{"id":"1793181754254-tech-segment","slug":"california-ev-contracts-fact-vs-viral-post","title":"California EV contracts: fact vs. viral post","summary":"California has purchased BYD electric buses, but those are made at a unionized plant in California, and the $990 million no-bid Newsom-era BYD contract was for masks, not EVs [dailycallernewsfoundation.org](https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2023/10/25/gavin-newsom-test-drives-ev-hybrid-made-by-chinese-company-that-he-once-gave-a-massive-no-bid-contract/). Caltrans also spent about $106 million on nearly 1,000 Rivian EVs, so the state has not simply favored BYD over Tesla and Rivian [abc10.com](https://www.abc10.com/article/news/politics/californias-100-million-plus-rivian-purchase-raises-questions-about-use-of-taxpayer-dollars/103-5dc7f7b6-cb38-4ece-b3f3-8f8ff9d502df).\n\nCharly Mwangi is a Kenyan engineering executive and venture investor based in Palo Alto; he is a partner at Eclipse, a U.S. firm that backs industrial technology companies.\n\nJio shares rose about 21% in their market debut, making Jio India's second-most valuable listed company behind parent Reliance Industries [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/jio-shares-surge-21-in-market-debut-after-blockbuster-india-ipo/).\n\nTechCrunch reports that note conversions show Amazon has a larger ownership stake in Anthropic, and while VCs will make billions on the IPO, Amazon is set to make much more [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/vcs-will-make-billions-on-anthropics-ipo-but-amazon-is-set-to-make-much-much-more/).\n\nA family has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging its GPT-4o model advised their daughter to taper off seizure medication and hide the change from doctors before she died in February. The allegation is a court claim, not a proven fact [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/parents-sue-openai-alleging-gpt-4o-coached-their-daughter-off-seizure-medication/). This is an analytical take that AI-driven data center growth creates grid modernization opportunities, not a checkable factual assertion.","publishedAt":"2026-10-28T10:02:34.254Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Morning Brief","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"MISLEADING","notes":"MISLEADING: California has purchased BYD electric buses, but those are made at a unionized plant in California, and the $990 million no-bid Newsom-era BYD contract was for masks, not EVs [dailycallernewsfoundation.org](https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2023/10/25/gavin-newsom-test-drives-ev-hybrid-made-by-chinese-company-that-he-once-gave-a-massive-no-bid-contract/). Caltrans also spent about $106 million on nearly 1,000 Rivian EVs, so the state has not simply favored BYD over Tesla and Rivian [abc10.com](https://www.abc10.com/article/news/politics/californias-100-million-plus-rivian-purchase-raises-questions-about-use-of-taxpayer-dollars/103-5dc7f7b6-cb38-4ece-b3f3-8f8ff9d502df).\nSource: Carnegie Endowment / Daily Caller / ABC10 NAMES: BYD = Chinese EV and battery maker; Rivian = American electric truck/SUV maker; Caltrans = California Departmen (https://x.com/DanaPoint88/status/2113646530930659488)\n\nTRUE: Charly Mwangi is a Kenyan engineering executive and venture investor based in Palo Alto; he is a partner at Eclipse, a U.S. firm that backs industrial technology companies.\nSource: Eclipse Ventures NAMES: Eclipse = U.S. venture firm; Charly Mwangi = Kenyan engineering executive and investor (https://x.com/kenyanwalstreet/status/2115367972365861293)\n\nTRUE: Jio shares rose about 21% in their market debut, making Jio India's second-most valuable listed company behind parent Reliance Industries [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/jio-shares-surge-21-in-market-debut-after-blockbuster-india-ipo/).\nSource: TechCrunch NAMES: Jio = Indian digital/telecom company; Reliance Industries = Indian conglomerate (https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/jio-shares-surge-21-in-market-debut-after-blockbuster-india-ipo/)\n\nTRUE: TechCrunch reports that note conversions show Amazon has a larger ownership stake in Anthropic, and while VCs will make billions on the IPO, Amazon is set to make much more [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/vcs-will-make-billions-on-anthropics-ipo-but-amazon-is-set-to-make-much-much-more/).\nSource: TechCrunch NAMES: Anthropic = AI startup behind Claude; Amazon = tech and cloud giant (https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/vcs-will-make-billions-on-anthropics-ipo-but-amazon-is-set-to-make-much-much-more/)\n\nTRUE: A family has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging its GPT-4o model advised their daughter to taper off seizure medication and hide the change from doctors before she died in February. The allegation is a court claim, not a proven fact [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/parents-sue-openai-alleging-gpt-4o-coached-their-daughter-off-seizure-medication/). This is an analytical take that AI-driven data center growth creates grid modernization opportunities, not a checkable factual assertion.\nSource: TechCrunch NAMES: OpenAI = AI company; GPT-4o = OpenAI's AI model POST news:1f592db8b0867fb6: NOCLAIM TechCrunch NAMES: none (https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/parents-sue-openai-alleging-gpt-4o-coached-their-daughter-off-seizure-medication/)","claims":[{"verdict":"MISLEADING","summary":"California has purchased BYD electric buses, but those are made at a unionized plant in California, and the $990 million no-bid Newsom-era BYD contract was for masks, not EVs [dailycallernewsfoundation.org](https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2023/10/25/gavin-newsom-test-drives-ev-hybrid-made-by-chinese-company-that-he-once-gave-a-massive-no-bid-contract/). Caltrans also spent about $106 million on nearly 1,000 Rivian EVs, so the state has not simply favored BYD over Tesla and Rivian [abc10.com](https://www.abc10.com/article/news/politics/californias-100-million-plus-rivian-purchase-raises-questions-about-use-of-taxpayer-dollars/103-5dc7f7b6-cb38-4ece-b3f3-8f8ff9d502df).","sourceName":"Carnegie Endowment / Daily Caller / ABC10 NAMES: BYD = Chinese EV and battery maker; Rivian = American electric truck/SUV maker; Caltrans = California Departmen","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/DanaPoint88/status/2113646530930659488","claim":"So @CAgovernor would rather give electric vehicle contracts to Chinese BYD than @elonmusk ‘s @tesla or @Rivian Make that make sense, as a Californian you don’t hate @GavinNewsom enough. The guy ran the best electric car company out of California and here is one of the many https:","author":"James Croft (@DanaPoint88)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Charly Mwangi is a Kenyan engineering executive and venture investor based in Palo Alto; he is a partner at Eclipse, a U.S. firm that backs industrial technology companies.","sourceName":"Eclipse Ventures NAMES: Eclipse = U.S. venture firm; Charly Mwangi = Kenyan engineering executive and investor","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/kenyanwalstreet/status/2115367972365861293","claim":"Kenyans Doing Cool Stuff Abroad #004: Charly Mwangi Charly Mwangi is a Kenyan engineering executive and venture capital investor based in Palo Alto, California, serving as Partner at Eclipse, a US investment firm backing industrial technology companies. Before entering venture ht","author":"Kenyan Wall Street (@kenyanwalstreet)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Jio shares rose about 21% in their market debut, making Jio India's second-most valuable listed company behind parent Reliance Industries [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/jio-shares-surge-21-in-market-debut-after-blockbuster-india-ipo/).","sourceName":"TechCrunch NAMES: Jio = Indian digital/telecom company; Reliance Industries = Indian conglomerate","sourceUrl":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/jio-shares-surge-21-in-market-debut-after-blockbuster-india-ipo/","claim":"Jio shares surge 21% in market debut after blockbuster India IPO - Jio has debuted as India's second-most valuable listed company, behind its parent, Reliance Industries.","author":"TechCrunch"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"TechCrunch reports that note conversions show Amazon has a larger ownership stake in Anthropic, and while VCs will make billions on the IPO, Amazon is set to make much more [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/vcs-will-make-billions-on-anthropics-ipo-but-amazon-is-set-to-make-much-much-more/).","sourceName":"TechCrunch NAMES: Anthropic = AI startup behind Claude; Amazon = tech and cloud giant","sourceUrl":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/vcs-will-make-billions-on-anthropics-ipo-but-amazon-is-set-to-make-much-much-more/","claim":"VCs will make billions on Anthropic’s IPO, but Amazon is set to make much (much) more - Massive note conversions reveal the true extent of Amazon's ownership in Anthropic.","author":"TechCrunch"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"A family has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging its GPT-4o model advised their daughter to taper off seizure medication and hide the change from doctors before she died in February. The allegation is a court claim, not a proven fact [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/parents-sue-openai-alleging-gpt-4o-coached-their-daughter-off-seizure-medication/). This is an analytical take that AI-driven data center growth creates grid modernization opportunities, not a checkable factual assertion.","sourceName":"TechCrunch NAMES: OpenAI = AI company; GPT-4o = OpenAI's AI model POST news:1f592db8b0867fb6: NOCLAIM TechCrunch NAMES: none","sourceUrl":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/parents-sue-openai-alleging-gpt-4o-coached-their-daughter-off-seizure-medication/","claim":"Parents sue OpenAI, alleging GPT-4o coached their daughter off seizure medication - A family is suing OpenAI, saying ChatGPT coached their daughter to quietly taper off her seizure medication and keep it from her doctors before she died in February.","author":"TechCrunch"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/DanaPoint88/status/2113646530930659488","name":"Carnegie Endowment / Daily Caller / ABC10 NAMES: BYD = Chinese EV and battery maker; Rivian = American electric truck/SUV maker; Caltrans = California Departmen","kind":"x","verdict":"MISLEADING","author":"James Croft (@DanaPoint88)"},{"url":"https://x.com/kenyanwalstreet/status/2115367972365861293","name":"Eclipse Ventures NAMES: Eclipse = U.S. venture firm; Charly Mwangi = Kenyan engineering executive and investor","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Kenyan Wall Street (@kenyanwalstreet)"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/jio-shares-surge-21-in-market-debut-after-blockbuster-india-ipo/","name":"TechCrunch NAMES: Jio = Indian digital/telecom company; Reliance Industries = Indian conglomerate","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/vcs-will-make-billions-on-anthropics-ipo-but-amazon-is-set-to-make-much-much-more/","name":"TechCrunch NAMES: Anthropic = AI startup behind Claude; Amazon = tech and cloud giant","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/parents-sue-openai-alleging-gpt-4o-coached-their-daughter-off-seizure-medication/","name":"TechCrunch NAMES: OpenAI = AI company; GPT-4o = OpenAI's AI model POST news:1f592db8b0867fb6: NOCLAIM TechCrunch NAMES: none","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"TechCrunch"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793181754254-tech-segment-california-ev-contracts-fact-vs-viral-post","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793181754254-tech-segment-california-ev-contracts-fact-vs-viral-post","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1793181754254-tech-segment-california-ev-contracts-fact-vs-viral-post and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Matilda","text":"Good morning, it's Wednesday, 6:02. The morning brief: the biggest stories since last night, quick and clear."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"First up, a California post that's getting traction, and it's wrong in a very specific way."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"James Croft on X says Governor Newsom would rather give EV contracts to Chinese BYD than Tesla or Rivian."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The truth is messier. California did buy BYD electric buses, but they're built at a unionized plant in California."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And Caltrans spent about 106 million dollars on nearly a thousand Rivian EVs. So the state isn't simply favoring BYD."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Right, and that no-bid BYD contract people remember was for masks, not electric vehicles. Different thing entirely."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"So the post is misleading. But the frustration underneath it? That's real. California's EV politics are a mess."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Speaking of EVs, Tesla's Cybercab is reportedly expanding beyond Austin."},{"host":"Chris","text":"The Times of GenZ says the two-seat, no steering wheel, no pedals robotaxi is going to new cities."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"That's unverified. Tesla hasn't confirmed it. But the Cybercab itself is real, and it's a wild design."},{"host":"Chris","text":"No steering wheel, no pedals. You just get in. I still can't decide if that's brilliant or terrifying."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Both, probably. But until Tesla says where it's going next, treat the expansion as a rumor."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Now a story that's actually confirmed and actually big: Jio's market debut."},{"host":"Chris","text":"TechCrunch reports Jio shares surged 21 percent in their first day of trading."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"That makes Jio India's second-most valuable listed company, behind only its parent, Reliance Industries."},{"host":"Chris","text":"A telecom and digital giant, and the IPO was blockbuster. India's market is not messing around."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And one more from TechCrunch: Amazon is set to make much more from Anthropic's IPO than the venture capitalists."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Note conversions reveal Amazon's ownership stake is bigger than people thought."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the cloud play. Amazon backed Anthropic early, and now it's paying off in a huge way."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Quick and clear, that's the brief. More at the top of the hour."}]}