TL;DR: Sorry for the whiplash, but EVs are again having a ~moment~, and this time it’s not because of a tax credit or Cybertruck. The US-Israel war with Iran has created a choke point for the 20% of global oil supplies that travel through the Strait of Hormuz, sending gasoline prices surging. Now, consumers are taking another look at EVs—though experts say it’s currently more of a vibe shift than a buying spree. Either way, it could be yet another blow to the US auto industry that just spent months ctrl-alt-deleting its EV investment.

What happened: Vehicle shopping website Edmunds reported that consideration of electrified models made up 23.8% of vehicle research activity during the second week of March—the highest level so far this year, and up from 22.4% the previous week and 20.7% the week before. “When we see a gas price spike, people start to evaluate options,” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ head of insights, tells Tech Brew. “A lot of people just want to know what is out there.”

Reminder: Domestic automakers spent the last several months pulling back on EVs after federal policy changes deprioritized electrification—including killing a $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases.

Though there are early signs that consumers are taking another look at EVs to insulate themselves from gas price spikes, this hasn’t yet translated to an uptick in sales. But experts like Caldwell say it’s an opportunity for automakers, especially pure-play EV companies like Rivian and Lucid, to promote electrified models and get in front of newly motivated shoppers before the moment passes.

World view: While American consumers are still weighing their options (according to former Chief Economist of GM Elaine Buckberg, it takes three to six months of high gas prices to get buyers to look at alternatives), the rest of the world is at the dealership. No. 1 global EV maker BYD, for example, is seeing stronger demand across Asia and is ready to capitalize, offering free charging promotions and debuting ultrafast charging tech. Vietnamese EV maker VinFast’s dealers have also reported a rise in sales.

A used EV dealer in England told Reuters he’d just had his busiest-ever Saturday. And nearly half of German consumers said in a survey that higher fuel prices “would influence their decision to consider an EV or hybrid.”

The bottom line: Experts say US consumers who want to avoid gas station politics should look to the used EV market, where a flood of off-lease vehicles is about to hit, giving buyers a huge advantage.

Though, for the auto industry, the bigger picture is harder to ignore. Some experts warn that the US stands to fall further behind on electrification if it lets this crisis go to waste. Consider the ’70s and ’80s as an example, when, during that fuel crisis, Japanese automakers gained a lasting foothold in the US by selling affordable, fuel-efficient models. That’s how you end up with a Camry in every driveway. —JG

My whole life depends on whether I have this portable charger with me

I wish I was exaggerating. I’m not. I am completely, utterly reliant on the Belkin Portable Charger Power Bank. It’s compatible with both iPhones and Androids, and allows you to charge up to two devices at once—perfect for when you and your friend are both running low. I’ve purchased this product twice for myself (once for my work bag, once for travel), plus several more for forgetful family members whose phones are always mysteriously about to die.

The Belkin charger comes with attached USB-C and Lightning cables built right in, so I don’t have to remember to pack extra cords or dig around in my bag. Not to mention, it isn’t overly heavy or bulky (it weighs less than 1 pound) and can fit into a backpack, purse, or even technically a back pocket.

Belkin says its battery contains about 31 hours of charge. From my experience, that seems about right. I find myself powering up the charger about once every two to three weeks. I’m too Type A to ever let my phone actually die, but I’ll use the Belkin to charge it for a couple of hours a few times a week on the go, and that gets me by.

At 37 watt-hours, Belkin notes the device is TSA-compliant, so you can bring it in your carry-on when traveling. Belkin also says it’s put the charger through extensive safety testing, including protections against overheating and overcharging (I haven’t experienced any of those issues myself).

The Good: Easy to carry, holds a lot of charge, and the built-in cables are a game changer (no more untangling a mess at the bottom of your bag). Charges multiple devices at once without noticeably slowing down, and the battery lasts long enough that I don’t have to constantly think about it.

The Bad: For the aesthetes among us, it only comes in two pretty boring colors. It’s also a bit pricey, but still slides under most $50 Secret Santa or White Elephant limits.

Verdict: Signal. —AC

At most jobs, burning through company resources will probably get you fired. At OpenAI and Meta, it puts you up for a promotion. The latest flex at elite tech companies is “tokenmaxxing,” a competition to see who can consume the most AI processing power and, presumably, prove they're the most productive person in the building. According to the New York Times, one OpenAI engineer recently logged 210 billion tokens in a single week (that amount of text is apparently equivalent to about 33 Wikipedias). Across companies, engineers compete on internal leaderboards for token use the way an MLM might pin up a scoreboard for most dietary supplements sold.

This isn’t just tech workers deciding to be AI gluttons—the message is coming from the top. Meta formally baked “AI-driven impact” into its performance reviews this year, complete with an internal game called “Level Up” that rewards employees for hitting AI milestones—a kind of Candy Crush for your career. Last week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pitched giving engineers an annual token budget of up to $250,000—the equivalent of a nice fat salary for most humans in most fields.

Workers who are playing along have racked up eye-popping bills on the company dime. One Anthropic developer reportedly blew through over $150,000 in a month on Claude Code alone, per the NYT. Another engineer said that he probably spends more on AI than he earns.

As for the actual output of all this tokenmaxxing? Less clear. You might even call it productivityslop: the appearance of output without a clear measure of its value. Token leaderboards track consumption, not quality, and the jury’s still out on whether the two correlate. —WK

Chaos Brewing Meter: /5