Apple Only Sells a Quarter of Its Phones; Lyft Paying Drivers to Use EVs; GM & LG Get Federal Cash for Battery Production

Apple makes is really easy and convenient to buy iPhones from them, whether over the net of in their stores. You might think that making it so frictionless would mean Apple snags the lion’s share of iPhone buyers…but they don’t, and it’s not even close. Theverge.com reports that Apple sells about 24% of its own phones. The biggest share of iPhones sold by far are by the wireless carriers. They account for a massive 67% of sales. Considering all the deals the carriers offer, and that Apple is famously tightfisted when it comes to discounts, it shouldn’t be too surprising. Besides the carriers and Apple, not many phones get sold…4% are peddled by Best Buy, and 5% are sold by ‘other,’ a category that includes Walmart and Target. 

Lyft is rolling out a new program of incentives to get drivers to switch to electric vehicles. According to bgr.com, drivers in California can take in an extra $150 a week for giving 50 rides in their personal EVs until the end of 2024. They just have to register the EV on the platform. Drivers can get that bonus until they hit $8100. In addition, US drivers can access discounts at the charging stations of EVgo…and they are significant…up to 45% off Ego’s standard Pay As You Go rates for Gold and Platinum drivers in certain markets. Drivers can also pick up between 1 and 7% cash back on public charging stations with the Lyft Direct debit card. Finally, drivers can get a Lyft-specific discount on Level 2 (L2) home charger hardware with our partner Wallbox and get pre-negotiated rates for L2 residential home charging installation with COIL, helping with a significant barrier in access to affordable home charging.

General Motors and LG have scored a $2.5 billion dollar loan from the US Department of Energy to make Ultium Cells, the batteries that go into the General’s electric vehicles. Arstechnica.com says the cash will help with construction of 3 battery plants in the US…Lansing, Michigan, Lordstown, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. The loan was granted under DOE’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Manufacturing program. Dating back to 2008, the ATVM program was vital to Tesla’s early success.

I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.