E8: Las Vegas Reopens and No One Can Find Taxi Rides / Nikola's Market Debut

Inside Transportation

This is episode eight of the Inside Transportation podcast. This podcast was made possible by Ford Motor Company (www.ford.com) and Fenwick (www.fenwick.com). Featuring Jason Calacanis (Angel investor, LAUNCH, Inside.com) and Johan Moreno (inside.com). Subscribe to Inside Transportation newsletter: inside.com/transportation Subscribe to Inside Electric Vehicles newsletter: inside.com/evs Recorded on June 10, 2020. SHOW NOTES — 2:20 - Some visitors in Las Vegas are having trouble finding reliable transportation options as the city reopens. Most casinos and resorts reopened on Friday, June 5, with at least one viral video showing visitors packing casinos. But those who visited the city reported having trouble finding taxi, Uber, and Lyft rides, with some visitors resorting to hitching rides with unlicensed drivers. LINKS: FOX 5 LAS VEGAS - Reopening weekend exposes lack of safe ride options on Las Vegas Strip - https://www.fox5vegas.com/coronavirus/reopening-weekend-exposes-lack-of-safe-ride-options-on-las-vegas-strip/article_d7407a86-aa00-11ea-85e6-1faca9086a40.html VIRAL VIDEO OF PACKED LAS VEGAS CASINO - https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/1269169419998990336 16:50 - After becoming a publicly traded company, Nikola Motor’s market capitalization rose over $25b. By comparison, Ford’s market cap is $27.6b. Although Nikola is yet to turn a profit, its high valuation is linked to investors seeking to buy equity from EV companies after Tesla’s recent stock gains. LINK: THE INFORMATION - Electric Shock: Market Value of ‘Nikola’ Approaches Ford’s - https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/fb23eb 28:50 - Just Eat Takeaway.com is close to reaching a deal with GrubHub. The all-stock transaction between the companies may be finalized as soon as today. Just Eat confirmed advanced talks between the companies. Uber’s board is planning to meet on Wednesday to likely pull the plug on GrubHub talks LINK: WSJ - Just Eat Takeaway.com Nears All-Stock Deal for Grubhub - https://www.wsj.com/articles/just-eat-takeaway-com-nears-all-stock-deal-for-grubhub-11591797653?mod=hp_lead_pos4 33:33 - DOPE OR NOPE - PriestmanGoode has created a prototype for a removable bicycle rack that can be installed on a train that helps keep a social distance between riders LINK: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/designers-build-bike-racks-for-social-distancing-a4448761.html