🚙 Axios PM: Robot tire changes

🥳 Happy Friday! Today's newsletter, edited by Alex Fitzpatrick, is 422 words, a 1½-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.

AI is coming for one of America's dirtiest jobs: tire changes, Axios' Joann Muller reports.

• Demand for tire service is accelerating, in part because EVs need more frequent replacements.
• Meanwhile, tire shops are struggling to hire technicians.

🛞 Andy Chalofsky, a serial tire entrepreneur, says automation is the answer.

• His latest company, Automated Tire Inc., has developed SmartBay, a robotic system that can inspect vehicles, swap tires and balance wheels with minimal human help.

👩‍🔧 The AI-powered system lets a single technician manage up to three service bays simultaneously.

• Chalofsky says that robots can do a tire service in 30 minutes. That's more than twice as fast as human workers.

💵 ATI leases the system to dealerships and tire shops for just under $5,000 per month — less than what it costs to hire an experienced technician.

• Go deeper ... Get Axios Future of Mobility.

Utility-scale solar power generation is expected to soar past coal-fired power in Texas this year, Ben Geman reports from new Energy Information Administration data.

• The heart of the nation's oil-and-gas industry is also renewables country, thanks to abundant resources, developer-friendly rules, rising demand and more.

🔌 The chart above shows the trend in areas covered by ERCOT, which operates most of Texas' power grid.

• Texas will be home to 40% of all new U.S. solar capacity this year, per the EIA's projections.

See the data.

1. 🇹🇼 President Trump said today that he hasn't decided whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan, after hearing concerns from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Go deeper.
2. 🚉 The Long Island Rail Road — by far the country's busiest commuter rail system — is facing a shutdown as workers threaten to strike over raises. Go deeper.
3. ⚽️ Lowe's is selling a 10-foot-tall Lionel Messi inflatable to mark the 2026 World Cup. Sales for the $99 limited-edition decor start next week. Go deeper.

Some Kansas City bars and restaurants will be allowed to stay open until 5 a.m. during the World Cup if they submit a safety plan, Axios' Travis Meier reports.

• Because some games start late, watch parties will likely go into the wee hours.

⚽️ Kansas City — one of several U.S. host cities — is joining other towns that are extending their usual last calls during the hotly anticipated soccer showdown.

• Philly bars could keep the taps flowing till 4 a.m. New York is eyeing a similar measure.

Cheers!

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