The Best One Yet - 🔌 “Premature Electrification” — The EV Speed Bump. Return of the iPod. Realtors’ $1.8B problem.

Episode Date: November 2, 2023

Electric cars sales just hit a speed bump — Because Electric Cars are being treated like vaccines.The iPod is back, baby: Urban Outfitters put 20-year-old iPods up for sale, and they sold out instantly — Because nostalgia follows a 20-year life cycle.And The National Association of Realtors was just found guilty for fixing commissions at 6% — It’s an earthquake for the industry of 1.5M real estate agents.$Z $URBN $TSLA $GM $F $AAPLSubscribe to our newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, November 2nd, and today's pod, it is the best one yet. It is a team boy, Jack. I know what's going on. I see that rapper over there. I know what you're doing. We have a help announcement for the days after Halloween we want to share.

Yeah, it's all you, Jack. Take it from here. If the kids didn't take all the trick-or-treat candy, throw it away. Why is that, Jack? If you don't throw it away, you're going to guilt eat it like I did on Halloween night and be very sick the next morning. Jack, when we were trick-or-treating and we ran into my dad. dentist, Dr. Bacadori, and you know what she told us? It's better to get it all done at the beginning.

Oh, she said, eat all the candy at once. Don't spread it out over a year. You got to indulge on that stuff. It's better for your teeth. It is better for your teeth. So if you still got candy, either eat it or throw it away. Today is your deadline. But eat it, because that's the healthy thing for your teeth.

Jack, first story for today's pod, what do we got, man? For our first story, we're looking at the iPod, because the coolest new tech gadget is the oldest tech gadget. The iPod is back, baby, because after 20 years, it's officially new again. Before our second story, we're talking real estate. Everyone knows a real estate agent, and they're definitely talking about this story. Yeti's real estate brokers are facing a $1.8 billion conspiracy. And our third and final story, we have to talk about a serious issue.

Yes, we do. Premature electrification. Premature electrification. P-E. Because the electric car surge may be an electric car bubble. Yes, it might. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. A fantastic mix of stories for the new Friday, Jack.

Nick and I have talked on this pod about names. And Jack and I have talked on this pod about real estate. But we've never seen a name take up so much real estate. Get this yet is. A Spanish princess was just named the longest name in all the world. In fact, this Spanish princess's name is so long, it's actually illegally long. Like Jack and I would say her entire name, but we do not have space on this podcast. By saying her full name.

We'd add two minutes to the length of the show. What the heck, Jack? Let's just do it. Pause the pod. Yannis, we're going to do it. You kick it off. One sec. I need a breath.

Sophia Fernanda Dolores. Cayetana, Teresa, Angela de la Cruz, Michaela del Santissimo Sacramento de Perpetuo. All right, catch your breath and continue. Socorro de la Santissima, Trinity, and di todos Los Santos. That's not a name, Nick. That's a paragraph in a half. Jack, counting it up here.

That is 25 words in that name, man. Her middle name should be et cetera, et cetera. Jack, it's the only name with ellipsies in the middle of it. Now, there is a strategy to this extremely long name yeties. Jack and I should point out, Ms. Sophia is actually supposed to inherit 50 different Spanish royal titles one day. So her long name reflects the 50 different royal claims. Pretty simple math here. The more names, the more royal duchies she gets to inherit.

And that name is so long, it's already. in the Guinness Book of World Records, so she inherits something else. Jeez, this name is so long, we called our lawyers. This name is illegal in the local Spanish municipality. But the authorities aren't going after her because her name doesn't fit on an arrest warrant.

So Jack, John Kellyn, Kravichie Kramer, first of his name, Father of Wilder, Brooks and River, the CRISPR of Cookies, the maestro of microphones, and the Father of Dragons. Let's hit our... three stories. And that name's not illegal.

I can't breathe. I need a breath. Get this man some oxygen. Fifteen 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. 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. Our first story. The coolest new tech product? It's the iPod. vintage iPods are trending right now because of the 20-year rule of nostalgia. Jack, I'm sorry, can I take you back to seventh grade on the Upper West Side, please? Yes, I'd love to go there.

The number one bar mitzvah gift of 2004, you want to know what it was? An iPod. It was an iPod. It was classic. That was the thing. Don't forget the FM transmitter that comes with it so you can listen in your Honda. 87.9 FM on the frequency. I was so thankful for 87.9 being a dead frequency.

We're talking about the nano, the mini, the video. iPods out there. The video iPod was the ultimate Christmas gift of 2007. You'd to be a really good boy for that one. Yet he's the iPod was Apple's first true breakout product. Steve Jobs debuted the iPod in 2001. We had a thousand songs, 10-hour battery life, and one cute, swirly, circular dial thing. There was only one button on it. And do you remember the satisfying sound when you twisted the knob? Adam, can we do one of those sounds, Adam? Clickety-clack. Now, in 2006, iPod representation. presented 40% of Apple's revenues.

The iPod was 40% of Apple's revenues. Every single day, Apple was selling 100,000 iPods. Sit down, stand up, and play play again. No, Yetis, we all know the story. The iPod metamorphosized to become a beautiful iPhone. So last year, Apple discontinued the iPod. It moved on from the original iPod. The iPod today is an outdated, ancient, lost in your dongle drawer technology.

But Yeties, here's the news. Urban Outfitters, the clothing chain behind Anthropology, is selling old iPods. It's not just selling old iPods. It's selling out of old iPods. Yeties, the cool new tech is old tech. Here's the best part. Urban Outfitters listed old iPods on their website and described them as overpriced obsolete technology. That was in the description. There's no touchscreen on this thing, Bestie.

So it's like a millennial fossil. That's how we think of this. And yet it's sold out. The iPod, it is the tech equivalent of a dinosaur egg. And yet it sold out. It's an Apple artifact. It's like the dead sea scrolls, the mask of two-tong common, and then the iPod. I don't know what any of those things are, but this iPod sold out.

They're all buried under a lot of dust, Jack. Here's another surprise. Urban Outfitters wasn't selling it as memorabilia that you can put up on your shelf on display. They're not selling these as collectibles that you just keep away to gain value. They sold them as functional tech products. as MP3 players so you could listen to music. Because Urban Outfitors upgraded these iPods with new battery and storage. So basically, they're like a refurbished vintage car.

It's like a certified pre-owned iPod. Not too shabby. So put away those wireless spatial audio Bluetooth setup and whip out the old iPod and corded headphones. And that's not even the wildest part, is it, Jack? This iPod actually gained value since when it debuted to since it was sold today. Yeah, it's 18 years ago. They sold this iPod for $249. Today, they sold them for $349.

And again, they sold out. That's a 40% gain for a product that doesn't even have a color screen. Now, the only problem here, you have to find one of those huge dongles. Remember the old iPod plugs? You'd basically get our hernia just trying to lift one of those things. You needed a wrench to pull it out of the machine. So yet he's Jack and I saw this story. And of course, we thought, you know, what we've told you before, nostalgia never dies.

But we couldn't have predicted that a 20-year-old iPod would sell out instantly online. No, we couldn't have. But then we wondered, could we have predicted this? And then we realized we could. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over selling iPods? Nostalgia follows a 20-year life cycle. Yeties, when you study trends, you learn that there's a science behind. And it turns out nostalgia arrives after 20 years.

Bell bottoms were a popular trend in the 70s, a nostalgic trend in the 90s. Neon was a trend in the 80s and a nostalgia trend in the 2000. iPods were a popular trend in the 2000s, and now they're a nostalgic trend in the 2020. Because yet he's after 20 years, that product or style is no longer old. It's new again. It's new to a new generation. It sounds ironic, but what drives nostalgia is a certain level of novelty. Besties, it takes 20 years for older associations to fade away and a new appreciation to emerge. A 15-year-old tech product is an old tech product.

A 20-year-old tech product, I want that because that thing. new again. And that is why iPods are shockingly trending right now. Because nostalgia has a 20-year life cycle. For our second story, the largest association of realtors in America just suffered a major verdict in court. The 6% standard commission on home sales that we all pay was just declared illegal. Yeties, whether you've bought a home, whether you've sold a home, whether you're thinking of buying a home, whether you're thinking of selling a home, whether you've just lived in a home. This story is relevant to you. This story is about the National Association of Realtors,

which represents one and a half million real estate agents across America. One and a half million. Yetis, if you go out to dinner, odds are you've got a real estate agent either at your table or hanging out with you at the table next to you. But the National Association of Realtors was just declared guilty by a jury. Here's the news, Yetis.

500,000 home sellers were just awarded $1.8 billion in damages as part of this shocking case. The jury decided that the NAR, The real estate organization was guilty of conspiring to inflate real estate commissions. Which when you look at the situation, Jack, this kind of implies something ironic about the whole real estate industry, doesn't it? It implies that the real estate agent industry is a monopoly, like the game monopoly. Like Pennsylvania Avenue. Can I move two steps, go back to jail?

Which is about real estate. Yeah. Yet is this is the biggest controversy in real estate since Barbara Streisand's Malibu Bansion drama. And we weren't even a lie for that. Now, there is one number that this trial, which just ended FocusTime. And that number is 6%. The 6% commission that every home seller has to pay when they sell their homes. One and a half million real estate agents paid dues to the National Association of Realtors

who own the trademark to the word Realtor. Yeah. Like, we can say Realtor, but I'm not even sure if we're allowed to print Realtor, Jack. We put it in the episode description. You can only call yourself a Realtor if you join the NAR. Phil Dunphy, legendary Realtor. He's got your back. And because it has such a massive reach and control of the real estate agents, they set the rules

on buying and selling of homes in America. Now, Eddie, here's the key rule we all end up learning about real estate. The seller of a home pays a 6% commission to the real estate agents. It's non-negotiable. And get this, Americans drop $100 billion a year on broker fees. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context for us over there? That is the same amount of revenue as Pfizer and UPS and Citibank. That's how big the broker fee industry is.

Now, buying or selling your home is one of the biggest financial decisions, one of the biggest life decisions of your life. You absolutely want to have a broker by your side. Like, they're helping you get through the whole thing. You don't understand what this payment is or that. They're like guiding you through the process. You need them. And they deserve to get paid a good income.

Interestingly, though, in other countries, the commission rate for real estate is lower. In other countries, it turns out broker commissions are like 2% to 4%. While in the U.S., it's 6%. 3% goes to the buyer's agent, 3% goes to the seller's agent. So if you're selling a million dollar home, it's a lot of fees. Jack, could you whip up the numbers for us, please over there? $60,000 in fees.

$30,000 to the buyer's agent, 30,000 to the sellers. Oh, and let's say you're selling your home, Jack, and you want to avoid paying that 6% non-negotiable fee? Then you can't use a real estate agent, and you can't list your home on the real estate websites. Yeah, you're either playing by the National Association of Realtors Rules or you're putting your house on Facebook market, place. Yeah, there's a condo on Craigslist and it's your condo. And you're marketing it yourself

and you're educating potential buyers unlike the street corner. Yeah, and good luck baking the cookies, which are delicious and our broker did and they were delicious. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who may be buying or selling a home? The real estate agent industry just suffered in earthquake. Yeties, the implications of this court ruling, they're actually pretty huge. The natural legal extension of this ruling would be to end the non-negotiable 6% broker fee, make it negotiable. And that would reduce the critical income of 1.5 million brokers who depend on it. If the broker fee becomes negotiable, analysts predict it could reduce total real estate agent fees by 30%. Now, Yeties, it's not clear how the chips will fall, but what is clear is that

American real estate was just effectively ruled a monopoly. And with one and a half million brokers potentially affected, this feels like an earthquake. For our third and final story, Jack, Jack and I just got the numbers and electric vehicles are hitting a major speed bump. Because electric cars are being treated like vaccines. Yeties, before we explain that, we need to talk about a serious medical issue here, don't we, Jack? Premature electrification. You're going to want to talk to your doctor. Yet he's during the last Super Bowl, the Dodge Ram electric car commercial.

It was all about premature electrification, wasn't it, Jack? Let's play the first 11 seconds of that commercial. Are you excited about buying an electric vehicle? vehicle but worried that it could leave you unsatisfied, then you could be one of many Americans concerned about premature electrification. Symptoms include low power, low confidence, and an electric charge that doesn't last long enough. Talk to your doctor if you're experiencing any of the above. That was a great commercial.

But yet he's over the last month, everyone's been talking about the car worker strike. One issue has been buried in the automotive section. Yeah, and that one issue is that American demand for electric vehicles is weaker. and expected. Now the car companies fear they have premature electrification. Yeties, Jack, and I were fascinated about this story because we've been tracking these headlines as they've been coming out slowly and slowly. From GM, from Ford, even Tesla, they've all announced depressing electric car news lately. Yeah, let's head over to the Midwest. Let's head over to Detroit. What's happening over at General Motors? They canceled their plans to build a low-priced electric car in partnership

with Honda. Any other electric car news from General Motors? Yeah. They're plans for an electric Silverado pickup truck, they pushed them back by a full year. Jack, let's go down the street. What's happening over at Ford? They delayed $12 billion of investments in their EV program and they canceled plans to build a battery factory. Let's say I go in a trip and I want to rent an electric car. How about that? Hertz, the rental car company, canceled their plans to convert their fleet to electric. Tesla is the OG of electric cars. They must be feeling okay on this situation. Tesla's battery supplier, Panasonic, is cutting production, probably because people are buying

fewer Teslas than expected. Even Tesla is worried right now, and they only make electric cars. So, Yetis, after all the EV hype over the last five or ten years, how is demand surprisingly weak right now? How is it weak? Jack and I both own electric cars. We're wondering, what is happening right now? We love our electric cars, but they are still more expensive than gas guzzlers. On average, they're $5,000 more expensive.

And a lot of people still have range anxiety for those road trips. Still worried about that charge distance, aren't you? Plus, all these things from the commercial. I'm adventurous. I like to go all the way. I don't want to have to question if we're even going to make it. It's a concern. But the bigger problem with Americans not buying electric cars is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies in the electric car industry?

EVs are like vaccines. They've sadly become political. Yeties, those aren't our words. Those are the words of Bill Ford, the chairman and great-grandson of the Ford Motor Company. Because consumer interest in electric cars tracks America's divide of red states and blue states. Jack, could you whip out the map for us over there? 56% of Democrats say they will or might choose an EV

for their next car. But only 19% of Republicans say they will or might choose an electric car. Bill Ford lamented that right-leaning Americans see EVs just like they saw the COVID vaccine. They're seeing EVs as something the government is forcing down their throats, and frankly, they don't.

want it. If EVs get tied into the backlash against wokeism, that would be awful for the car industry. And that's why Bill Ford also said this. I never thought I would see the day when our products were so heavily politicized, but they are. So besties, electric vehicles, they're like vaccines. Sadly, they've become political. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for the new Friday? Urban Outfitters put refurbished 20-year-old iPods on for sale, and they sold out immediately. Because nostalgia follows a 20-year life cycle. For our second story, the National Association of Realtors was just found guilty for fixing commissions at 6%. And sadly, the impact of this earthquake could be felt on 1.5 million agents. For our third and final story, now the early adopters have

already bought them, electric car sales are hitting a speed bomb. Because electric cars are like vaccines. Sadly, they've become political. But yeties, this pod's not over. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the Federal Reserve made its big interest rate announcement. Guess what? Jerry Powell is keeping rates where they are. Our nation's central bank pressed pause. Rates are still high, but they didn't go higher yesterday. And second, something else did go higher yesterday.

Orange juice. Orange juice prices just hit an all-time high, O-J-O-M-G. Because orange output in Florida was hit by hurricanes last year, production is still down 50%. And finally, Jack. And I have the answer to the question you've all been asking. What happened to the dinosaurs? What happened to the dinosaurs? We finally got more details on what killed the dinosaurs.

And the answer? Dust. It was dust. After an asteroid hit Mexico 66 million years ago, there was 15 years worth of dust up in the sky blocking out the sun. So plants died, plant eaters died, then the carnivores died. It wasn't pretty. But eventually Neanderthals and humans emerged from the dust. Eventually, Jurassic Park. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Al Ruvio, who was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. Yetis were a couple days past Halloween, but today is Dia de los Mueros.

Dia de los Mueros. It's actually a three-day holiday. And it's actually not really about death. It's kind of more about life. Ancient Mesoamericans believed that death was part of the journey of life. Yeah, so rather than death ending life, they believe that new life came from death. So in addition to skulls, You'll see some butterflies on Dio de los Mertos decorations.

You're going to notice butterflies because monarch butterflies carry the souls of the dead. And those who passed live on in our memories. Yeties, you look fantastic over there. Jack, I see what you're doing, that butterfinger. I see you got one left over there. I threw it away. No, no, I threw it away. Yeties, remember, eat all of your candies at once.

Three musketeers, nougat first. Eat it, all of it. Or throw them away all at once. Even though I hate waste, I did. Except for that butterfinger, I just saw you eating, Jack. I know what's going on behind that microphone. Yetis, you look fantastic today. If you are loving the show,

remember to click to follow and subscribe to this podcast so you get T-Boy every day. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti's Shelby H. Who's turning 30 in the front row of the Jonas Brothers concert. And happy birthday to Kelly, the Bear Eaton, who's a long-time Yeti celebrating in Tucson, Arizona.

And Mary G is celebrating that birthday with her kids up in lovely Montana. Congratulations to Rashonda McGee, who's got a new job doing social work in Michigan. And Connor Blodge, long time yet, he'd been listening for two years, just started a new job today as senior social media manager in New York City.

And congratulations to High Five, the financial startup for artists that was just acquired by Jack Dorsey's block. And a good luck and happy Rowan to the Boulder Community Rowan Club who are heading to Tennessee for the head of the hooch raggeda. The head of the hoot-Ragana.

It's the head of the hooch, Jack. I gotta go see that head of the hooch. We gotta go see that next year. And just a big personal thanks. That was awesome. From Nick and me to Roger Lou. You left us a nice comment. We saw it and we loved it.

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Ford and Nick and I both on stock of Apple and Block.