Iterate Weekly - Issue 88
This week we're looking at Tesla's Semi Truck, Americans have multiple jobs, vegan chocolate chips, Instafest, and A Christmas Story Christmas!
Welcome to issue 88 of Iterate Weekly!
Just a reminder that you can always reply to this email or leave a comment on the web version. I read all of them, and I appreciate the feedback, questions, and insights from all of you.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Tesla’s Semi Truck
The long-awaited Tesla semi-trucks have become a reality.
You can check out the full 30+ minute announcement in the video above. But these trucks will officially be adopted by PepsiCo to start making deliveries more efficient with less of a drain on the environment.
The first shipment was delivered recently after a delay of several years. PepsiCo says that this first batch of trucks will be supporting the company's beverages plant in Sacramento and its Frito-Lay factory in Modesto, California. Each of these rigs will have a range of 300-500 miles per charge. That’s pretty high by passenger car standards, but it will still require some strategic cross-country driving to maximize charging stations.
Elon Musk claims that Tesla will be able to assemble 50,000 of these Semis in North America in 2024. He’s also said that the famed CyberTruck would still be released in 2023 but these goals are still being met with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Let’s just hope that our precious soda and snack chips can soon be delivered in a manner that is more friendly to the environment.
🎓 Education/Art/Productivity
One job isn’t enough for many Americans
Many Americans are at an interesting career fork right now. On one hand, they don’t want to work. Yet, on the other hand they’re collecting a portfolio of part-time jobs to make ends meet.
The FutureParty does a nice job of breaking down these two movements in the links I shared above. It’s true that inflation has caused many people to take on extra work whenever possible. I’m sure plenty of you who are reading this right now have side gigs or project work in addition to what you’d consider to be your “main job”.
4.5 million Americans are currently working part-time jobs in addition to their full-time roles, according to the Labor Department. That number is huge! And it isn’t just typical retail or service industry jobs that people are stacking up. Knowledge workers in so called “white collar” jobs are seeking additional opportunities as well. One in 30 white-collar professionals is looking for a second job compared to only one in 100 in past years, according to staffing firm Kelly Services.
I certainly understand the appeal of diversifying income streams. The future seems to be going the way of the portfolio career. The days of sticking to one steady job with the same company may be long over. But perhaps so is the idea of having just one job period.
Anyone else out there juggling several side gigs these days?
♻️ Health & Environment
Nestle unveils some plant-based chocolate chips
Since the holidays will soon be upon us, you may find yourself making some cookies or other decadent baked goods in the coming weeks.
If you’re using chocolate chips, Nestle will debuting a new plant-based version they hope will catch on with vegans and the general health-conscious audience.
It’s not a surprising move considering the trend toward more plant-based/vegan options on store shelves. Although there have always been some version of semi-sweet chocolate chips that were technically vegan, these new versions should offer a more similar taste and texture to the original Nestle Toll House Morsels (are they really the only brand to use that strange word morsel?)
I recently saw a rice-milk based chocolate chip option (not from Nestle") at the store that caught me off guard. I’m all for plenty of vegan options but now I’m tasked with deciding between standard vegan dark chocolate flavors and plant-based milk flavors too?
Time to get into the kitchen to start testing them all out.
🛍 Grab Bag
Create your own festival lineup with Instafest
Have you ever dreamed of curating your own music festival?
Well, turn those dreams into reality with a new app called Instafest.
Yep, it’s just like you’d imagine. This app takes your music listening habits from Spotify and puts together a pretty neat looking poster of what your dream festival lineup might look like. You can customize the style of the poster and name of your festival to make sure it fits your vibe.
Honestly, it’s these simple little apps that seem to give people the most enjoyment. This TechCrunch article goes a bit more in-depth about how the app came to be and shares a few celebrity Instafest entries.
And don’t worry if you’re not a Spotify user, they are in the process of bringing the technology to all the streaming platforms of choice.
💬 Quote of the Week
"A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking."
-Earl Wilson
📺 Content Recommendation
A Christmas Story Christmas
Oh it’s December and that makes me feel obligated to start recommending some holiday-themed content in this section. Each year, there are plenty of new holiday films and TV shows released, so it shouldn’t pose much of a problem.
Today I am whole-heartedly recommending you check out a little film called “A Christmas Story Christmas”.
Yes, the title is a bit confusing. Is it a sequel to the classic holiday movie “A Christmas Story”? Is it a reboot of sorts? There already was a horrible “A Christmas Story 2” that came out back in 2012 that isn’t really worth mentioning here.
This film shows us the life of an adult Ralphie Parker as he leaves the big city to come home for Christmas in his hometown. There is a call back to the original movie every couple of minutes but I was pleasantly surprised by how clever and funny this movie was. I was never a huge fan of the original (I think I was traumatized after watching too many 24-hour marathons of it over the years) but this sequel or reimagining or whatever you want to call it, has me eager to revisit the original.
It’s a great new/old holiday favorite for the whole family. You should definitely check it out this holiday season.
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Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
P.S. - Hey, it’s almost the end of the year! Could you use some help reviewing what worked for you this year and what could be better for 2023? Need some help building positive habits or ditching negative ones? Iterating on a new business idea and need some guidance? Or maybe you just want to say hello and pick my brain for a bit, that’s fine too! If you’d like to chat, feel free to book some time with me here!
This is my first read of your Substack. I like what I see! I guess I still need to see the good in Tesla. . . .