seems like we’re getting closer to a make or break moment, especially as competition in the broader EV market heats up. 

Links:

Tesla reaches deals in China on self-driving cars — NYT


Elon Musk goes ‘absolutely hard core’ in another round of Tesla layoffs — The Verge


Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving linked to dozens of deaths — The Verge


Elon Musk says Tesla will reveal its robotaxi on August 8th — The Verge


A cheaper Tesla is back on the menu — The Verge


Tesla’s profits sink as the company struggles with cooling demand — The Verge


Tesla lays off ‘more than 10 percent’ of its workforce, loses top executives — The Verge


Tesla recalls all 3,878 Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedal — The Verge


Elon Musk says it’s “time to reorganize” Tesla — The Verge


Elon Musk lost Democrats on Tesla when he needed them most — WSJ



Credits: 
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot has changed since the last time Ola was on Decoder. Back then, he said Mercedes would have an all-EV lineup by 2030 — a promise a whole lot of car companies, including Mercedes, have now had to soften or walk back. But he doesn't see that as a setback at all, and he and Mercedes are both still committed to phasing out gas in the long run.

We also spent some time talking about what's happening both on the outside of cars — Mercedes' classic look and its EV look aren't necessarily quite in the same place — and on the inside of them, as infotainment becomes a huge point of competition and design.

Links: 

How Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius is refocusing for an electric future - The Verge

Mercedes-Benz opens its first 400kW EV charging station in the US - The Verge

Mercedes-Benz is the first German automaker to adopt Tesla’s EV charging connector - The Verge

Is the metaverse going to suck? A conversation with Matthew Ball - The Verge

The Mercedes G-Wagen, the ultimate off-road status symbol, goes electric - The Verge

Mercedes workers file federal charges with NLRB to stop union busting - The Alabama Political Reporter

The MBUX Hyperscreen - Mercedes-Benz USA



Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/23904592


Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we’re talking about the brand-new TikTok ban — and how years of Congressional inaction on a federal privacy law helped lead us to this moment of apparent national panic about algorithmic social media.

This is a thorny discussion, and to help break it all down, I invited Verge senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner on the show. Lauren has been closely covering efforts to ban TikTok for years now, and she’s also watched Congress fail to pass meaningful privacy regulation for even longer. We’ll go over how we got here, what this means for both TikTok and efforts to pass new privacy legislation, and what might happen next. 

Links: 

Biden signs TikTok ‘ban’ bill into law — The Verge


TikTok ban: all the news on attempts to ban the video platform — The Verge


Anyone want to buy TikTok? — Vergecast


Congress takes on TikTok, privacy, and AI — Vergecast


Tiktok vows to fight 'unconstitutional' US ban — BBC


‘Thunder Run’: Behind lawmakers’ secretive push to pass the TikTok bill — NYT


On TikTok, resignation and frustration after potential ban of app — NYT


Lawmakers unveil new bipartisan digital privacy bill after years of impasse — The Verge


A real privacy law? House lawmakers are optimistic this time — The Verge


Congress is trying to stop discriminatory algorithms again — The Verge



Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I’m talking to Jason Citron, the co-founder and CEO of Discord, the gaming-focused voice and chat app. You might think Discord is just something Slack for gamers, but over time, it has become much more important than that. For a growing mix of mostly young, very online users steeped in gaming culture, fandom, and other niche communities, Discord is fast becoming the hub to their entire online lives. A lot of what we think of as internet culture is happening on Discord.

In many ways Discord represents a significant shift away from what we now consider traditional social platforms. As you’ll hear Jason describe it, Discord is a place where you talk and hangout with your friends over shared common interests, whether that’s video games, the AI bot Midjourney, or maybe your favorite anime series. It is a very different kind of interface for the internet, but that comes with serious challenges, especially around child safety and moderation. 
Links: 


Discord opens up to games and apps embedded in its chat app — The Verge


Discord is nuking Nintendo Switch emulator devs and their entire servers — The Verge


Inside Discord’s reform movement for banned users — The Verge


Discord ends deal talks with Microsoft — WSJ


Discord cuts 17% of workers in latest tech layoffs — NYT


Discord to start showing ads for gamers to boost revenue — WSJ


Discord says it intentionally does not encrypt user messages — CNN


How Discord became a social hub for young people — NYT


‘Problematic pockets’: How Discord became a home for extremists — WashPo


Discord CEO Jason Citron on AI, Midjourney — Bloomberg




Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23898955

Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Today’s episode was produced by Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we're talking about Disney, the massive activist investor revolt it just fought off, and what happens next in the world of streaming. Because what happens to Disney really tells us a lot about what's happening in the entire world of entertainment. Earlier this month, Disney survived an attempted board takeover from businessman Nelson Peltz. While investors ultimately sided with Disney and CEO Bob Iger, the boardroom showdown made something very clear: Disney needs to figure out streaming and get its creative direction back on track. 

To help me figure all this out, I brought on my friend Julia Alexander, who is VP of Strategy at Parrot Analytics, a Puck News contributor, and most importantly, a former Verge reporter. She's a leading expert on all things Disney, and I always learn something important about the state of the entertainment business when I talk to her. 
Links: 

The Story of Disney+ — Puck News


​​Disney’s CEO drama explained, with Julia Alexander — Decoder


Is streaming just becoming cable again? Julia Alexander thinks so — Decoder


Disney Fends Off Activist Investor for Second Time in 2 Years — NYT


For Disney, streaming losses and TV’s decline are a one-two punch — NYT


Disney’s ABC, ESPN weakness adds pressure to make streaming profitable — WSJ


Disney reportedly wants to bring always-on channels to Disney Plus — The Verge


The Disney Plus-Hulu merger is way more than a streaming bundle — The Verge


Disney’s laying off 7,000 as streaming boom comes to an end — The Verge


The last few years really scared Disney — Screen Rant



Credits: 
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices