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Here in America, we like our steaks juicy, our tax subsidies to go to sports stadiums and our SUVs and crossovers to look as if they could venture into the wilderness and dominate the landscape at a moment’s notice.

Maybe it’s anxiety from years of being cooped up inside during the height of the global pandemic. Or maybe it’s just more automakers desperate to follow the runaway sales success at Subaru. Either way, automakers are keen to tap into this profit-pumping 21st-century version of manifest destiny.

The trend was on display at the 2023 New York International Auto Show, where the show floor was dotted with crossovers and SUVs that look rugged, tough and ready to off-road — even if the vast majority of those vehicles never will.

Body cladding, increased ride heights, maybe some all-terrain gizmos and adventurous-sounding names (TrailSport! Wilderness! Peak Edition!) were all hallmarks of an otherwise very diminished auto show in the Big Apple. This was even true with electric vehicles, which played a more prominent part of this show than ever before. With debuts like the large, three-row Kia EV9 and the hulking Ram 1500 Rev, it’s all proof that the EV race too will be a contest of trucks and SUVs.

Some of the vehicles on display were new debuts, like the all-new 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness. It’s a new trim level that draws on the massive success of the Crosstrek (now in its third generation) and the Wilderness trims on the Outback and Forester. The latter two, which debuted in 2021 as 2022 models, have been big hits for Subaru.

“Since we launched the Wilderness line a year and half ago we have sold 75,000 Wilderness products with Outback and Forester in a time where we have been limited by supply chain issues,” Subaru spokesperson Dominick Infante told TechCrunch today.

He added, “And to be honest, we are following the lead of our customers. They have been customizing their Crosstreks with lifts and more aggressive tires for years.”

Now the small Crosstrek gets the same treatment too, with 9.3 inches of ground clearance (more than half an inch over the regular Crosstrek), larger coil springs and shock absorbers, wider approach and departure angles for off-roading, and various traction modes to better deal with snow, mud and dirt. It starts at $31,995, a healthy increase over the base $23,645 Crosstrek.

The opportunity to expand profit margins with a bit of cladding and a lift may be why other automakers are chasing this trend. American consumers have long demanded the trappings of ruggedness and off-road capability from their SUVs, even if many of them were just car-based crossovers that looked tough but couldn’t back it up when the road ended.

The focus on SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks is no surprise. The American car market has drastically shifted away from sedans and small cars over the last decade and automakers have responded in kind. Data from the International Energy Agency shows that even amid sales challenges with the pandemic-driven chip shortage, SUV sales are on the rise globally. That’s not necessarily great news for the climate, as these bigger and heavier vehicles are still responsible for more carbon emissions than smaller ones.

But the New York Auto Show proved how incongruent it all feels. As automakers pledge to electrify their fleets and reduce their overall carbon footprints, they’re paying for it by selling big trucks and SUVs designed to conquer nature. Or to at least look the part. And while it’s true that modern ICE cars are more efficient than they’ve ever been before and have more electrified options, the path to “going green” is through big vehicles with big swagger.

Jeep, of course, has a major presence at the show this year, showing off the updated 2024 Wrangler with several new trim levels. Wrangler sales have shot up in recent years, and the Wrangler 4xe also happens to be America’s best-selling plug-in hybrid car; that says a lot about our love of outdoor exploring, or at least looking like we can.

To be fair, Wrangler owners are certainly more into off-roading than most. And both the Jeep Wrangler and Subaru Crosstrek can more than take care of themselves when the pavement gets questionable.

For others, it’s more about looking like they can do that than anything else.

Take the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Peak Edition, a trim level that debuted at the New York show. It’s a rugged-ish visual update for VW’s midsize family-hauling crossover, which has been on the market since 2017.

Here, VW clearly seems to be running the Subaru playbook: it’s got what the automaker calls a more “rugged” front fascia, 18-inch black wheels, all-terrain tires and orange “Peak Edition” badges inside and out. VW showed off a concept called “Basecamp” in 2019 and later turned that name into an accessory package that inspired the Peak Edition, but make no mistake here: this Atlas won’t be climbing many peaks anytime soon because it’s just an appearance package.

Or take the Honda Pilot and Passport in TrailSport trim. Neither of those made their debuts in New York, but the cars are onstage to entice buyers who demand a bit more ruggedness (or the appearance of it.) Only one of those, the Pilot, gets a lifted suspension; Car and Driver calls these packages “mostly theater.”

But for the crossover shopper who sees them inside New York’s Javits Center amid various Jeeps, Ford Broncos and Subarus, they seem to fit right in. There’s a reason all of these automakers keep doing this: it seems to be working. And though it’s easy to poke fun at a crossover that looks built for the apocalypse but are more home at an outdoor mall than the actual outdoors, we do keep buying them. And we should expect to see more of them.

For SUVs and EVs, subtlety is out and plundering nature is in by Patrick George originally published on TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/05/for-suvs-and-evs-subtlety-is-out-and-plundering-nature-is-in/

With the Masters golf tournament ready to tee off Thursday at Augusta National Golf Course, these are five things you might not have known about the event.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-04-05/masters-2023-teeing-off-thursday

The fast-food company says the salad chain’s menu item is a trademark infringement.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chipotle-sues-sweetgreen-over-its-new-burrito-bowl-8946c90f?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f

The Dallas Mavericks locker room is about to get even more awkward.

https://nypost.com/2023/04/05/tim-hardaway-sr-rips-mavericks-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving/

Patrick Kane will miss the Rangers’ game against the Lightning on Wednesday, head coach Gerard Gallant said pregame.

https://nypost.com/2023/04/05/rangers-patrick-kane-sitting-out-versus-lightning-with-injury/

Former President Bill Clinton has expressed remorse over his role in negotiating a 1994 deal that resulted in Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal, suggesting that Russia never would have invaded its smaller neighbor if it still had nukes.  “I feel a personal stake because I got them [Ukraine] to agree to give up their…

https://nypost.com/2023/04/05/bill-clinton-regrets-having-ukraine-give-up-nuclear-weapons/

Madrid’s 4-0 win allows team to overcome its goal deficit following the first leg last month. The team will face Osasuna on 6 May.

https://www.france24.com/en/sport/20230405-benzema-s-real-madrid-humiliates-barcelona-and-moves-to-copa-final

Tesla’s 2,500-acre manufacturing hub in Austin, Texas tripled its workforce last year, according to the company’s annual compliance report filed with county officials. Bloomberg first reported on the news.

The report filed with Travis County’s Economic Development Program shows that Tesla increased its Austin workforce from just 3,523 contingent and permanent employees in 2021 to 12,277 by the end of 2022. Bloomberg reports that just over half of Tesla’s workers reside in the county, with the average full-time employee earning a salary of at least $47,147. Outside of Tesla’s factory, the average salary of an Austin worker is $68,060, according to data from ZipRecruiter.

TechCrunch was unable to acquire a copy of the report, so it’s not clear if those workers are all full-time. If they are, Tesla has hired a far cry more full-time employees than it is contracted to do. According to the agreement between Tesla and Travis County, the company is obligated to create 5,001 new full-time jobs over the next four years.

The contract also states that Tesla must invest about $1.1 billion in the county over the next five years. Tesla’s compliance report shows that the automaker last year invested $5.81 billion in Gigafactory Texas, which officially launched a year ago at a “Cyber Rodeo” event. In January, Tesla notified regulators that it plans to invest another $770 million into an expansion of the factory to include a battery cell testing site and cathode and drive unit manufacturing site. With that investment will come more jobs.

Tesla’s choice to move its headquarters to Texas and build a gigafactory there has helped the state lead the nation in job growth. The automaker builds its Model Y crossover there and plans to build its Cybertruck in Texas, as well. Giga Texas will also be a model for sustainable manufacturing, CEO Elon Musk has said. Last year, Tesla completed the first phase of what will become “the largest rooftop solar installation in the world,” according to the report, per Bloomberg. Tesla has begun on the second phase of installation, but already there are reports of being able to see the rooftop from space. The goal is to generate 27 megawatts of power.

Musk has also promised to turn the site into an “ecological paradise,” complete with a boardwalk and a hiking/biking trail that will open to the public. There haven’t been many updates on that front, and locals have been concerned that the site is actually more of an environmental nightmare that has led to noise and water pollution. The site, located at the intersection of State Highway 130 and Harold Green Road, east of Austin, is along the Colorado River and could create a climate catastrophe if the river overflows.

The site of Tesla’s gigafactory has also historically been the home of low-income households and has a large population of Spanish-speaking residents. It’s not clear if the jobs at the factory reflect the demographic population of the community in which it resides.

Tesla more than tripled its Austin gigafactory workforce in 2022 by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/05/tesla-more-than-tripled-its-austin-gigafactory-workforce-in-2022/

The Manhattan district attorney pointed to new evidence that the payment to Stormy Daniels was meant to break campaign finance and even tax law.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-04-05/alvin-bragg-donald-trump-indictment-strength

The 34-count indictment of former President Donald Trump is 16 pages long, and was accompanied by a 12-page statement of facts. But nowhere in those 28 pages did Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg provide the most important information about this high-profile legal case: his legal basis for bringing felony charges against the former president.

Every count in the indictment charges Trump with violating a New York felony statute against falsifying business records as part of “a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election” by suppressing a potentially damaging story that Trump had had an affair with a porn star. Bragg could have charged Trump with 34 misdemeanor counts, but under New York law they become felonies if the falsification was done “with the intent to commit another crime.”

This is where Bragg’s indictment has done a disservice to the public and to Trump himself. Beyond a general reference to a violation of “election laws” and a passing reference to taxes, the indictment and statement of facts do not specify what “other crimes” Trump allegedly intended to commit.

For example, Bragg states that Trump “took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme.” But what tax crime exactly? Bragg doesn’t even specify whether it was a federal or state crime, or how he thought Trump intended to violate criminal tax laws.

To be sure, you can look at details within the statement of facts and try to guess at what those tax crimes might be. In one paragraph, Bragg explains how Trump’s payment to then-lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for paying off Stormy Daniels was “doubled” to $360,000 so Cohen “could characterize the payment as income on his tax returns” so that Cohen would be “left with $180,000 after paying approximately 50 percent in income taxes.”

On its face, it sounds like Bragg believes that Trump intended to commit another crime by causing Cohen to falsely report on his tax return that he had too much income, thereby paying too much in taxes. A jury might have trouble believing that Trump intended to commit a crime by paying more money than necessary to the government in taxes.

But there’s another plausible reading of the statement of facts — that Trump “disguised” the reimbursement to Cohen as “a payment for legal services” so he could deduct it as a business expense. Either of these potential theories could be a criminal violation of either state or federal tax laws. But nothing in the statement of facts or the indictment makes clear what Bragg’s legal theory is or what state or federal tax law he alleges that Trump intended to violate.

Bragg also alleges that Trump “violated election laws” and repeatedly refers to the fact that Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal election laws. But again, neither the indictment nor the statement of facts cites any campaign finance or election laws, and neither document explains how Trump allegedly intended to violate election laws.

During a press conference after the arraignment, Bragg stated that Trump’s “scheme violated New York election law, which makes it a crime to conspire to promote the candidacy by unlawful means,” a reference to New York Election Law 17-152, a misdemeanor with a two-year statute of limitations. Bragg also noted that the payments to Daniels exceeded federal contribution limits.

It remains unclear whether Bragg relies on federal or state election laws, and both pose legal issues for the prosecution. If he relies on state election law, there is an argument that the New York state law is preempted by federal laws. After all, Trump was running for federal office. Bragg would be on stronger ground if he relied on federal election law, but it is not yet settled in New York courts that federal crimes can be used to bump up these crimes to felonies.

I’m not alone in wondering what the exact “other crimes” are. Since the indictment was released to the public, I’ve spent hours discussing the indictment with other lawyers, including multiple former Manhattan assistant district attorneys. None of us could determine with certainty what crimes Bragg is using to bump up the misdemeanor counts to felonies.

That is a serious problem. Like every other defendant, Trump has a right to be informed of the nature of the charges against him. His legal team can’t prepare a defense if they don’t know what Bragg’s legal theory is.

I expect Trump’s team soon will file a motion for a bill of particulars, the formal method by which defendants can demand prosecutors provide more specifics about the charges. Most of these motions are a waste of time, but in this case, the motion should be granted.

For now, Bragg seems to be leaving his options open, giving himself an opportunity to adjust his case in the upcoming weeks. That’s not how our system is supposed to work. While vagueness might give Bragg an advantage at this stage, prosecutors are supposed to promote justice, not try to gain an edge unfairly.

To be fair to Bragg, his office usually does not spell out what the “other crimes” are in an indictment. But as former Manhattan assistant district attorneys have pointed out to me, usually that is because the other crimes are charged within the same indictment, leaving little doubt regarding what they are. Given that no other crime is charged here besides Falsifying Business Records, it’s not clear what those “other crimes” are in Trump’s case.

That is not just a problem for Trump. That’s a problem for all of us. Bragg should know that the entire country is watching the proceedings brought by his office, and every American deserves to know exactly what the former President of the United States is accused of doing.

The indictment of a former president is a statement that no one is above the law. But that principle requires that every defendant is treated fairly. Trump — and the American people — deserve fair notice of the crimes that form the basis of the felony charges in the indictment.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/05/gaping-hole-trump-indictment-00090701