WEBVTT - Tesla Broadcasts Downbeat Car Sales Estimates in Unusual Move 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:10.559 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. You're listening to the 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:14.560 Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast. Catch us live weekdays at ten am 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.880 Eastern on Apple Coarclay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.040 Business App. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:23.080 or watch us live on YouTube. 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:25.759 Craig Trudell joins us. 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.600 Now our global autos are because Tesla, which I'm sure 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:33.400 Tesla will be at CS inactive there and probably has 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:37.839 been for well a decade and a half now, is 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:41.640 expected to deliver a lackluster number of cars. But I 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:43.680 don't know how much it matters at a one and 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:47.160 a half trillion dollar valuation, Craig. I'm guessing they could 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.479 deliver no cars and it wouldn't make much of a difference. 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.440 Yeah, it's been fascinating to watch because, I mean, just 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:56.440 in keeping with this AI theme, you know, on one hand, 0:00:56.520 --> 0:01:01.120 Tesla has had this hugely you know, active run of 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:04.240 late with you know, selling investors on the notion that, 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.800 you know, speaking of AI, their vehicles are going to 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:09.280 be able to drive themselves. On the other hand, you've 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:12.119 seen Wall Street sort of get more and more comfortable 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:15.080 with the idea that people aren't actually you know, all 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.320 that inclined to go out and buy their their cars. 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:19.679 And you know, on one hand, you would you would 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:23.600 think that that, you know, vehicle sales would kind of 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:29.200 move in at least some correlation with the optimism about 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:33.800 the self driving capability that Musk has been promising for years. 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:36.880 And yet we've seen a sort of divergence here. Particularly, 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.320 I would say, you know, in the in the second 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:42.080 half of last year where the stock really took off. 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.600 To the company's credit, they did have a great third quarter, 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:47.120 but everyone saw coming that there was going to be 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:50.600 a big payback in the fourth quarter once once tax 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:52.240 credits in the US faded away. 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:53.960 So, Craig, that's kind of where I wanted to go. 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:55.720 I'd love to get your opinion as we finished out 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:56.520 twenty twenty five. 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.200 Where is the industry? 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.840 I'm fucking the vult wagons, the general motors, the tessels 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:04.240 in this transition to evs. 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.800 Are we stalled? Here? Are we stalled on hybrids? Are 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:11.120 we about to just reload and re accelerate? Where are 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:11.440 we here? 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.399 It's it's really a messy picture because you do have 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:20.240 a situation where Chinese manufacturers buy and large are are 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.760 having much less of an issue selling electric vehicles than 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.800 the rest of the world. You're seeing incumbents elsewhere in Europe, 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.840 uh and and particularly in the US really struggle to 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:35.080 to you know, make up lost ground, uh you know, 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:38.200 to the likes of Tesla, even as Musk has come 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.080 back to them a little bit. But particularly with with 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:45.240 those Chinese companies like b y d uh lately gi 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:48.560 Lee as well, having quite a bit of momentum. Uh. 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.919 And we've we've seen you know, policymakers sort of answer 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:54.320 to this and sort of bow to this reality. Just 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:57.080 in the last few weeks where you know, in Europe 0:02:57.160 --> 0:03:00.920 you saw some softening of plans for twenty thirty five 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:05.200 to effectively phase out combustion engine vehicle sales. And you know, 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.679 in US we saw you know, a really dramatic move 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.200 out of Ford for them to you know, sort of 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.720 put out there that they expect to take almost twenty 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.920 billion dollars worth of charges tied to unwinding all of 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.560 you know, these ev projects, getting rid of the F one, 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.400 fifty lightning. It's really a messy picture for the rest 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:25.000 of the industry. 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:27.400 Paul loved the F one, He loved the I mean, 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.480 I loved it too, but I got to say, I 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.120 feel like the GMC Sierra, which they're going to keep making, 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.079 is an incredibly solid project. 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.160 The Silverado as well. 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.600 Therein lies the difference between US electric vehicles and Chinese 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:42.840 electric vehicles, Like I guess there are two, right, Craig. 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.840 The Chinese subsidize this industry to the tune of hundreds 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.680 of billions of dollars, whereas the US administration is positioned 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:56.680 firmly against EV's And you know, you're paying six figures 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.800 for an electric vehicle. If I could buy one now, 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:01.040 I would buy a Portia tie Can or maybe the 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:04.600 Sierra or maybe a Cayenne, you know, And in China 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:07.360 you're going to pay more like twenty thousand dollars for 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:08.320 an electric vehicle. 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:10.920 Yeah, I think, you. 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.559 Know, to the credit of you know, these Chinese manufacturers, 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.440 you have seen a company like by D try to 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:19.600 have you know, a little a bit of a cake 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:22.640 and eat it too situation where to your point, absolutely 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:24.760 they sell a heck of a lot of really really 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:27.800 cheap electric vehicles. They are also trying to go up 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:31.240 market and sell you know, it's sort of position actually, 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:35.560 you know, relatively new sub brands of vehicles that are 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.000 performance cars. I don't think they're you know, by any 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:41.480 means moving those in the sorts of volumes that you know, 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.760 are in any sort of comparison to what they do, 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:50.279 you know, on the lower end. But that being said, absolutely, 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:53.840 the level of commitment that we've seen out of China 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.279 to this project, we haven't seen, you know, from one 0:04:56.279 --> 0:05:01.920 administration to the next, these wild swings in sort of approach. 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:04.360 We absolutely have seen that. 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.680 Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Intelligence coming up after this. 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:16.000 You're listening to the Bloomberg Intelligence podcast. Catch us live 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.159 weekdays at ten am Eastern on Apple, Cocklay and Android 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:22.480 Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:25.640 you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube. 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.640 Ford Motor Company with probably the news of the year 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:35.240 from an American automaker, twenty billion dollar write down. It's 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:37.880 just absolutely massive, especially if you add it on to 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.599 the billions of dollars in write downs they've already taken 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.600 on the EV business. Let's bring in Aaron Kating right now, 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:48.359 Cox Automotive. She has been covering this industry for years 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.040 and has been a guest on my podcast Oh Bloomberg 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.720 hot pursuit we start it, Aaron, what do you think 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:59.839 about the move by Ford, because they have been really 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:05.200 spectacularly unsuccessful with evs. At the same time, General Motors 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:07.560 has I can't even count how many. They've got the Hummer, 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:11.320 They've got the Sierra, the Silverado, They've got the Chevy Bolt, 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:14.960 They've got the Equinox, They've got the Chevy Blazer, They've 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:17.160 got all the Cadillac evs. Like the list goes on 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.680 and on and on such an incredibly broad offering. Are 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:21.919 they losing the same amount of money as Ford was 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:27.120 on their Lightning and mock e Well, first of all. 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:28.359 It's always great to see you, Matt. 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.240 Thank you for having me hypop As you can tell, 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:33.960 I'm one of the sufferers of the cold and illness that. 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:35.080 Came through the holidays. 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.479 But yes, I mean GM does have the breadth and 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.760 depth of the EV lineup, so they've been able to 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.720 diversify the costs across a pretty broad set. 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.240 Of vehicles that are available on the market. So sure. 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:49.960 They've also noted that they've taken some hits from having 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.960 to build out their electrified portfolio, but. 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:54.840 Certainly not anything on the level. 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:56.240 Of what Ford has had to do because they've had 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.680 such limited vehicles that have been available, whether it's the 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:00.960 Machi or the Ford F one five fifty Lightning, and 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.120 the Lightning honestly just didn't do as well as they 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:04.039 expected it to do. 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:07.400 And so, you know, as they say, even when. 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:09.280 We're talking about teriffs, the more product you have to 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:12.240 spread that cost across, you know, the better you're off 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.000 you're going to be moving into the future. And GMS 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:17.200 seem to have nailed it as far as having some 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.280 models that were really attractive to people at good price points. 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.120 That's where I wanted to go erin affordability. 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:24.760 Some of the numbers we hear out there on the 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.960 average cost of a new car just staggering for most people. 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.960 What can the industry do, if anything, to address that 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:32.800 affordability issue? 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:34.160 I mean, honestly, here's the deal. 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:35.640 We talked about this a little bit in our fourth 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:38.840 quarter call the Cars. You know, the price of vehicles, Yes, 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.640 they've gone up, and we really experienced that huge spike 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.120 during the pandemic which kind of level set us at 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:47.720 this new call it average transaction price of fifty thousand 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:52.080 dollars per car. But we are seeing people generally buy 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.240 more expensive vehicles, the bigger vehicles. So somewhat of this 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:59.280 is consumer choice. They're preferring the larger and more expensive vehicles. 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.920 And a big story is the interest rates. I mean, 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:06.840 this is a no brainer. We we've nearly come back 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.800 to what about thirty six weeks of income at costs 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.680 to purchase the car. Now, back in twenty thirteen, that 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.520 was thirty three weeks of income. But what's really changed 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:18.080 over all of these years is that the interest rate 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:22.520 has doubled, and so that people are extending their loans. 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:24.840 You know, they're getting we've heard the hundred month loan now, 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:27.320 so they're not paying less, they're paying longer, and in 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:29.320 fact they're paying more in interest over time. 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:31.280 But the automotive companies, I think. 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.360 You know how Ford's talking about, how they're trying to 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.600 watch their costs, make better decisions on more profitable models. 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:38.559 That's going to help them to at. 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:41.760 Least keep costs down or at least stabilize so that 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:44.600 pricing won't continue to go on some sort. 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:45.680 Of stratospheric rise. 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:49.480 But we are going to continue to see normal inflationary 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.120 pressures on cars, just like we see on any other 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:53.520 consumer good by. 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.600 The way, reminds me I was in a I wasn't 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:58.319 a Dodge dealer last week getting some new shoes on 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.320 my Dodge Challenger scat pack wide body. 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:02.640 Of course, how's how's that doing? 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.679 The naturally appure he and I saw that they were 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:11.400 offering zero percent APR and a thirty six month financing 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:12.600 for their for their trucks. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:14.200 Obviously that's going to be a high payment for the 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:15.320 short duration. 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:21.679 But are you seeing aaron more companies, car makers, finance 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:23.880 arms eat it for the consumer to give them lower 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:24.480 interest rates. 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:28.560 To be fair, I think most of those finance deals 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:30.480 are coming in for the well healed consumers. 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:31.640 I mean, this is the other thing that. 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:34.760 We talk about in the automotive market is the bifurcated market, right, 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.760 So it's usually the higher inclement individuals that are actually 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.520 feeding our new vehicle market in the first place, and 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:42.320 those are the individuals that are going to have better 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.839 credit ratings and are likely getting a lot more of 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.080 those deals. So would I say that the financial arms 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.560 are eating it. They were certainly when it came to 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:54.560 electric vehicles. I think that they're likely finding mostly well 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:57.120 healed consumers that are able to take advantage of those 0:09:57.160 --> 0:10:00.600 types of deals, and we're still seeing the lower income 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.920 quintile just stay out of the new vehicle market head 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:07.000 towards the used vehicle market as they traditionally have, and 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.360 I think we're seeing we're just eating into some more 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.280 of those customers who may have had a chance in 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.040 the past to enter that new vehicle market are just 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.160 having to shop down into used vehicles. 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.520 By the way, my sense I saw there a ram 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:21.200 with with the big hemy that's coming back, thank goodness. 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:24.200 And Ford, you know they have this Blue Oval City 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:25.800 or where they call it in Tennessee. They were going 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.959 to build their next electric truck there. Now I'm guessing 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.640 it's going to be a steel bodied Ford Classic with 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:33.920 the big six point two liter VA. Bring that back, 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:35.840 Bring that back? Maybe a stick shift? Do you what 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:37.000 do you expect. 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:40.040 When we love a stick shift? We talk about this 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.800 all the time. Matt, Your knowledge of cars always amazes me. 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:46.360 I do think that they're going to continue to look at, yes, absolutely, 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:48.800 what has sold in the past, what continues to be 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:50.559 popular with the American consumer. 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:52.400 How do they maintain their base. 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.560 I think the big question for the future is just 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.760 going to be where are we losing those entry level 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.880 customers and will that be hurting us. 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.800 In a few years from now? Won't hurt us now? 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.960 Where you still have the consumers be able to get 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:05.959 into the market and the cars that they like, or 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.480 I should say vehicles, because we really have very few cars. 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:11.120 But are some of the automakers starting to work their 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.520 way out of that entry level vehicle in the future. 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.160 Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Intelligence coming up after this. 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.720 You're listening to the Bloomberg Intelligence podcast. Catch us live 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.880 weekdays at ten am Eastern on Apple, Cocklay and Android 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:31.200 Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:34.400 you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube. 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:39.079 Let's stick with energy, but get into nuclear because AI 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:43.559 data centers have been driving obviously a surge in demand 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:47.920 for power, and Centrist Energy says it's expanding its uranium 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.880 enrichment manufacturing in the great State of Ohio, calling it 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:55.880 a consequential transformation. We have the CEO of Centrist joining 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.319 us now, Amir Wexler. So, Amir, first off, tell us 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:03.160 big picture, sure you know, like Dan Ives always says, 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:07.000 demand for AI is twelve to one compared to the 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.080 amounts of chips out there. I'm not sure exactly what 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:12.000 he means, but what about demand for power? How how 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:15.000 high is it compared to what we what we can supply. 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:16.720 Now, well, good morning everyone. 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.080 Yeah, so we we from our perspective. For those of 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.160 you are not familiar with with Centrist, Centrist is uh 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.559 a uranium and Richmond company. Most of the nuclear reactors 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.040 in the world require uranium and Richmond. We are the 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:36.880 only American technology, American owned company, and we're the only 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.079 ones that are not majority state owned. To your question 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:44.360 about energy, it has been really quite fascinating to watch 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:48.199 what has happened in the past year. The demand has 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.800 been has been hugely associated with the I. But let's 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:56.120 not forget the demand out there for nuclear fuel and 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:59.400 what we're dealing with. You know, for US AI is 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:01.960 just a top I mean, we have a base case 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:05.960 assumption that really majority of it does not include AI growth. 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.840 I mean, we're seeing a lot of commercial nuclear growth, 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.280 and we're seeing a lot of growth in national security 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:15.520 in the United States and a lot of demand for 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:17.280 enrichment of uranium. 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:18.520 For that I Meir. 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.640 President Trump signed an executive order in May calling for 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:25.680 the us to speed up production of enriched uranium. 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:28.280 Are you seeing that practically in the marketplace these days? 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:29.520 Is that impacting your business? 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:30.400 Oh? 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:34.000 Absolutely? I think one of the best things that happened 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.800 to us in the recent history is the focus that 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.240 the President in fact, that's put on the uranium and 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.640 Richmond side of the fuel cycle. It is the largest 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:47.240 constraint in my view, in the entire fuel cycle and 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:52.079 the ability to power the existing reactors and the future reactors. 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:55.480 And so absolutely we see a lot of activity, so 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:57.880 much so in that we have announced a few weeks 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:03.440 ago that we are commencing the construction fabrication of uranium 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:06.400 centrifuges in our facility in Ohio. And by the way, 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.600 we sort in in oak Ridge, Tennessee. By the way, 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:13.360 we we're headquartered in Bethesda, and we operate uh two plants, 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.720 one in Tennessee and one in Ohio where the enrichment 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.320 is done. I'm here for the holidays in Toronto, so 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:20.760 you see the beautiful skyline of Toronto right behind me. 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.680 But but we are, uh, you know, based out of 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:25.960 out of Bethesda and in the United States. 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.840 Uh, why why choose my home state of Ohio? You're 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:30.920 located right there. 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:35.000 Look, if I'm driving from Columbus past Chili Coffee down 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:36.560 to Ashland, you're right in the middle there. 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:38.680 In pikedon why why did you choose that location? 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.400 We we we go, we go way back in that 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:48.120 in that facility. Uh, that facility was originally constructed for 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.600 a demonstration program of some of the centrifuges that we 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:55.360 worked on with the Department of Energy. I mean, the 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.440 the ability of somebody to get into the uranium business, 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.920 the uranium and Richmond business, the barriers to entry is 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.240 almost insurmountable. So I mean, that's a great question. I mean, 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:09.880 we've been working on our technology for decades in collaboration 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.120 with the Department of Energy, and that was one of 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:16.600 the original facilities where we have installed some of our 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:20.840 demo cascades and centrifuges. In the past two years, we 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:25.480 have built a demo cascade that has been producing HALU, 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:28.400 which is a high assay low enriched uranium. It's a 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:32.920 slightly more enriched uranium that is meant to power advanced reactors. 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.080 And that's where we've been operating that cascade from. That's 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.280 where we've been enriching it from. So our huge buildout 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:42.760 is going to happen in that facility. I'm not sure 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:46.120 I can exactly answer why Ohio was picked for that, 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:47.480 but we love the area. 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:49.320 We have some real talent in that. 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:51.560 Area, and we're able to attract some real talent in 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:52.400 Tennessee as well. 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.120 I mean, I was just wondering if I was just 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.120 wondering if the Siota River has anything to do with it, 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:57.720 because it runs right through piked in there. 0:15:59.120 --> 0:15:59.920 That's a good question. 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.320 I may have to consult with some of the historians 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:02.960 in the company. 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:07.480 Hey, Imir, one technology that's got my attention here as 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:11.800 we think about powering this AI revolution is small modular 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:15.720 reactors small nuclear reactors. Talk to us about that technology 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:17.400 and what do you think of it? 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:23.400 My personal opinion is it is exciting. I think it's fantastic. 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:25.480 There's a lot of companies here in the United States 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.160 that are developing really exciting new technologies to make the 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:36.000 reactors more efficient, more productive, safer. My personal opinion is 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:40.120 is it really does not matter to centris centrists is 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:43.520 obviously cheering everybody on. We want large reactors to win, 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.560 we want small reactors to win, we want advanced reactors 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:48.840 to win. But at the end of the day, the 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:53.720 enrichment will be required for that growth, you know. Maybe 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.240 more specifically to your question, I mean, I would love 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.880 to see a world where we have a real balanced 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.720 build out of large reactors. And I think you heard 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.120 President Trump announced that there's going to be built out 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:09.119 of the Westinghouse AP one thousands, and we're also hearing 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:13.080 that there's quite a few advanced reactors, small modular reactor 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:17.119 companies that are very close to demonstrating their capability and 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.080 being able to start putting power on the grid and 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.800 not too long from now. So my personal view is 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.120 it's exciting where it comes from. It matters not to centrist. 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:26.720 We're cheering everybody on. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:31.879 I mean, what about transportation. I'm just curious about the logistics. 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:33.119 I'm sure you don't put it in the back of 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.560 an F one fifty and truck it off to three 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:36.200 mile Island. 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:40.040 So how do you move enriched uranium around? 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:44.440 Yeah, so it depends on what state the enriched uranium 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:48.600 is in. Typically, post enrichment activities, it is in the 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:53.600 uranium hexafluoride state, which is sort of like a gaseous form, 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:58.600 and this is so tightly regulated by the NRC and 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.720 the DOT. There are licensed containers that are designed and 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:05.919 have been tested in a series of stress tests to 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:10.600 make sure that all transportation of uranium is done safely 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.320 and the public is protected. And quite honestly, this the 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:17.840 transportation is very standard. It's been happening for decades and 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:21.199 decades now, and it's been happening in Maritimes. It's been 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:25.040 happening on the roads and highways and on rails. It's 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:28.040 a licensed activity and there's licensed containers that have been 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:29.439 tested and stress tested for that. 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:33.600 Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Intelligence coming up after this. 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:41.160 You're listening to the Bloomberg Intelligence podcast. Catch us Live 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:44.360 weekdays at ten am Eastern on Apple Coarclay, and Android 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:47.680 Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:51.000 you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube. 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:54.760 Let's talk now about one of the biggest deals of 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:56.639 twenty twenty five, or. 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:59.480 At least I guess agreed to. 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.560 Deal hasn't been closed obviously yet, and that's the battle 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:04.760 over Warner Brothers. Paul, this is the one you've follow 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:06.880 in closes. Have you, by the way, have you bought 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:08.360 or sold Warner Brothers yourself. 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:10.840 I did with AOL paper back in two thousand, two 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:11.360 thousand and one. 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.720 I knew you'd been involved in that. And I love 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:20.160 this deal also because it's one that President Trump had 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.480 previously killed. Remember when AT and T wanted to buy 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:25.399 Warner Brothers, he's got an interest in and now it 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:28.640 appears he said no, the DOJ. They sued, They sued 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:30.639 the DOJ and they actually got it done. But then 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:33.080 then AT and T was like, wait, this was a 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.600 bad idea. So then they got rid of it and 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:38.720 now it's up for grabs again Netflix. 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:40.760 That was the agreed deal to. 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:43.919 Buy Warner Brothers, paramount, of course, in with the with 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.840 the hostel offer. So let's talk about how this works out, 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.560 how it changes the media landscape, the future of streaming, 0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:52.440 bundling movies, et cetera. 0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:54.600 Paul Larby joins us to break it down. He's the 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:55.639 CEO of Bango. 0:19:55.800 --> 0:19:58.919 Bango is a global tech company that enables providers to 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:01.520 reach more paying custo sumers through global partnerships. 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:03.119 I guess that's corporate speak. 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:05.399 I looked on the website and I guess I could 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.480 just Paul tell me about this. I could go to 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:11.120 you and say I want this, that and the other 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.399 streaming service, you bundle it for me and I just 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:13.800 pay you. 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:16.560 Yeah, not directly through us. I mean, in fact, we 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:18.359