CleanTech Talk — Solar, Batteries, EVs, AI

Continuing our discussion of Tesla and David Havasi's long history at Tesla, we took up where we left off, talking about pre-Model S days at Tesla. At that time, they had a gigantic factory in Fremont with almost nothing in it other than big, wild dreams and post-apocalyptic images of Blade Runner and The Highlander.

I recently met a gentleman named David Havasi while charging our Tesla Model 3 at a ChargePoint station at a Whole Foods I frequently visit. He recognized me from CleanTechnica and I quickly learned he worked at Tesla for 7 years, until just recently. We got talking, talking, talking, and talking. I wasn't sure if he'd be camera shy to repeat some of what he told me (or more) on camera, but it turned out he very much wasn't shy — he had actually worked on Broadway before working at Tesla!

In the second half of this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan continues his conversation with Michael Barnard, Chief Strategist of TFIE Strategy Inc. and CleanTechnica contributor, about the role of climate change plans and policies in the 2020 presidential election.

In this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan sits down again with Michael Barnard, Chief Strategist of TFIE Strategy Inc. and CleanTechnica contributor, to talk about a number of hot topics, including shifting public opinion on climate change and the role of climate action plans in the next presidential election. 

In this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan sits down with Scott Cooney, primary owner of Important Media, the company holding CleanTechnica, and the founder and CEO of Pono Home, to discuss Scott’s newest pursuit: Apocaloptimist, a podcast series to inspire and engage people in hope for the future by highlighting innovative solutions to challenges around the world.

Mike has been a global technology strategist and architect for major global technology companies, and is considered an expert on many topics within the clean technology field. He has worked in almost every sector, including health care, automation, freight transportation and finance. Mike attributes this breadth of expertise to being a bit of a nerd, or “just a generally interested guy.” In the one-hour podcast, Zach and Mike covered universal basic income, Andrew Yang, the Green New Deal, Tesla, and more.

In this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan sits down with Nathaniel Rich, novelist, essayist, and writer at large for the New York Times Magazine. Together, they discuss Nathaniel’s new book, Losing Earth: A Recent History, detailing the history of public climate change understanding and the larger, unaddressed issues and moral questions arising from the climate crisis.

In this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan sits down with Tomek Gać, Co-Founder of Tesla Shuttle and founder and CEO of Quriers.pl and Energia Słonca, to discuss the successes, challenges, and future of electric delivery vehicles.

In this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan sits down with Nancy Pfund, founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners. They discuss Nancy’s journey from policy and politics to business and impact investing, especially her work in the clean technology sector with companies like Tesla, SolarCity, and ZOLA Electric.

In this episode of our CleanTech Talk podcast interview series, Zach Shahan sits down with Mark Z. Jacobson, professor at Stanford University and co-founder of The Solutions Project, to discuss Mark’s work to bring together important players from science, business, culture and community behind his vision of 100% renewable energy for 100% of people.