The Best One Yet - 🎣 “Fishing Mecca” — Bass Pro Shops’ hotel. Tesla’s brand reversal. The Railroad Grinch.

Episode Date: December 1, 2022

The 7th biggest pyramid on Earth is actually in Tennessee, it’s a hotel, and it’s owned by Bass Pro Shops. Everyone's talking about Twitter and Elon, but what’s going on at Tesla? 3 bad things. And whether or not the Grinch steals Christmas comes down to 1 thing: The Railroad Strike.$TSLA $CSXFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YoutubeWant a Shoutout on the pod? Fill out this formGot the Best Fact Yet? We got a form for that tooLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday. December 1st, and today's pod is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. December 1st. December 1st over here. What's going on with stocks, Jack?

Stocks popped on Wednesday. The Dow surged by 500 points. And the Fed signaled maybe inflation is kind of chilling out a little bit. Maybe kind of sort of, inflation has calmed down. Maybe those double-digit-lates will become single-digit-lates. Please oat milk, Jack. What's our first story for 3? today's pod. Everyone is talking about Twitter and Elon every single day. But we're wondering what's

happening over at Tesla? Yeah, how about Tesla? For our second story, Bass Pro Shops makes $8 billion a year selling camouflage underwear. And Bass Pro Shops owns the biggest pyramid on the Mississippi. Our third and final story, we just found out whether the Grinch will in fact steal Christmas. It all comes down to the railroad strike. But yet is before. or we hit that wonderful mix. Fantastic mix of stories. I love the mix today, Jack. I love the mix.

Tis the season for Spotify Rapped. Oh, Yetis, your Insta feed is filled with Spotify rap today. We just got the data about how our pod did on Spotify this year. Yeah, so Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style to the numbers and here are the numbers. We're proud of the numbers and we hope you are too.

Because these numbers are thanks to you. It turns out we published 3,000, 87 minutes of pod this year. That's three full days of Slamming Salmon's Stories. And our most listened to episode this year, it's when we previewed Game of Thrones versus Lord of the Rings.

Jack, does that mean that episode was the best one yet? Of the best one yet? Yes, it does. And besties, you listen to the pod from 114 different countries this year. Brazil, Obrugato.

You just hit number five highest Yeti population in the world. And your T-boy love was strong. It was so strong. It made our show the top 1% most shared show on Spotify. H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. For 32,000 of you, T-Boy was the number one most listened to pod of the year. Jack, that fills one Fenway Park.

For 83,000 of you, we were in the top five. That's one and a half Yankee Stadium. For 108,000 of you, we were in the top 10. Jack, that is six Madison Square Gardens, baby. And that's just on. Spotify. Hey Apple, your move. Yeah. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone listening to this pod? It is one week after Thanksgiving today, but we're still thankful for all the besties and yetties. You make our guac feel extra. Let's hit our three stars.

Let's hit. 15 years before this song, two boys from the northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one. 50%. That's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. For our first story, you want to know what's going on with Tesla these days. The stock is down 55% in the last year. Because Tesla used to have a part-time CEO.

They did. Now they have a partisan CEO. Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the latest data from Tesla. It's not that fun data about Tesla. Tesla's domination of, of the electric car market isn't quite as dominant as it used to be. Tesla was the Kleenex of the car industry. It was just like Kleenex.

It was the brand name synonymous with the product they invented. Yeah, because Tesla was the only serious player in electric cars for years. For a decade or two, it was the only pure play electric car company in the United States. We remember, well, 2014, the status car over in the Hamptons. It used to be the Mercedes G-Wagon. Jack, what is it today? Model S from Tesla. Get this.

Yeties. In 2020, four out of five electric cars sold in America was a Tesla. 80% of all the electric vehicles on the road, each one was a Tesla. But since your uncle got that Model S, I won't stop talking about it, by the way. Every car company in the world

started chasing those big Tesla dollars. Last year, Brand started dishing out electric vehicles like they were Oprah. Volkswagen launched an electric car. Ford launched an electric F-150. And Rivian, Rivian put out some electric trucks too. I sent some hesitation there, Jack, but you were 100% accurate. And this year, Hyundai, Kia, Chevy, all of them started chipping away at Tesla's electric

domination even further. So in the third quarter of this year, just six out of 10 electric cars sold in America were Tesla. We repeat, Tesla's market share is going in reverse. It went from 8 out of 10 to 6 out of 10 electric vehicles sold. And S&P, the company that put out this report, they predict that by 20, 25, only two out of 10 electric cars in America will be Tesla's. Jack, you know how we always say ABL always be launching?

Yeah? Has Tesla really launched anything in the last year? No, they haven't. So basically Tesla has gone from no competition to tons of competition this year. So Tesla's stock has fallen by 55% in the past 12 months. Ironically, though, and to Tesla's credit, the challenge that we just described is a result of Tesla's success. Tesla showed that electric cars could sell, even in the bougie Hampton's mansions, so every car company tried to emulate Tesla.

And to be honest, Tesla is still dominating the electric vehicle market check. Yeah, its market share is a little less dominant. Yeah, like four out of the top five most popular electric vehicles in America. What are they, Jack? They're the four cars that Tesla makes. Full disclosure, this is Nick. We have a Model Y, and it's really fun to drive. So Tesla is handling the competition just fine.

But... Sometimes I drive the car too fast. It's like really fun to drive. So Jack wants the takeaway for our buddies over at Tesla. Elon created Tesla. Now he's hurting it. Yet he's the way more surprising data, Jack and I noticed, it's this shocker. According to a U-Gov poll, Tesla's brand favorability went net negative for the first time ever on November 7.

We repeat. sit down, stand up, sit back down again in that driver's seat. This is unprecedented. More Americans now have a negative view on Tesla than a positive view. The reason? Elon has become such a divisive figure. And Elon is the soul of Tesla. For years, Tesla benefited from Elon's tweets.

It made Tesla the most popular car company of all time. But Elon's activity on Twitter isn't just Tesla anymore. It's mostly about politics and free speech issues. And all of Elon's Twitter chaos in general, it's spilling over. over to the Tesla brand too. Tesla thrived with Elon, even though he was a part-time CEO. But now he's Tesla's partisan CEO, and that is hurting the company. For our second story, it's official.

The Bass Pro Shop has the most extravagant store in all of America. It's official because we said so. We just made it happen. Now it's a thing. It's officially a thing. Yet these retail's not dead. Bad retail is dead. This is like our greatest hits.

Jack, this is the greatest hits takeaway. All right, Yetis, here's a question for you. Here's a trivia question. The world's largest pyramids. Where are they, Jeff? Four of them are in Egypt. That's no surprise. One is underground in Mexico.

Okay, yeah, the Mayans. Mostly underground. And another is in Las Vegas trying to look like Egypt. Which is just classic Vegas. But, Jack, the seventh largest pyramid in the world. Where actually is that one? I would never, ever, ever, ever guess this. We did not expect this at all, Yettes.

Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee. Tennessee. The seventh biggest pyramid on earth is right now on the Mississippi River and it's owned by Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro Shop, an outdoor fishing hunting retail chain. Jack, Christmas is coming up. Does Bass Pro Shop have that latest fishing rod available? Nick, does it trout pee in the stream? Yet he's Bass Pro Shops is if TV show Yellowstone became a big box store. Bass Pro Shop is Kevin Costner's Costco. It is. And this year, Bass Pro Shop is. And this year, Bass Pro Shop is, acquired their long-time, all-time rival Cabellas.

Now this conglomerate of outdoor stuff does $8 billion a year in revenue selling like camo and tents. It's one big mama bear and the Wall Street Journal just profiled the Bass Pro Shops' biggest location ever. Bass Pro Shops owns that seventh biggest pyramid, the Memphis Pyramid.

The Memphis Pyramid. Or as Bass Pro Shops calls it, the Big Cypress Lodge. isn't just a pyramid-shaped bass pro shop, and it's not just an architectural marvel either. No, it is not, Jack. It's actually an aquarium, a zoo, a shooting range, a bowling alley, a hotel, a souvenir shop, and a whole lot more amusement park. Now, this pyramid used to be an NBA basketball arena. Right, Jack, when we were growing up, like the Memphis Grizzlies, they played a few games

in this pyramid. Up until recently, this was an NBA arena. It was, it was. Now, it is a 530,000 square foot out. outdoorsman's Disney World with more taxidermy than human guests. This is a retail store that also has 103 hotel rooms that have a view of the indoor trout pond and has a whole floor of flannel. Jack, did you hear what the Wi-Fi code is? No.

The password is hibernating. I love that. It's classic. We just need one more caribou over there. And if you're hungry, you can eat elk sliders at Mark Wahlberg's restaurant on the 28th floor of the pyramid. We haven't seen the menu, but we're pretty sure they're not serving Funa. At this Bass Pro Shop HQ, you can mount a moose head.

You can reel a rod. You can reload a rifle. Jack, this is Disney World meets Sea World, but on your uncle's boat, which happens to be in a Hilton hotel. On top of the world's seventh biggest pyramid. Oh, this is got to be one of our greatest hits. So Jack... And he can't pass.

So what is the takeaway for our buddy? He's making $8 billion a year over at Bass Pro Shops. Retail's not dead. Bad retail is dead. Yeties, remember when Jack and I said, like two minutes ago, Cabellas was acquired by Bass Pro Shops, their rival? That's because Cabela's sales had been falling for years. Yeah, look, in the age of Amazon,

you're buying sleeping bags and that fancy new fishing rod online. But successful physical stores that are still there today and thriving, they've upped their game with experiential retail. And the latest trend that Jack and I have noticed is retail hospitality. Combine your store with a hotel. IKEA, for instance, runs a 250-room hotel in Sweden. That's immersed with IKEA's furniture. Last week when we were recording in New York,

we saw Restoration Hardware's new luxury hotel in the Meatbacking District of Manhattan. They wouldn't let us in. No, they wouldn't. We did have a lot of recording equipment. Now, Bass Pro Shops has built a mecca for outdoor recreation within a pyramid. Because yet he's retail's not dead. Bad retail's dead.

Now, a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. You know, honestly, your salad, it says so much about you. Nick, you like to blaze your own trail at the salad bar. Yeah, I'm ordering a salad. I go off menu, man, like a combo of kale and croutons that has never been made before. Me? I'm not reinventing the wheel. I like to go classic.

If Sweakerian thinks it's a good combo, Jack's not going to change that. Kind of like investing strategies. someone to build a custom portfolio of stocks, crypto, and options. Others don't want to reinvent. Just give me the most standard ETF. Whether you're tweaking your one-of-a-kind portfolio every day or prefer a more hands-off approach, Robin Hood has the tools. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet to get started, go to robin hood.com slash t-boy to choose your free stock.

That's robinid.com slash T-B-O-I. Limitations apply. Stocks offered by Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC. Crypto offered through Robin Hood Crypto. All investments involve risk. By the way, this podcast is not. not owned or part of Robin Hood, and we are not employees of Robin Hood. For our third and final story, for the first time in Jackson, my lifetimes, Congress is forcing an entire industry to work.

It's an interesting story, and it's to stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas. It is an interesting story, Jack. Okay, Jack, before we begin, before we begin, I just want to read a little song to you. Here we go, here we go. I've been working on the railroad all the live long day. I got a jack, I got a jack. I've been working on the railroad just to pass the time away. Can't you hear the whistle blowing rise up so early in the morn?

Can't you hear the captain shouting? Dina blow your horn? Jack, railroad work is hard. Did you hear these lyrics? Dina? I like that name. Yeah, I think you're focusing on the wrong part here, Jack. In September Yeties, Jack and I covered railroads on this show because America runs on railroads, not Duncan.

Sorry, Dahlene. And because the 12 unions representing railroad workers were going on strike, it was a big deal in September. Well, just like the words in the chorus, we were just discussing, railroad life is tough. Apparently in America, railroad workers are constantly on call. They can never kick up their feet and relax. Yeah, they can't take vacations. They can't get sick. They might have to jump on a locomotive at any minute.

And contractually, they have to jump on that locomotive. Yeah, they can take a vacation, but they might have to ditch the vacation in the of Space Mountain at Disney World. So they were striking, which led two months ago to a deal that the White House negotiated that seemed to avert a disaster. Right. Here was the deal. If you've been working on the railroad with Dinah, you're going to get a 24% pay raise over the next five years, plus an $11,000 day one bonus.

Not too shabby, you're getting more money, but the railroad unions voted against it. They didn't want better pay. They wanted better lives. That's what we said in September. Yesterday, Congress did something that Jack and I have just never seen before. The government decided yesterday, you may not strike railroad unions. Yeah, they're forbidding the railroad unions from striking. They are full steam ahead on railroad workers getting back to work.

They basically just criminalized this union's right to strike. And the Senate's expected to pass the bill too. And Joe Biden's expected to sign. So both the railroad and the 12 railroad unions are going to be forced by, by law to accept that deal that they got back in September. We've never seen this before. Congress is silencing railroad workers right to organize and to strike. Now, Jack and I should point out, Congress does care about railroad workers.

Like, they do want them to get some time off, and they should. So they're working on a second bill that would require the railroads to give the workers one week of paid leave. In the meantime, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy, Thomas the Tank Engine, and everyone in the railroad industry. Congress just silenced unions, but they did it to save Christmas. Eddie, nothing against railroad unions. In fact, my great-grandfather worked on the Delaware and Hudson, the AD&H railroad. No way. That's incredible. It was in the union, but a railroad strike right now, that would have ruined this year's Christmas. We should definitely point out,

railroad workers should get paid time off. It's totally messed up. They can never relax or go on vacation. In fact, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style. The three major railroad companies, are enjoying record profits right now, and yet they're firing workers for getting sick. We sympathize with the union's cause, but a shocking 30% of the goods in our economy run at some point on a railroad. Yeah, Jack, one out of three gists for a little Johnny. They're traveling on a caboose for Christmas. So the government's decided to kill the workers' right to strike, but that's what they had to do to kill the Grinch. Hopefully, Congress passes the second bill so workers at railroads can relax

over the holidays too. In the meantime, Congress silenced unions to save Christmas. To kill the Grinch. Jack, can you and Dinah whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Tesla stock is down 55% in the past year and it's brand suffering too. Elon created Tesla. Now his Twitter antics are hurting Tesla. For our second story, Bass Pro Shops turned the pyramid of Memphis into experiential outdoor retail. Retail's not dead. Bad retail's dead. our third and final story, the 12 railroad unions are not allowed to strike, thanks to a new law. Congress silenced unions because it's trying to save Christmas. Now, time for the best fact yet.

This one sent in by Jason Raymond Werner from lovely Portland, Oregon. Hasbro. Hasbro! It's a big corporation. The $9 billion toy company behind Nerf, Monopoly, Twister. Classics. Who could forget my little pony? Not me?

But Hasbro wasn't always called Hasbro, and they didn't know. always just sell toys. It was founded a hundred years ago in the great state of Rhode Island by two Polish Jewish brothers who sold fabric at the time. And the name of Hasbro at the time, it was Hassanfeld brothers. The Hasbro's. The Hasbrose. The Hasbros didn't get great toys. So they founded a toy company to remedy that for future generations. And all those toys traveled on a caboose. Yeties, you looked fantastic today, especially. Especially all the besties out there who shared their Spotify raft. It was awesome seeing all those shares on Instagram and Twitter and everywhere else.

Jack and I sat down, stood up, and we actually sat back down again. We loved it. Yeah, we sat there for a while. If you know, you know. And before we go, happy birthday to Noble's Bulldog, Abby Mayer, from just outside Boston. The legend of a pleasure, I would be honored to share a mic with you. And happy birthday to Abby Ziegler, turning 30 down in Los Angeles. And happy birthday to Linda Fahardo Banfield in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

And a happy belated birthday to Lee Hollingsworth down in San Francisco's sunset. Happy birthday to Rache Manala, celebrating with an ice cream cake in Albany. And Anthony Whitlow is celebrating the birthday wins on a work trip, but still celebrating the birthday wins. Happy 40th birthday birthday to Mark Pemble, who's snowboarding big time on his 40s. Not too shabby. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.

I own stock of Amazon, Disney, and VW and Ford. And Nick and I both own stock of Apple, Spotify, and Robin Hood. Now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. Okay, so Jack and I both worked in finance for a while. And we know the six-monitor Bloomberg jockey, with charts, numbers, balances, and more charts. They got coffees in both hands while they're executing some complex trade on a soybean future. Well, we're not trying to impress with our mission control trading center.

Just give us an app, please. Robin Hood, with its mobile first and intuitive design, it lets you trade with just a few quick taps on their app. And even if things still don't seem easy, Robin Hood has your back 24-7 with its live and robust customer support. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robin hood.com slash t-boy and choose your free stock. That's robinood.com slash T-B-O-Y.

Limitations apply. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involved for us. By the way, this podcast is not owned by or part of Robin Hood, and we are not employees of Robin Hood.