Last night, two major automakers revealed two maybe important cars. Porsche showed off a preview of its above-911 supercar, and Tesla showed a flying Roadster that, curiously, wasn’t a roadster at all. What’s notable here is that neither of these cars are going to be affordable to the vast majority of people reading this.
The Morning Dump is going to dip once more into the controversial world of Elon Musk, even though some of you may be sick of hearing about it. After that, I might as well talk about the price of steel, because the price of steel is going up, and that’ll probably impact cars. Lexus, too, has been consumed by fancy cars, and now it’s going to have to redirect some slightly-less-fancy cars from China and the Middle East to make up for the lack of normal cars on the lot.
This is a fancy car TMD, eh? Why not end with a low-mileage Ferrari F50 going up for auction then?
Maybe There Are More Customers For A $250,000 EV Sports Car Than A $25,000 Family EV
As I often have to do when Elon Musk appears, let me start by saying that there’s never been more of a gap between how interesting or impressive it is to write about a product and how annoying it is to write about its ostensible creator. It’s clear based on comments yesterday that many of you have strong feelings about Musk; in the interest of full disclosure, I have plenty of reasons to dislike him as well. (DOGE destroyed the work of good people I know, I was a big Twitter fan, his good buddy is the reason why my kid’s first college fund went to Hulk Hogan, blah blah blah).
Musk is the richest man in the world and can use that money to impact politics in a way that should be unconstitutional. That definitely gives him power, though — as much as anger towards Musk can be cathartic — part of me thinks there’s a danger in acting like anyone is some all-powerful being, because the illusion itself is where much of that power actually resides. Personally, I think he’s someone with little shame and bizarre ideas of how the world works, which sometimes allows him to create products others might not see the value in (like the initial, actually roadster-like Tesla Roadster and Model S). Maybe you view him as some sort of amazing anti-hero; I don’t really care either way.
As the man more responsible for the success of electric cars as a product than any other person alive, I think it’s interesting that his next move is not a sub-$25,000 car, but a flying one that’ll cost at least $200,000 and is targeted at a small percentage of the population. Why is that?
Tesla was once planning to build a sub-$25,000 car, but then reversed course, with Musk saying that building a sub-$25,000 car would be “silly” and “pointless.” That a cheap EV is more silly and pointless than a car that maybe flies, says something about the present moment and Musk’s view of the world.
Specifically, Musk sees the world as autonomous. From an investor call earlier this year:
So, I think we’ve made very clear that we’re — the future is autonomous. I mean, it’s going to be — I’ve actually said this many years ago, but that in my strong belief and I believe that is panning out to be true, very obvious retrospect is that the future is autonomous electric vehicles. And nonautonomous gasoline vehicles here will be like riding a horse and using a foot bone. It’s not that there are no horses.
Yes, there are some but they’re unusual. They’re niche. And so, everything is going to be electric autonomous. I think this is like it should be, frankly, blindingly obvious at this point, that is the future.
So, a lot of automotive companies, most of the companies have not internalized this, which is surprising because we’re shouting from the rooftops for such a long time.
The cheap self-driving Tesla EV became the Cybercab, and the idea is that it’s a car you’d own, and also allow to be used as an autonomous cab when you don’t need it. This means that your car can actually start generating revenue. Will this ever happen? Who knows, but it’s clear that a world in which a Roadster exists is also a world where cheap EVs are less important. To some degree, cheap EVs are less sexy and maybe better left to Chinese automakers.
If we extrapolate that a little further, though, there are two kinds of people in this future. If you’re not extremely wealthy, you don’t really get to enjoy driving. Instead, you’re getting driven around from place-to-place. If you want something super cool and fun the only way that works is if you’re extremely rich.
This is contrast to an automaker like Toyota or Ford, which offers a variety of fun to drive vehicles at various price points.
Steel Isn’t Exactly A Steal
Fun fact: Most cars are still made up of a lot of steel. As Bloomberg reports, steel is getting more expensive:
US steel prices climbed to the highest in more than four years as President Donald Trump’s tariffs restrict foreign supplies, boosting domestic producers while raising costs for American manufacturers.
Pricing for hot-rolled coil, a widely used form of steel that serves as a US benchmark, has been on a steady upward trajectory for the past year, rising 52% to $1,255 per short ton, according to Fasmarkets. The last time prices touched that level was May 2022.
Inflation poses a major challenge for Trump’s Republican Party heading into the midterm elections, and the steel rally underscores the impact of tariffs and his push to revive American steelmaking. What’s proven to be a boon for domestic mills and steelworkers has been a burden for manufacturers, builders and data-center developers.
Hot-rolled Coil is a great name for a band, just saying.
Lexus Will Shift Some Cars From China And The Middle East To The United States
Lexus has among the tightest inventories, second only to Toyota. With China and the Middle East seeing a tougher sales environment, it sounds like vehicles will be rerouted from those regions to the United States.
About 10 percent of the windfall — roughly 3,500 vehicles — will consist of the high-demand GX off-roader, with the remainder spread across core nameplates including the RX, NX, and ES.
Ross noted that despite the lack of inventory, September was still the best in the brand’s history. However, its chances of achieving a third consecutive year of U.S. sales records will depend almost entirely on whether it can get enough vehicles to sell.
It’s a good problem to have.
Ohhhh Low Mileage Ferrari F50
There’s something a little bothersome about buying a car like a Ferrari F50 and never driving it, especially when at least a few hundred were built. It’s not my car, though, so the owner of this Ferrari F50 holding onto it and then selling it some years later at the Broad Arrow Auction in Las Vegas is his or her business.
Here are some details, though:
According to the research of Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, chassis 107165 began assembly in Maranello on 27 June 1997, and was completed and invoiced on 6 August. It was dispatched that December to Maranello Concessionaires, the official U.K. importer, and its factory warranty commenced on 31 December 1997. The F50 was later exported to Japan, where it spent many years as part of a significant private collection in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, and it was still recorded there in 2008. By 2015, it had joined the stable of a prominent Chinese supercar collector who stored his cars in Düsseldorf, Germany, and it was serviced that June by Rosso Scuderia. Eberlein Automobile GmbH of Kassel, Germany, serviced the car in March 2021 and again in February 2025. It was recently imported to the United States in preparation for the sale.
Ferrari built the F50 to be driven hard, and most surviving examples show at least some evidence of it, but this example has been entirely spared from the moment it was delivered. As a result, its paintwork, carbon-fiber cabin, leather upholstery, and switchgear are free of the fading, wear, and handling marks that even careful use brings. The car presents today much as it would have on the day Maranello Sales handed it over. Additionally, it has received a fresh service and a Ferrari Classiche inspection at Ferrari of Newport Beach.
If I had absolutely stupid money it would be great to buy this and put some real miles on it.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
There’s a new Olivia Rodrigo video, featuring Chappell Roan and, uh, David Byrne as the host of a game show. Please enjoy “expectations.”
The Big Question
Which automaker has the most egalitarian lineup?
Top photo: Tesla screenshot
