There’s a lot of buzz about a slowdown in the electric vehicle market. EV sales, while still growing, are not accelerating at the pace of just a few years ago. At the same time, EV makers from Tesla to General Motors and Ford are pushing back EV plans. So, what gives? On the show today, Robinson Meyer of Heatmap explains what’s really happening with the U.S. EV market, what it’s going to take to rev it back up, competition from China and whether moves by the Biden administration will be enough to help domestic EV producers pull ahead.

Then, can robots make the meatpacking industry safer? Plus, in celebration of Monday’s solar eclipse, a planetary scientist answers the Make Me Smart question.

Here’s everything we talked about today:




“What happened to EVs?” from Business Insider







“Opinion | China’s Electric Vehicles Are Going to Hit Detroit Like a Wrecking Ball” from The New York Times







“The key to growing EV adoption is cars with lower sticker prices. They may be on their way.” from Marketplace







“Here Comes the Flood of Plug-In Hybrids” from Wired







“How Americans view electric vehicles” from Pew Research







“Tesla’s Sales Drop, a Sign That Its Grip on the E.V. Market Is Slipping” from The New York Times







“The U.S. Urgently Needs a Bigger Grid. Here’s a Fast Solution.” from The New York Times







“Meet the Robots Slicing Your Barbecue Ribs” from The Wall Street Journal







“Dogs can understand the meaning of nouns, new research finds” from The Guardian





We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. You can reach us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.