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| Happy Tuesday, Insiders! Here's what to expect from today's transportation newsletter: - Virgin Galactic will be delaying its highly anticipated flight by one day.
- Electric Hydrogen achieved unicorn status.
- United Airlines is set to acquire an additional 110 Boeing and Airbus jets.
If you find this newsletter useful, please consider passing it along to your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Robel
p/Robel-Kelkile | |
| 1 | | Virgin Galactic announced it had postponed its upcoming space tourism mission, Galactic 04, by one day to Friday, Oct. 6. The move allows additional time for vehicle preparation and checks. More: - The mission will transport three paying space tourism customers to suborbital space aboard the VSS Unity spaceplane.
- The customers include Trevor Beattie, Ron Rosano, and Namira Salim, who will become the first Pakistani to reach space.
- Virgin Galactic plans to increase its flight frequency in 2026 with the introduction of the "Delta class" of spaceplanes, designed for more frequent launches, potentially as often as once per week.
- This mission on Friday will mark the company's fourth commercial spaceflight, building on its previous missions in June, August, and September of this year.
Q: Would you choose to embark on a recreational space flight if given the opportunity, and if not, at what point would you consider such an experience? Join the conversation. |     | |
| 2 | | VinFast's shares dipped below $10, a continued decline from its SPAC offering in August. The move comes after an SEC filing revealed plans to sell millions of shares. More: - Initially, the company's limited shares available for trading led to a high valuation but have since fallen below its initial SPAC offering.
- The company noted insiders of the company are expected to sell some of their shares, further impacting the stock's performance.
- Most VinFast shares (about 99%) are controlled by Vingroup's chair and VinFast founder, Pham Nhat Vuon, leaving only a small portion available for investors.
- The company reported a quarterly loss of $500M despite delivering over 9,000 electric vehicles globally, with sales of approximately $315M during the quarter.
- In July, the Vietnamese electric car company recently announced that it had broken ground on constructing its manufacturing plant in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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| 3 | | The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed its first-ever space debris penalty on Dish Network. Dish admitted liability for improperly disposing of the EchoStar-7 satellite and agreed to pay a $150,000 fine. More: - Dish had launched EchoStar-7 in 2002 and intended to retire it in May 2022 but encountered fuel constraints. Instead of following an orbital debris mitigation plan, Dish retired the satellite at a location significantly closer to its operating orbit.
- The FCC noted this settlement as a significant development in addressing the space debris problem.
- The move comes as the landmark settlement underscores the growing concern over space debris as satellite deployments increase specifically by governments and companies.
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| 4 | | United Airlines announced it will order 110 more Boeing and Airbus jetliners. It's an increase to its original purchase back in December 2022. More: - The order includes 50 additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 60 Airbus A321neos.
- United Airlines' chief commercial officer, Andrew Nocella, noted that they typically wouldn't place orders for aircraft so far in advance. Still, due to supply chain issues, production line constraints, and increased travel demand, they decided to do so.
- Deliveries of the new planes are slated to commence in 2028.
- The decision comes as the airline anticipates achieving an average of more than 145 seats per North American departure by 2027, representing a 40% increase compared to 2019.
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| 5 | | Massachusetts-based green hydrogen technology company Electric Hydrogen (EH2) raised a $380M Series C funding round. The round was led by Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, United Airlines, BP, and Fortescue Metals. More: - The company aims to revolutionize hydrogen production through more cost-effective and efficient production.
- EH2's performance enhancements have contributed to reducing the cost of electrolyzers.
- The Series C funding round elevated the company's valuation to $1B, bringing its total funding to around $600M.
- The funds will be used to expand EH2's electrolyzer production capacity, a critical component for green hydrogen production.
- The company recently announced a contract to equip New Fortress Energy's green hydrogen plant in Texas, with production expected to start in Q4 2024 and the entire commercial operation in 2025.
- The move comes as green hydrogen is considered a promising solution for powering large vehicles, industrial facilities, and long-distance energy transport.
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| 6 | | General Motors (GM) reported a 21.4% increase in U.S. new vehicle sales for the third quarter of 2023. This comes despite an ongoing strike by the UAW union against Detroit automakers. More: - GM's sales outperformed auto analyst expectations for the industry, which were around 15% to 16% growth for the third quarter.
- The strike has had little to no direct effect on GM's sales, but there could be potential sales and supply chain challenges if the strike is expanded or prolonged, particularly for Q4 results.
- GM's sales outperformed auto analyst expectations for the industry, which were around 15% to 16% growth for the third quarter.
- In the third quarter, the company delivered 20,092 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), marking a 33% increase from the previous year but falling slightly short of the record set in the first quarter of this year (20,670).
- These BEV deliveries accounted for approximately 3% of GM's total deliveries, compared to 2.6% a year ago.
- GM's sales, however, still lag behind Tesla's electric vehicle deliveries.
- The growth in GM's sales was also boosted by newer, entry-level models like the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista, which are imported from plants in South Korea.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - It's been 150 years since the last great leap in engine technology. Invest in LiquidPiston to be part of the next one.*
- Cambridge transportation initiatives are temporarily halted due to an estimated cost increase of £200 million.
- California transit authorities announced they would provide complimentary transportation services on "Clean Air Day."
- Polestar has appointed a Volvo electric vehicle propulsion specialist as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
- Finnish e-bike motor company Revonte has declared bankruptcy.
- Even the best engineers can run into challenges. Straight from the cloud experts at DoiT, here are 5 core strategies for cloud innovation.*
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Term of the Day January Effect: The January Effect is a seasonal increase in stock prices that tends to happen in January. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE TRANSPORTATION LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Writer | | Born and raised in the Bay Area, Robel is passionate about all things tech, venture, and financial education. He has previously served both universities and state governments in their engagement strategy and tracking legislation. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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