SK Hynix’s IPO is really a bet on the future of AI
Korean chipmaker SK Hynix is being priced as a proxy for the future of AI. Image: Facebook
When South Korea’s chip giant SK Hynix launches its planned US$29 billion US listing, investors will tell themselves they’re buying one of the world’s most important semiconductor companies.
But what they will really be buying is a rosy artificial intelligence forecast. Specifically, they will be buying the view that AI will become one of the largest investment and infrastructure booms in modern economic history, and that we’re still in the early innings.
This is what makes SK Hynix’s blockbuster deal so important. It’s not just another big listing. It’s a window into how Wall Street now thinks about AI.
For most of modern market history, investors valued companies based on a relatively straightforward set of questions. How quickly are revenues growing? What are the margins? How much cash can the business generate? Is management doing its job?
Of course, those questions haven’t disappeared. But in the AI market, they’ve become secondary. The primary question has become much bigger: How large will the AI economy ultimately be?
Look at what has happened to SK Hynix. On paper, it’s a memory-chip manufacturer. Historically, that meant a cyclical, capital-intensive business prone to booms and busts. Investors worried about pricing, inventories and supply gluts.
Today, investors see something else entirely. They see a company that sits at one of the most critical bottlenecks in AI.
Without advanced memory chips, there’s no generative AI boom. There are no frontier AI models. There are no hyperscale AI data centers. There’s no next-generation AI infrastructure.
This basic reality has transformed SK Hynix from a semiconductor stock into something much more powerful: a leveraged proxy for global AI spending. The same phenomenon is happening across markets.
Nvidia is no longer valued primarily as a chipmaker. Utilities serving AI data centers are no longer valued primarily as utilities. Data-center operators are no longer valued as real estate businesses. Electrical equipment manufacturers, cooling companies and even nuclear power developers have become, to varying degrees, AI trades.
Entire sectors of the market are being repriced based on a single macroeconomic assumption: that AI will require an unprecedented infrastructure buildout.
Maybe investors are right. The world’s largest tech companies are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars this year alone on AI-related capital expenditure. Every new generation of models requires more computing power, more electricity, more networking capacity and more memory than the last.
If AI develops the way its proponents expect, today’s spending boom may look modest in hindsight. But, as ever, there’s another way to interpret what’s happening.
What if SK Hynix isn’t really a company anymore, at least in the way investors traditionally understand companies? What if it’s become a macro trade? This shouldn’t sound radical.
Investors already treat banks as leveraged bets on interest rates, energy companies as proxies for oil prices and gold miners as leveraged positions on bullion.
Increasingly now, they’re treating AI infrastructure companies as leveraged bets on the premise that demand for AI will prove dramatically larger than almost anyone currently forecasts.
This creates extraordinary opportunities and extraordinary risks. The history of financial markets is full of examples where investors correctly identified transformational technologies while badly misjudging the economics surrounding them.
Railroads transformed economies. The internet transformed society. But both also generated periods of spectacular over-investment, because investors assumed that revolutionary technologies guaranteed extraordinary returns.
They don’t, but what they do guarantee is extraordinary capital spending.
Tech firms are spending more because they expect demand to explode. Suppliers like SK Hynix are expanding to meet customer demand for more capacity. Investors reward that expansion because it confirms the narrative that demand will remain enormous.
It’s a cycle that reinforces itself. None of this means we’re in an AI-blown bubble. AI may very well ultimately justify every dollar currently being invested, and perhaps considerably more.
But SK Hynix’s blockbuster listing reveals an important shift in market psychology. Investors are no longer asking whether AI companies can build profitable businesses. They’re asking whether AI itself will become the defining economic project of the 21st century.
That’s no longer a company-specific investment thesis. It’s a macroeconomic bet, and one which Wall Street is making with increasing conviction.
Left in the Dust: How a Billionaire-Owned Concrete Plant Took Over a Detroit Community
Reporting Highlights
Detroit’s Rebuilding: As the city recovers from the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, major construction has reshaped it. New concrete businesses have opened in response.
Neighborhood Transformation: A concrete mixing plant has opened in the Cadillac Heights neighborhood, a process aided by the decisions of city officials.
Residents Leaving: Homeowners, who say they can’t coexist with the plant, have sold their properties to the company and left. The number of private sales to one entity “had never happened before in Detroit.”
These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
The abandoned house next door meant a lot to Christina Kary. For years, she tended to it, planting purple flowers, removing weeds and picking up trash. She attached locks to the doors to prevent trespassers from entering.
She had considered buying the property, located on the Cadillac Heights block where her family built the first houses in the early 1900s. Several years ago, she learned that the small home with a front porch was owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority, which manages the city’s vacant properties. Kary, 86, said she told a land bank inspector she wanted to purchase it but didn’t follow up, thinking she would eventually hear back.
Then, one morning in 2024, she heard a commotion as heavy equipment squeezed through the alley. Kary watched from her backyard as the house was demolished, her feet vibrating beneath her. She marked the day in yellow highlighter on her paper wall calendar where she records other notable events like birthdays, doctor appointments and Bible study meetups. She would later learn that the city had sold the home to Crown Enterprises, a real estate firm owned by members of the Detroit area’s wealthy and politically connected Moroun family.
Over the last seven years, Crown has obtained dozens of parcels in Cadillac Heights and secured permits to demolish more than 20 structures. In all, the company now owns more than 160 lots in the neighborhood, most of which are barren. It also has erected a concrete-mixing plant just across the street from Kary’s home, creating clouds of dust, noise at early hours of the day and late into the night, and industrial lights that pierce through the area.
The company’s takeover of the southeast section of the neighborhood has marked the end of the community Kary and her neighbors knew — a process aided by the decisions of city officials. First, the city turned over dozens of properties to the company as part of a historic land-swap deal in 2019 and then gave it first dibs to purchase other lots, including the one next to Kary’s home, until 2034.
The city has also enabled the company in other ways, providing latitude on permitting and neighborhood maintenance. For instance, although city inspectors have repeatedly ticketed the company for violating rules limiting the spread of dust, the city also set up a system under which the company’s fines were dismissed.
Christina Kary in the backyard of her home in the Detroit neighborhood Cadillac Heights.Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublicaGoogle Street ViewNick Hagen for ProPublicaThe house next door to Kary’s was purchased by Crown Enterprises and demolished. It is now a vacant lot that Kary and her neighbor maintain.Google Street ViewNick Hagen for ProPublicaThe house next door to Kary’s was purchased by Crown Enterprises and demolished. It is now a vacant lot that Kary and her neighbor maintain.
As Detroit rebuilds from the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, major construction has reshaped the city: the first new skyscraper in 50 years, new hotels and sports complexes, repaved roads, and the renovation of Michigan Central Station, which had sat empty for decades while owned by the Moroun family and became a symbol of the city’s decline.
To meet the demand, at least three new concrete facilities have opened in the city since 2019. One is by a park, and two are in residential neighborhoods, including the plant in Cadillac Heights, called Kronos. The state also approved a permit for a new cement grinding plant that has not yet opened in an industrial area of southwest Detroit. Other proposed operations have been blocked after residents protested.
The new concrete plants are producing materials needed to help rebuild parts of the city while creating a bitter irony for residents such as Kary. She said Detroit’s decision to turn so many properties over to Crown “guarantees the death of this area.”
In written responses to questions from BridgeDetroit and ProPublica, company representative Kenneth Dobson called Kronos “a good neighbor.” He said the company complies with all permitting requirements and city ordinances, and that it properly mitigates dust.
Dobson said having a concrete supplier within the city helps support rebuilding and broadly improves the lives of Detroiters. Without concrete facilities in Detroit, “not only would there be less jobs and less City tax revenue, but the cost of both public and private infrastructure development would go up,” wrote Dobson, vice president of the Detroit International Bridge Company, another Moroun-owned business.
Dobson said Crown has invested $10 million in the neighborhood. When asked what that has funded, he cited costs related to the Kronos development: demolishing homes, obtaining permits and equipment to operate, and taking measures to control dust and monitor air quality.
Messages sent by ProPublica to email addresses linked to Matthew Moroun, who oversees the family business, didn’t receive a response. Dobson said the email was forwarded to him and he responded on Moroun’s behalf.
The city gave Crown first rights to this house in Cadillac Heights. The city demolished it last year, but ownership has not yet been transferred to the company.Brittany Greeson for ProPublica
With City Help, Crown Moves In
Cadillac Heights’ most recent transformation began in May 2019, thanks in part to a vote by Detroit City Council to approve a nearly $267 million multipronged land swap orchestrated by former Mayor Mike Duggan.
The deal delivered ownership of dozens of lots in Cadillac Heights to Crown. In exchange, Crown gave up land in another part of the city, which allowed automaker Stellantis to open the first new car plant in Detroit in three decades, with the promise of 5,000 new jobs.
Duggan declared the day the land swap was approved as the “greatest” day he had had as mayor.
“Today was historic,” Duggan, who served for 12 years and recently gave up his bid for governor, said at a press conference. “Detroit was the city that built the middle class in America, and today we started to rebuild the middle class in Detroit.”
The news that day focused on the promise of Stellantis, not on what the deal meant for Cadillac Heights. Duggan spokesperson Andrea Bitely said the mayor did not know that Crown would put a concrete plant in the neighborhood and that doing so would ultimately drive out residents.
At its prime in the 1960s, Cadillac Heights had been full of local businesses and community life. The neighborhood attracted a predominantly working-class community of Black families who lived in modest single-family houses.
Buddy’s Pizza, famous as the birthplace of Detroit-style pizza, was founded there and drew crowds from across the city. Cadillac Heights also was home to Simpson’s Records, one of the city’s longest-running record shops.
But over several decades, Detroit declined under the weight of the crack epidemic, massive population loss and disinvestment. City historian Jamon Jordan said some neighborhoods saw more problems than others, but Cadillac Heights “had all of those things.”
By the time of the 2019 deal, roughly a third of the homes that were left had been abandoned, according to census data, and the streets were lined with empty storefronts. The remaining residents, many of whom, like Kary, had lived in Cadillac Heights for decades, said they tried to keep the neighborhood clean and enjoyable.
The Moroun family, too, had owned property in Cadillac Heights since the 1960s and operated a trucking depot there, which residents also found bothersome, but less so than the concrete facility. (The family also owns the Ambassador Bridge to Canada and more than 1,000 properties throughout Detroit, and has tried to block a competing bridge to Canada.)
Crown gradually acquired more land in Cadillac Heights and had about 80 properties at the time of the land swap, records show.
Two Decades of Change in Cadillac Heights
Sources: Google Earth, AirbusChris Alcantara/ProPublica
The deal gave Crown 34 more parcels throughout the neighborhood and the first rights to purchase others if they end up in the Land Bank by repossession due to tax foreclosure or other reasons. So far, Crown has purchased seven parcels under this option and demolished three homes, including the one next to Kary’s.
Detroit officials made other decisions, some in violation of city rules, that enabled Kronos to operate by summer 2022, before the company obtained a permit. The city ordered that operations stop. It then issued the permit without fining the company, and the concrete plant was reassembled. A city spokesperson did not respond to a question about why the company wasn’t fined.
The city issued a permit even though Crown had unpaid tickets for blight violations, which should have disqualified it from getting the approval to move forward.Crystal Rogers, a manager in the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, attributed that to “human error.”
The company also accrued tickets between when it first applied for the permit and when the city approved it; Rogers said checking whether a company has pending tickets during that time period would “slow the development process.”
The tickets also should have prevented Crown from purchasing property from the county’s tax auction, according to city law. Yet records show the company was able to purchase a four-bedroom, single-family house in Cadillac Heights in October 2022 while it had unresolved blight tickets. Crown said it had disputed some of the tickets. The city acknowledged the tickets but said they were resolved by the time the sale was recorded months later.
After the concrete plant opened, the company acquired additional property from homeowners who decided to leave, further transforming the neighborhood. Dobson said the company is buying properties to create a buffer around the plant.
How a 2019 Land-Swap Deal Accelerated the Morouns’ Foothold
The Moroun family spent decades, from 1966 to 2018, records show, gradually acquiring lots in Cadillac Heights through their various companies, eventually putting the parcels all under the ownership of Crown Enterprises. A May 2019 deal with the city of Detroit allowed Crown to acquire dozens of additional parcels during the next seven years.
Note: Sale dates for 19 parcels could not be identified, but records show Crown owned them as of June. Sources: City of Detroit, Detroit’s Office of the Assessor, Wayne County Register of Deeds, Detroit City Council.Chris Alcantara/ProPublica
Martin Murray, a University of Michigan urban planning professor, said what’s happening in Cadillac Heights follows a similar pattern to other U.S. cities undergoing redevelopment. Businesses “can promise jobs, they can promise a tax base, and the city will go along with that, because it makes them look better and they’re willing to sacrifice residents,” he said.
City Council President James Tate Jr. and member Scott Benson, who represents the Cadillac Heights neighborhood, voted in favor of the land swap. Tate said he thinks the arrangement benefited the city overall, but that officials should have questioned how Crown would use the properties before they approved the deal.
“Knowing what I know now, there are some additional protections and questions that I would ask,” he said. “I would never sacrifice one neighborhood to satisfy another, but there are times when you have to look at deals, and there may be some unintended consequences.”
Benson declined to comment on his decision to approve the deal and said he has advocated for zoning changes that would make the area less industrial.
Quinn Banks for BridgeDetroitBrittany Greeson for ProPublicaA row of houses in Cadillac Heights, photographed in 2022, has since been demolished and is now an empty lot.Quinn Banks for BridgeDetroitBrittany Greeson for ProPublicaA row of houses in Cadillac Heights, photographed in 2022, has since been demolished and is now an empty lot.
“They Could Taste the Dust”
Since the Kronos plant opened four years ago, residents have filed about 80 complaints to both city and state environmental offices, according to records obtained by BridgeDetroit and ProPublica. They have sent photos, videos and pleas for help.
In complaints filed with the state, they described “literal whiteout conditions” and “dust clouds.” They said the dust was blanketing their neighborhood and irritating their eyes. They said they had to stop doing yardwork, go inside and shut all their windows.
“They could feel grit and debris hitting their eyes, that they tried not to inhale but they could taste the dust,” according to a state inspector’s summary of one complaint. The state’s environmental division repeatedly has recommended that Crown spray the site with water to minimize dust, which the company says it does every hour the plant is operating. Inspectors also told Crown multiple times to reduce the speed of its trucks to limit the spread of dust.
Videos submitted by local residents to the state environmental department show dusty conditions in the Cadillac Heights neighborhood next to the plant.Obtained by BridgeDetroit and ProPublica
Josef Stephens, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, said that while the state has noted dust at and around the Kronos site, it has not been opaque enough to warrant a violation.
City officials, too, are aware of residents’ concerns. In 2024, the City Council passed an ordinance requiring companies to control the spread of dust or face penalties. The city set up a hotline and email address so residents could submit complaints.
Nearly half of the complaints submitted to [email protected] have been about Kronos, according to city officials.
Dobson, the company representative, said readings from its air monitor have never exceeded the city’s pollution limits and that the facility is “fully compliant.”
Matthew Tomasz, who lived across the street from Kronos, filed complaints with the city and also ended up in a legal battle with Crown. The company sued him for trespassing on its vacant property next to his home. He countersued, claiming the company had violated the city’s dust ordinance when particles from the concrete facility traveled onto his property, calling it an “invasion.”
Matthew Tomasz, right, with his wife, Casey Murphy, and their children, Gus, standing, and Olórin. The family lived across the street from Kronos, and Tomasz ended up in a legal battle with the company.Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica
“Each day that dust from Kronos or the vacant lots lands on Mr. Tomasz’s property, a new trespass occurs,” according to the complaint. The lawsuits settled in February, but the terms were not made public, records show.
“I feel like I’m staring into a wasteland every day,” Tomasz said in an interview late last year. He said dust from the plant was so thick that he couldn’t see 10 feet in front of him. “There’s no peace to be had at my house.”
The city required that Kronos develop and adhere to a plan to limit the amount of dust. But despite five violations since Kronos agreed to adopt a plan, only once has the city’s environmental department fined the company for its failure to comply. The city last month dismissed two tickets issued to Crown, totalling $2,500, for the company’s failure to keep dust from traveling into the neighborhood.
The company has been excused from the dust-related fines, as well as tickets for other reasons, because of an agreement it signed with the city in 2022 after the plant opened. That first-of-its-kind property maintenance agreement gives Crown up to 30 days to fix nonemergency building and environmental violations — and up to 10 days to address overgrown weeds and trash — before it is assessed fines. The city has since entered into similar agreements with two other concrete businesses and a developer.
The agreement with Crown came after the company racked up blight tickets across the city. At the time it was signed, the city’s law department acknowledged it didn’t know the number of outstanding tickets but agreed that the company could pay $50,000 to resolve all the past violations before the new agreement kicked in.
One ticket that was excused last year came after Detroit resident Jahdante Smith emailed a complaint to city officials in July with a video showing a cloud of dust blowing near the facility. “This is a ridiculous everyday occurrence,” Smith wrote.
Detroit resident Jahdante Smith emailed a complaint to city officials that included this video of dust blowing on the street near the Kronos facility.Courtesy of Jahdante Smith
A city inspector issued Crown a $500 ticket seven weeks later for failing to mitigate dust, but the city’s environmental department dismissed it under the agreement.
The city also waived a $1,000 ticket issued to Crown in October for exceeding state and city requirements to limit dust opacity. The company temporarily suspended operations and agreed to sweep and spray water on the streets daily to control the dust, and the ticket was dismissed, Rogers said.
City inspectors also alerted Crown to code violations at other properties in the neighborhood, including a vacant lot littered with garbage and another with overgrown weeds and broken tree limbs. An abandoned home was unsecured, leaving it open to trespassers, a city inspector found.
Because of its agreement with the city, Crown was not issued any fines after it addressed the issues with the three properties. The vacant home has been demolished, and the other lots are now barren.
However, a recent visit to the neighborhood showed that similar issues have resurfaced: Another home that Crown purchased in January had missing first-floor windows and no front door, allowing anyone to enter. The lawn was covered in tall weeds and grass, and trash littered the yard. Crown plans to demolish the home but is waiting on the utilities to be disconnected, said Dobson, the company representative.
A house that Crown purchased in January has no front door or first-floor windows, and trash litters the yard.Nick Hagen for ProPublica
Dobson said the property maintenance agreement has worked because the company responds to concerns and fixes “the potential violation.” Conrad Mallett, the city’s top attorney, who negotiated the agreement, said it is “working well from the perspective of both parties.”
A press conference in October 2025 calling for the closure of the Kronos concrete facility included speakers Smith, right, of the Detroit Hamtramck Coalition, and state Sen. Stephanie Chang, left.Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica
The department, in response, said officials have no legal authority to interfere because the plant is properly permitted and complies with zoning regulations and city rules. And even though the city is considering rezoning some parts of Cadillac Heights to make them less industrial, the plans stop just short of the lots owned by Crown, records show.
The Moroun family continues to expand its concrete supply business, called Hercules Material Holdings, which now has seven locations in Michigan. Other facilities are expected to open in Toledo, Ohio, and Windsor, Ontario, where the Morouns have been purchasing properties for decades.
Residents Move Out
Some Cadillac Heights residents say they can’t coexist with the concrete plant.
They recently turned to the Wayne County Commission for help. At a May county committee meeting, advocate Sharon Buttry told commissioners that residents are frustrated that Crown hasn’t been ticketed more.
Commissioners voted to pass a resolution urging the state and city to further monitor the site and revoke permits if there are violations. “Our neighborhoods should never have to sacrifice their health and peace of mind for industrial operations that create ongoing public nuisance concerns,” county Commissioner Martha G. Scott said in an interview.
The county is paying a local air monitoring company, JustAir, to track and analyze air quality near Kronos. The company found the quality was “measurably worse” during the six days of the week when Kronos operates.
Separately, Mayor Mary Sheffield, who took office this year, directed the city’s environmental agency to install four monitors near the plant so residents “knew that the administration is taking their concerns seriously,” according to city spokesperson John Roach. He said the monitors have not measured pollution that exceeds moderate levels. (Sheffield voted against the land swap when she was on City Council.)
Kronos representatives, meanwhile, have worked to build public support. The company has said that it has hired Detroiters to work at the plant, donated food and backpacks to community groups, and paved a new parking lot for a neighborhood church. A few years ago, it published renderings online showing how it would improve the neighborhood with paved sidewalks, mature trees and 6-foot-tall grassy hills to create a buffer from the plant.
Those images don’t match what the neighborhood looks like. Sidewalks are missing or cracked. Barbed wire hangs from fences over debris-strewn lots. Water sprayed to control dust creeps into the streets, creating small pools of green liquid. Lots are barren and gray after being treated with herbicides to prevent weeds.
Obtained by BridgeDetroit and ProPublicaNick Hagen for ProPublicaKronos published renderings several years ago showing how it would improve the neighborhood. A June 2026 photograph shows the same location.Obtained by BridgeDetroit and ProPublicaNick Hagen for ProPublicaKronos published renderings several years ago showing how it would improve the neighborhood. A June 2026 photograph shows the same location.
Dobson said Crown hasn’t been able to carry out the improvements because the city hasn’t signed off on its plan. Roach said the city won’t grant permission until the company addresses code violations, including an unpermitted chain-link fence and inadequate screening to hide operations.
If Crown doesn’t make the improvements soon, Mitchell Gross, who lives across the street from Kronos, said he’s going to plant evergreen trees himself “to filter the dust.”
He said he keeps his windows shut and that his son and his two young grandchildren, who used to live with him, have left Detroit to protect their health. “They’re in a nice place and getting good air to breathe,” said Gross, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years.
Mitchell Gross built his house in the neighborhood more than 50 years ago. He said he keeps his windows closed so dust from the concrete plant doesn’t travel into his home.Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica
Some of Cadillac Heights’ longtime residents aren’t sticking around to find out whether things will improve. At least 16 residents who lived in the area closest to the Kronos plant have sold their land to Crown since the land swap, according to records reviewed by BridgeDetroit and ProPublica. The sellers have received “a windfall,” with an average 2024 purchase price of $114,000 that has been “increasing,” according to Crown representative Dobson.
Bitely, the spokesperson for Duggan, said that having so many private sales to one entity “had never happened before in Detroit.”
Samantha Flowers was among the first residents to fight against the concrete operation. Last year, she texted BridgeDetroit and ProPublica a video of the plant, taken at 6:15 a.m., to demonstrate the daily noise and bright lights residents are accustomed to. “Typical morning in the neighborhood,” she wrote.
Flowers sold her home and five other parcels to Crown in January for $125,000, according to the county’s online records. Tomasz, who had filed a lawsuit against the company, gave up his hope of buying the lot next to his and instead sold his home to the company for $150,000. Dobson said the property will be used to create additional buffering from the plant.
Kary, however, plans to live out her final years in her family’s home. She pays for grass seed to maintain the Crown-owned vacant lot next to hers so she can look out her windows at something nice.
“It’s home,” she said. “I’m not leaving.”
The Kronos plant overlooks the Cadillac Heights neighborhood.Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica
There were not one, but two asteroid encounters this weekend
As the United States of America celebrated its 250th birthday on terra firma with fireworks displays this weekend, two Asian countries made some splashes of their own farther from Earth.
On Sunday, an aging Japanese spacecraft named Hayabusa2, which completed its initial sample-return objective more than half a decade ago, found success with an extended mission that saw the vehicle fly by a peanut-shaped asteroid named Torifune.
Hours later, the Chinese space agency released images from a spacecraft, Tianwen-2, arriving at its target asteroid following a journey of 1 billion km. At this small asteroid, the Chinese spacecraft will attempt to retrieve samples and return them to Earth late next year.
Torifune flyby
The Japanese space agency’s Hayabusa2 mission launched back in December 2014 and made a rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid named 162173 Ryugu in June 2018. After gathering samples, the spacecraft burned its ion propulsion engines to return to Earth, and during a flyby in late 2020 it released a small return capsule. Scientists recovered 5.4 grams of asteroid material from the capsule.
By this point, however, Hayabusa2’s efficient propulsion system still had nearly half of its xenon propellant remaining—approximately 30 kg of the 66 kg it began its mission with.
So Japanese engineers and scientists plotted out an operations plan that would extend over the next decade and visit two more asteroids. It flew by the first of these on Sunday, a 450-meter-long asteroid designated as 98943 Torifune. Observations began about two weeks ago and culminated in a flyby during which the spacecraft passed within about 10 km of the asteroid.
“These observations continued until immediately before the closest approach to Torifune but could not be conducted after the spacecraft had passed the asteroid,” JAXA, the Japanese space agency, said in a news release early Monday. “At present, only part of the data acquired by the scientific instruments has been transmitted to Earth. The remaining data will be transmitted to the ground during future operations.”
The successful operations set the stage for the final encounter planned by Hayabusa2, a tiny near-Earth object believed to be just 11 meters across. This flyby of 1998 KY26 would occur sometime in July 2031 if the spacecraft proceeds nominally.
Aloha Kamoʻoalewa
Also this weekend, the China National Space Administration announced that its Tianwen-2 spacecraft had reached within 20 km of another near-Earth asteroid designated 469219 Kamoʻoalewa. This is another relatively small asteroid, with a diameter of only about 20 meters. The spacecraft made its arrival on July 2.
As part of its announcement, China released a somewhat fuzzy image of the asteroid, which loosely resembles the shape of an arrowhead. The probe’s arrival marks the beginning of more detailed scientific operations, the Chinese space agency said, to better characterize the asteroid’s shape, material composition, rotational properties, and more.
469219 Kamo’oalewa as seen by Tianwen-2 from a distance of 20 km.
Credit: CNSA
469219 Kamo’oalewa as seen by Tianwen-2 from a distance of 20 km. Credit: CNSA
The asteroid is also known as a “quasi moon” because it rotates ahead of Earth in a similar orbital period of 365 days. It is leading Earth, and at its closest approach comes within about 4.6 million km (more than 10 times the Earth-Moon distance). It is not gravitationally bound to Earth, however.
After characterizing the nature of the asteroid, Tianwen-2 will attempt to gather samples. A return to Earth is tentatively scheduled for November 2027.
If all goes well, after the release of a sample capsule, Tianwen-2’s mission will also be extended. China has announced preliminary plans for the spacecraft to then travel to and orbit an intriguing asteroid named 311P/PanSTARRS. This asteroid has “tails,” and so it may be a comet.
While Ukraine and Iran will be on Nato’s agenda, the authoritarian drift of its host, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will be politely overlooked. But as ever, the summit outcome will be determined by the position of the United States.
At last year’s Hague summit, the Nato-sceptical US president, Donald Trump, was placated by the allies’ commitment to spend 5% of their GDP annually on defence by 2035. The challenge this year will be to demonstrate sufficient progress towards that goal, while also addressing Trump’s vision of “Nato 3.0” – involving, according to his secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, “a balanced alliance with Europe in the lead for its own defence”.
Progress towards defence spending appears reasonably on track. In 2025 alone, the Atlantic Council notes: “European allies and Canada increased defence spending by 20% from the previous calendar year.” Six Nato allies (the three Baltic states plus Denmark, Poland and Norway) spent more on defence as a share of GDP than the US. Germany, not among that group in 2025, nonetheless has big ambitions. In absolute terms, it is now Nato’s second biggest defence spender.
The allies have also made strenuous efforts to wean themselves off American-sourced defence systems. But bumps in the road remain. Whereas in 2025, all the Nato allies (bar Iceland, which has no armed forces) met Nato’s 2024 standard of spending 2% of GDP on defence, this will not be repeated in 2026. The Czech government and Hungary are likely to dip below the target. And many spending commitments still need to translate into concrete capabilities. Europe’s defence industries are working flat out, but are at the limits of how fast they can absorb new investment.
The success of the summit may just be down to luck and the volatile mood of the US president. Trump seems unable to accept that the Nato allies have made genuine progress in defence. He claimed just days before departing for Ankara it was “ridiculous” that the US continues to support a “one-sided” Nato. That grievance appears to be one reason the meeting may withdraw its endorsement of Albania – a low-spending Nato member – as the 2027 summit venue.
Things could also prove tricky on another of Trump’s pet complaints – the lack of Nato support for the US-Israeli war with Iran. The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte (who chairs the summit), seems determined to avoid getting too deeply into discussion of the situation.
But if it does intrude, safety will likely be found in the formulation recently agreed by the G7 – welcoming the US-Iran deal, condemning Iran’s nuclear ambitions and supporting a Franco-British led maritime operation in the Strait of Hormuz. Don’t expect a Nato coordinating role in any operation, however. On that, there is no allied consensus.
United approach on Ukraine war
There will be greater scope at the summit for dealing with Russia’s war against Ukraine and the broader threat to European security that emanates from the Kremlin. The Trump administration has grown increasingly distrusting of Putin and, in parallel, more impressed with the Ukrainian war effort.
This has translated into some positives for Ukraine: the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, will be at the summit, attending the Nato-Ukraine Council and the Ukraine Defence Contact (Ramstein) Group meetings, which coordinate western support for Ukraine.
He will be hoping for more concrete commitments similar to British and German defence packages for Ukraine. Nato’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (Purl) initiative, launched last summer, has also already been a big success in keeping arms and other military aid flowing to Ukraine.
Much discussion will focus on the need to help Ukraine defend itself against heacy Russian bombardments like the ones recently experienced in Kyiv and other cities.EPA/Sergey Dolzhenko
That initiative will be reaffirmed at Ankara, signalling a clear commitment to Ukraine-Europe defence links. But the allies still lack a consensus on offering Nato membership to Ukraine. The US is adamantly against it. So a pathway to accession will not be spelled out at the summit.
Where’s China?
Other items missing from the agenda at Ankara will also reflect the Trump administration’s priorities. It’s no surprise that climate change and Women Peace and Security – a UN-led initiative which recognises and fosters women’s contribution to peacekeeping – have fallen out of favour. Both issues figured in Nato communiques during the Biden period – both disappeared from last year’s Hague summit declaration. Don’t expect a mention at Ankara.
More curious, though, is the lowered priority given to China. Nato’s 2019 London declaration contained Nato’s first ever summit-level statement on China, recognising that the nation’s growing influence brought challenges as well as opportunities – a move engineered by the first Trump administration. Then, Nato’s relevance to the US was judged by how it was positioned in the emerging era of “strategic competition”.
Under Biden a similar logic applied, reinforced by the 2024 Washington summit’s description of China as the “decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine”. And yet China disappeared from the 2025 Hague declaration. It was not discussed at Nato’s recent foreign and defence ministerials. Neither is it expected to figure at Ankara.
Why not? The Trump administration’s recent efforts at accommodation with China are part of the answer. Other allies too are happy to see China sidelined from Nato’s business. France, easily perturbed by a globalist Nato, had always been a sceptic when it comes to including China in Nato’s agenda. Many east European allies, meanwhile, see a China focus as distracting Nato from Russia. And big exporters like Germany need to keep Beijing sweet, given the shrinkage of their Russian market.
The summit declaration will again be short to avoid controversy. But like an iceberg, much lies below the surface. The detailed work of moving to “Nato 3.0” was already agreed at the Nato defence ministerial in mid June. Most of the gaps in Nato’s European defence plans occasioned by recent US force announcements have already been plugged.
The summit will give rise to much noise, but Nato’s ongoing adaptation to the new reality engendered by shifting US priorities suggests a high degree of underlying resilience.
How Russia turned to medieval saints in its push for ‘traditional values’ – and more babies
One Saturday afternoon in May 2026, families gathered on Poklonnaya Gora, a hilltop war memorial park in western Moscow. They came for a procession and a “moleben,” an Orthodox prayer service, for the well-being of Russian families. Church media billed it as the first Day of the Sanctity of the Family.
May 30 is the feast of St. Evdokia of Moscow, a 14th-century princess who took monastic vows late in life after being widowed. Her husband, St. Dmitry Donskoy, a prince who led a victory over the Mongols, is commemorated on June 1. The church joined the two into a single couple’s feast in 2015, with a decree stressing that they were “parents of twelve children.”
Just over five weeks later, Russians will celebrate another “holy couple.” July 8 honors Sts. Peter and Fevronia, a 13th-century prince and princess venerated as patrons of marriage and famed for their devotion to each other. First celebrated in 2008, the day became an official national holiday in 2022, though not a day off from work.
In the first quarter of 2026, demographer Alexei Raksha estimated there were about 272,000 births, the lowest for any quarter in roughly two centuries. Since then, the government has largely stopped publishing routine birth and death figures. Independent analysts, such as the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War, offer two reasons for the blackout: the sheer scale of the decline and a wish to hide war casualties.
President Vladimir Putin poses with a couple awarded the Order of Parental Glory and their children during a ceremony for large families on International Children’s Day in Moscow on June 1, 2026.Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
The push for “traditional values” – and babies – depends on a close alliance between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church. The summer “couples” days are no exception.
July 8, in honor of Peter and Fevronia, grew from a 2006 campaign in the city of Murom, a few hours east of Moscow. Peter once ruled the small principality, and the saints’ relics rest there. Thousands of residents petitioned for a national family day, and Svetlana Medvedeva, the wife of then-President Dmitry Medvedev, took up the cause. Medvedeva designed a chamomile emblem for the day and created a medal for couples married 25 years or more.
For the Kremlin’s purposes, though, there is a problem with July 8: “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia,” written in the mid-16th century, contains no children. In fact, their marriage ends with the couple taking monastic vows: an awkward fit for a holiday about childbearing.
I and other scholars have argued that this awkwardness likely pushed the church to create a second “family” day. While Peter and Fevronia were childless, Dmitry and Evdokia, the May honorees, raised 12 children.
Dmitry and Evdokia were venerated separately for centuries – her on May 30, him on June 1 – until the 2015 decree that combined them. As the decree noted, June 1 falls on International Children’s Day. The government often invokes that occasion in anti-abortion campaigns.
In 2026, church outlets reported that May 30 would be observed as the Day of the Sanctity of the Family, part of a church-run “family week.” Organizers launched it in 2024, during the Kremlin’s “Year of the Family,” and a tight alliance of church, state and civic groups runs it.
Wider campaign
Russia’s broader “values” program portrays the country as a bastion against Western ideas about family and gender, such as support for LGBTQ+ rights. It rests on a 2022 presidential decree that centers “traditional spiritual-moral values,” such as family and patriotism.
Church leaders have also repeatedly called for a national ban on abortions in private clinics and criminal penalties for “inducement”: pressuring a woman to end a pregnancy.
An anti-abortion protest in Moscow on Jan. 28, 2008.AP Photo
Constant message
This push for “traditional” families plays out continuously and has intensified since the invasion of Ukraine.
For example, on June 22, 2026, the anniversary of the 1941 Nazi invasion, the Orthodox channel Spas opened a week of programming about the birth rate. It was titled “Gde vse?!,” or “Where is everybody?!”
The channel’s director, Boris Korchevnikov, called it a “special demographic operation.” The phrase echoes how the Kremlin describes its war on Ukraine: a “special military operation.” He gathered demographers, health officials and clergy for televised talks.
This spring, Russia’s legislature began debating a bill that would fund fertility treatment for veterans and their wives. It would also fund treatment for war widows who have not remarried, and allow them to conceive using their late husbands’ stored sperm, with the men’s prior notarized consent.
But on May 30 and July 8, Russia celebrates families the church does approve of: holy couples whose days have been carefully built to carry a message about marriage and childbearing.
Millions of Christians To Join Global Prayer Event for Israel From Jerusalem
More than 70 million Christians from 175 countries are expected to take part on October 4 in the 24th Annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, an international pro-Israel prayer initiative organized by the Christian organization Eagles’ Wings, the group announced Sunday.
The event, hosted by Eagles’ Wings President and Founder Bishop Robert Stearns, will be broadcast live from the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum in Jerusalem. Organizers described it as the largest annual Christian prayer gathering in support of Israel.
More than 500 senior Christian leaders from 50 countries are expected to attend the Jerusalem gathering, representing churches and communities across multiple denominations and regions. Official delegations from Nigeria, Kenya, and Togo are also expected, including senior government officials, the first ladies of Nigeria and Kenya, and the king and queen of Togo, according to the organization.
The event will also include 175 Latin American Christian leaders led by Reverend José Wellington Costa Jr., general superintendent of the Brazilian Assemblies of God. The denomination has more than 33 million members in Brazil and is part of the wider Assemblies of God movement, which organizers said includes more than 90 million believers in 212 countries.
Eagles’ Wings said the Latin American delegations taking part in the event will represent more than 51 million Christians across the region.
Israeli leaders have been invited to address the gathering, which organizers said is intended to emphasize Christian support for Israel and the Jewish people at a time of rising global antisemitism and continuing security threats facing Israel.
“This is far more than a prayer event. It is a global declaration that Israel is not alone,” Stearns said. “At a time when the Jewish people face extraordinary challenges, tens of millions of Christians are choosing to stand publicly with Israel, pray for her peace, and reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our people.”
The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem has been held annually for 24 years and has grown into a global Christian prayer initiative centered on Jerusalem. Eagles’ Wings said this year’s event is expected to mark its largest gathering to date, connecting churches, denominations, and Christian communities through a live broadcast from Jerusalem.
Eagles’ Wings is an international Christian organization that promotes ties between Christians, Israel, and the Jewish people through education, advocacy, and public action. The organization says it has worked for more than three decades to mobilize Christian support for Israel and opposition to antisemitism.
America’s 250th Birthday Celebration Erupts into Chaos (Video)
America’s massive 250th birthday celebration was rocked by a shocking series of mishaps as packed Fourth of July events spiraled into chaos across the country.
A skydiver carrying a giant American flag crashed into a crowded tent, flames erupted near the Brooklyn Bridge, thousands were forced to flee the National Mall and a fireworks malfunction sent terrified soccer fans scrambling from their seats.
The dramatic incidents unfolded as millions of Americans gathered to celebrate Independence Day, turning what should have been a historic nationwide party into a night filled with panic, emergency crews and terrifying close calls.
Although most events across all 50 states went ahead without major trouble, videos of the most frightening moments quickly exploded across social media.
A patriotic stunt went horribly wrong at a California rodeo when a skydiver carrying a huge American flag suddenly lost control and crashed face-first into a crowded hospitality tent.
The terrifying incident happened during the Folsom Pro Rodeo near Sacramento.
As the skydiver descended toward the arena, a weight attached to the enormous flag reportedly became caught in a tree.
The sudden snag violently disrupted his landing and sent him plunging toward the tent below as stunned spectators watched.
His parachute also slammed into people sitting in the stands, creating a chaotic scene inside the packed venue.
A skydiver survived a scary crash landing that was all caught on camera at the Folsom Pro Rodeo.
Organizers later revealed that the skydiver, identified as Ross, survived the frightening crash and was able to walk into the arena afterward.
“On behalf of the Folsom Pro Rodeo and Choose Folsom, our skydiver Ross is safe and walked into our arena, post jump to a standing ovation,” organizers said in a statement reported by The Sun.
Panic also erupted in New York City when smoke and flames suddenly appeared near the Brooklyn Bridge during the annual Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show.
Dramatic videos posted online showed thick smoke billowing from the area as the sky above New York lit up with fireworks.
The New York City Fire Department rushed two engines to the scene as firefighters battled the flames shortly before 10 p.m.
The bridge had already been shut down to traffic for the massive holiday display.
Initial fears that the historic landmark itself was burning were later eased after reports said the flames came from platforms being used to launch fireworks.
Several small fires reportedly broke out, but firefighters managed to extinguish them within about a minute.
A source said the 143-year-old Brooklyn Bridge remained “safe and structurally sound.”
The scare came after the Macy’s fireworks show was moved up because severe weather was threatening the region.
The same storm system triggered delays, cancellations and emergency evacuations at other July 4 celebrations along the East Coast.
In Washington, D.C., Independence Day celebrations were thrown into chaos when dangerous thunderstorms forced thousands of people to evacuate the National Mall.
CHAOS on the National Mall rn as visitors for tonight’s Independence Day celebration are running back to the mall to keep their seats despite Secret Service telling everyone to leave due to incoming thunderstorms. pic.twitter.com/SChmoOoY5Z
Crowds were suddenly ordered to leave the sprawling outdoor venue and take shelter inside nearby federal buildings as heavy rain, lightning and severe weather swept through the capital.
The evacuation brought the celebration to a standstill and created confusion among attendees who had already spent hours waiting in brutal summer heat.
President Donald Trump announced shortly after 9 p.m. ET that his speech would still go ahead and that the site would reopen at 9:45 p.m.
But the return quickly turned into another ordeal.
Massive crowds were forced to line up again at security checkpoints before they were allowed back onto the Mall.
Some attendees reportedly waited more than an hour to reenter the celebration.
The U.S. Secret Service warned that every person who had evacuated would have to be screened again.
“Everyone who evacuated the site will go through screening again. The Secret Service is working to make screening as smooth as possible,” the agency said.
“Our bag restriction and prohibited items list remains the same.”
A Fourth of July celebration at a Los Angeles soccer stadium also descended into chaos when pyrotechnics reportedly malfunctioned and fired toward the crowd.
The frightening incident happened after Angel City FC’s match against Orlando at BMO Stadium.
Spectators were seen running from their seats as burning sparks shot into crowded seating areas.
The sudden malfunction sparked panic as fans scrambled to get away from the fireworks.
Angel City FC later confirmed that something had gone wrong during the postgame display.
“A fireworks malfunction did occur during last night’s post-match celebration at Angel City FC’s game vs. Orlando at BMO Stadium,” a club representative told The California Post.
“Our medical and safety teams were on site and ready to respond. Stadium operations confirmed the venue was secure and guests, staff, players, and crew were able to depart safely.”
The club said it was working with the pyrotechnics company responsible for the show to determine exactly what caused the malfunction.
Officials were also evaluating what action should be taken next.
Despite the terrifying crashes, fires, evacuations and fireworks malfunctions, no serious injuries were reported in the major incidents.
Still, the night delivered one shocking moment after another during a celebration meant to mark one of the biggest milestones in American history.
Officials and event organizers are expected to investigate the incidents separately, focusing on skydiving procedures, fire safety, fireworks operations, crowd control and emergency response.
The findings could lead to stricter safety rules at future Fourth of July events.
For thousands of spectators, however, America’s 250th birthday will be remembered not only for the fireworks and patriotic celebrations — but for the frightening moments when the festivities nearly turned into disaster.
Interplanetary travel to Mars aboard nuclear-powered spaceships may sound like science fiction – yet NASA is planning to make it a reality.
The Space Reactor-1 Freedom mission is scheduled for launch by December 2028 to explore Mars, with NASA heralding it as “the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft”.
NASA also has plans to deploy a small nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030 for its Artemis program, though any reactor on the lunar surface would look nothing like the large nuclear power plants found on Earth. And the White House has moved to establish a National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power.
The US isn’t alone in pursuing nuclear power in space. Interest in nuclear power sources in space now involves a growing list of national and regional space agencies, private actors and research institutions.
Beyond the hype, technical feasibility and timelines are only part of the story. Nuclear power in space also has to be governed responsibly.
Nuclear power in space: why now?
Nuclear power sources in space vary in purpose and design. Some support instruments and communications. Others could power bases on celestial bodies, or propel spacecraft over vast distances.
Radioisotope power systems are one type. They generate electricity from the heat released by the natural decay of a radioactive isotope, plutonium-238.
Meanwhile, fission reactors split atoms to release heat. As in nuclear power plants on Earth, the heat can be converted into electricity. In space, this could power operations and infrastructure on celestial bodies, as well as propulsion systems.
On the Moon, a day-night cycle lasts about 29.5 Earth days, with darkness lasting for about a fortnight. Apollo landings were timed to occur during early lunar daylight. A permanent presence will require reliable power to operate throughout the long lunar night. Solar power alone is unlikely to be enough.
Space Reactor-1 Freedom will also use a fission reactor to support nuclear propulsion, where nuclear-generated electricity powers thrusters. For Mars, this could cut travel times and reduce astronauts’ exposure to cosmic radiation.
While the technological ambitions continue to expand, the idea of using nuclear power beyond Earth is far from new.
Rendering of NASA’s Space Reactor-1 Freedom. NASA, CC BY-NC
Later Apollo missions used radioisotope thermoelectric generators to power scientific experiments on the Moon.
Similar systems continue to power enduring missions, including the Mars rovers Curiosity and Perseverance, and the twin Voyagerspacecraft, which still communicate with us from interstellar space.
Fission reactors have flown in space before. During the Cold War, the US launched SNAP-10A into orbit. It remains the only US fission reactor successfully launched, though it stopped operating after about six weeks.
The Soviet Union went further, launching nuclear-powered radar ocean reconnaissance satellites (RORSATs) into orbit, to monitor US Navy vessels.
Safety risks and technical challenges
Any talk of nuclear futures in space obliges us to learn from nuclear pasts.
One important precedent is Kosmos 954, a Soviet nuclear-powered RORSAT that made an uncontrolled re-entry in 1978 over Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Kosmos 954 showed how risks in space can quickly become risks on Earth. Radioactive debris was spread across 600 kilometres, reaching the traditional lands of Indigenous peoples, particularly Dene, Inuit and Métis communities. This triggered a major cleanup. No community should bear such risks.
Besides uncontrolled re-entry, another risk is launch failure. Rockets can explode at takeoff. Space nuclear systems are, however, designed to limit the radiological consequences of such accidents.
Fission reactors must withstand extreme temperatures, radiation and vacuum. Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology are studying how materials and reactor designs might perform under harsh conditions.
These risks have prompted legal and policy responses, though gaps remain.
Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean extracts the fuel element of a radioisotope thermoelectric generator from the lunar module. NASA
Rules and guidance
This is not about placing nuclear weapons in orbit or on celestial bodies. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits that. International law does not prohibit nuclear power sources in space. But it does seek to ensure they are used safely.
The principles call for safety assessments before launch, notification and international assistance if re-entry risks arise, and recognise state responsibility and the liability of launching states.
They say reactors should not be made “critical” before reaching their operating orbit or interplanetary trajectory, helping to reduce the risk of radiological harm to people and the environment if an accident occurs.
COPUOS and the International Atomic Energy Agency jointly developed a broader safety framework in 2009, providing guidance on launch authorisation, emergency preparedness and response, and operation and end-of-service phases.
Implementation of the safety framework and future work on nuclear power sources in space remain under multilateral discussion.
The UN principles and safety framework are non-binding. Safety assessments and launch authorisations remain largely matters for individual states. That leaves room for a patchwork of domestic regulation and different levels of risk tolerance, even though the consequences of an accident could cross borders.
Governing responsibly
As a growing number of public and private actors seek to develop space nuclear capabilities, states need to consistently implement the UN principles and safety framework, and cooperate multilaterally to update or supplement them where necessary.
International coordination and information-sharing are essential. Responsibilities and risks do not stop at national borders.
Domestic regulators must pursue the highest safety standards, embed accountability, and resist pressures to let compressed timelines, strategic competition or commercial profit set the standard. Space affects us all.
Nuclear power will continue to figure in humanity’s off-Earth ambitions. Wherever it goes, and whoever uses it, safety and accountability must come first.
The Czinger 21C might be the wildest car we drive all year
The temptation with a car like the Czinger 21C is to treat it as a collection of extreme specifications, and to be fair, it’s certainly not lacking in that department.
At its most basic level, the carbon-fiber-bodied 21C is a hybrid hypercar built around a bespoke 2.88-liter twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank V8 that revs to a searing 11,000 rpm. This power plant is matched up with a three-motor electric system—one electric motor drives each front wheel while a third serves as a crank-driven starter-generator. Combined output is rated at 1,250 hp (932 kW) and 691 lb-ft (937 Nm) of torque.
A seven-speed automated manual transaxle handles gear changes, chosen in part for its low mass and ability to tolerate high torque loads without the packaging penalties of a dual-clutch system. Tipping the scales at under 3,700 lbs (1,678 kg) with fluids, the 21C Vmax is capable of hitting 60 mph (97 km/h) from rest in 1.92 seconds on its way to an 8.6 second quarter mile and a 253 mph (378 km/h) top speed, while the road course-focused 21C High Downforce model recently secured lap records at no less than five different California racetracks during a thousand-mile (1,600 km) road trip.
Both its performance and its $2,350,000 price tag put the Czinger 21C in league with the likes of the Koenigsegg Jesko and Aston Martin Valkyrie. But focusing on these figures overlooks what might be the 21C’s most interesting aspect—not what it can do, but how it does it.
The 21C is as much a business card for Divergent and its low-volume design and fabrication business as it is a hypercar.
Credit: Czinger
The 21C is as much a business card for Divergent and its low-volume design and fabrication business as it is a hypercar. Credit: Czinger
Flipping the script
Czinger Vehicles was founded in 2019 by the father-and-son team of Kevin and Lukas Czinger as an extension of parent company Divergent Technologies, a Los Angeles-based engineering firm that specializes in generative design software, large-scale metal additive manufacturing, and reconfigurable automated assembly systems. Divergent’s patented technologies have been leveraged by defense and aerospace organizations, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and the US Department of Defense, as well as high-end automakers like Bugatti and McLaren.
To understand what makes this fledgling automaker’s hypercar different from virtually every other high-performance machine on the road, consider how conventional automotive engineering works. Traditionally, a vehicle begins as a set of performance targets and packaging constraints. Engineers then develop components that satisfy those requirements within the limitations of established manufacturing processes.
Those processes—casting, forging, stamping, and machining—impose constraints of their own, particularly around geometry. Complex shapes tend to be costly or impossible to produce using these methods, and mass reduction is typically achieved through iterative refinement rather than holistic optimization.
With the 21C, Divergent’s generative software and additive manufacturing capabilities are used to effectively reverse the order of operations. The process begins with software-driven optimization that defines the structure of a component based on parameters such as load requirements, stiffness targets, crash performance, and packaging constraints. The software iterates through millions of potential geometries, converging on solutions that distribute material only where it is structurally necessary.
Czinger developed its own in-house V8.
Bradley Iger
Czinger developed its own in-house V8. Bradley Iger
Czinger has designed an even more extreme brake setup but uses this more conventional setup for the 21C.
Czinger
Czinger has designed an even more extreme brake setup but uses this more conventional setup for the 21C. Czinger
Czinger developed its own in-house V8. Bradley Iger
Czinger has designed an even more extreme brake setup but uses this more conventional setup for the 21C. Czinger
The result is a design methodology often referred to as Pareto optimization, in which gains in one area inevitably come at the expense of another until a balanced solution is reached. In practice, this means components are developed to a point where any reduction in material would compromise structural integrity, and any addition would be unnecessary mass. The resulting geometries often resemble branching lattice structures or organic skeletal forms that are more reminiscent of biological growth patterns than machined metal parts. Once a design has been finalized, massive printers can then construct the component from powdered metals.
This approach is used to produce everything from the 21C’s suspension components to its gearbox case, as well as multi-piece assemblies bonded together using proprietary adhesives. The company says the current generation of printers can produce about a kilogram of printed metal parts per hour, which translates to about two days for something as large and complex as the 21C’s rear subframe.
With production capped at 80 units in total, final assembly of each 21C is performed largely by hand at Czinger’s Area 21 facility in Torrance, California. But Czinger Vehicles’ brand communications head Max Morice noted during a tour of the site that the company intends to move into higher-volume segments further down the road. And thanks to the lack of traditional tooling requirements, that transition should be fairly seamless.
“The goal is for this manufacturing process to be the way everything is built,” Morice said. “It’s vehicle-agnostic, so you can build a Czinger, you can build parts for an Aston Martin, a Bugatti, and so on, all in the same space with zero turnover time. It’s really the golden goose of manufacturing.”
Battery packs waiting to be installed.
Bradley Iger
Battery packs waiting to be installed. Bradley Iger
This is what the bare tub looks like.
Bradley Iger
This is what the bare tub looks like. Bradley Iger
Battery packs waiting to be installed. Bradley Iger
This is what the bare tub looks like. Bradley Iger
Unbound by the constraints of conventional production, the 21C’s design reflects the benefits of this process, as well as Czinger’s mission to produce a record-setting, road-legal hypercar. The vehicle’s main structure is a single-piece, in-house-developed carbon-fiber safety cell that places the driver in a central position.
The passenger seat is located directly behind the driver in a tandem configuration that owes more to fighter jets than road-going performance cars; the Light Car Company Rocket and Yamaha OX99-11 are the only others we can think of. The suspension setup consists of a pushrod-actuated double wishbone layout with inboard springs and electronically adjustable dampers.
Braking is provided by six-piston calipers and 16.1-inch carbon ceramic discs up front, while four-piston units clamp down on 15.4-inch carbon rotors at the rear. For now, the brake system’s design is fairly conventional by Czinger’s standards, but the company expects to incorporate its new BrakeNode setup into its builds later this year. Also developed using Divergent’s generative design software and additive manufacturing methods, the new component incorporates the mounting point for the brake caliper, the suspension connection, and the brake fluid conduit into one part that’s lighter and more rigid than a typical multi-part assembly.
Czinger says this optimized design also enhances heat dissipation and ensures accurate brake caliper positioning for optimal performance. To be frank, though, I didn’t find the existing setup lacking in stopping power.
Behind the wheel
Getting in and out isn’t particularly dignified.
Czinger
Getting in and out isn’t particularly dignified. Czinger
On the road, it’s more civilized than you might expect.
Czinger
On the road, it’s more civilized than you might expect. Czinger
Those side bolsters hold you in place.
Czinger
Those side bolsters hold you in place. Czinger
On the road, it’s more civilized than you might expect. Czinger
Those side bolsters hold you in place. Czinger
My seat time in the 21C Vmax included a mix of city and highway miles, along with a run through the canyon roads of eastern Orange County that cut through the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Before any of that, though, there was the small matter of figuring out how to get into the car. Entry is less “hop in” and more “controlled descent into the cockpit.”
Like most mid-engine designs, the 21C has substantial door sills to clear, but they’re more pronounced here due not only to the car’s central seating layout but also the fact that a 2.2-kWh battery pack is housed within each of those sills. The dihedral doors help by opening up a wide access point, but the process still involves sitting on the sill with your legs outside the car, spinning around on your butt, and swinging your legs in, then ducking your head while yelling “Yee-haw!” as you drop yourself into the seat.
The central seating position provides a forward view similar to a Le Mans Hypercar-class racer but with better outward visibility, and the carbon fiber-laden interior reinforces the notion that this car was designed primarily for track dominance rather than high-speed grand touring. Although comfortable enough for extended stints, the seats prioritize lateral stability over outright plushness, the switchgear is fairly minimal and mainly concentrated on the steering wheel, and the utilitarian central display handles both instrumentation and infotainment duties.
Even around town, the car communicates its purpose-built nature through a layer of mechanical and electrical hums and whirs that are more in line with a competition-derived machine than a conventional road car. The 21C can be motivated purely by electricity at this pace, but the V8 is active from the moment the car is started. Four drive modes are available: Street, Sport, Track, and Track+.
As you would expect, Track+ is the most extreme calibration, increasing suspension stiffness to levels that Czinger says are comparable to GT3 race cars and lowering ride height via hydraulic spring perches by 25 mm. It is, by design, a setting intended for closed-course use, so the drive was conducted primarily in the other three modes.
Various configurations of 21C are available.
Credit: Czinger
Various configurations of 21C are available. Credit: Czinger
Street mode prioritizes electric propulsion at lower speeds, with the engine acting largely as a generator. Despite the car’s underlying performance, ride quality in this mode is reasonably compliant on public roads, at least relative to expectations set by the car’s capabilities. Sport mode sits closer to the 21C’s natural operating balance, engaging both the combustion engine and electric systems for full output while firming up the damping and sharpening responses. Track mode builds on this with heavier steering, more immediate throttle calibration, and more aggressive energy recuperation strategies.
On an open stretch of road, the car’s broader character becomes more apparent. The hybrid system smooths some of the drivetrain’s low-speed behavior, but the single-clutch transmission still delivers a hearty shunt on full-throttle upshifts as the V8 screams toward 11,000 rpm. The super bike-esque exhaust note is reminiscent of the Lamborghini Temerario, though it’s even more visceral here thanks to Czinger’s heightened focus on weight reduction (which undoubtedly impacts the amount of sound-deadening material used), as well as this engine’s higher redline.
In a straight line, the 21C Vmax feels every bit as fast as its official figures suggest, and with relatively low mass and wide Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, it turns in with immediacy but without feeling darty, a characteristic that makes the car intuitive and predictable when pushed.
The motorsport vibes are further bolstered by Track mode’s properly heavy steering and the brake system’s tuning. Much like a typical race car setup, the pedal has a bit of initial travel before quickly firming up, with braking force then governed mainly by pressure—a calibration that prioritizes precision over ease of use.
But aside from the virtually non-existent rear visibility and my tendency to unconsciously favor the left side of the lane due to the car’s central seating position, the 21C is remarkably easy to acclimate to. And that accessibility matters because it reduces the time required to reach the point where the car’s capabilities begin to feel exploitable rather than theoretical.
Yes, I guess you would print a car, then.
Credit: Czinger
Yes, I guess you would print a car, then. Credit: Czinger
The Czinger 21C is simultaneously a hypercar in the traditional sense, capable of extraordinary performance and priced accordingly, and a test case for a manufacturing philosophy that challenges assumptions about how vehicles are designed and produced. The lap times and speed figures may be what draw attention, but they are not what ultimately define this car. The 21C’s real significance lies in the technologies that created it and the possibilities that those technologies represent for everything that could come next.
Oil drifts down after OPEC+ agrees to raise output targets
Oil prices inched lower on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to further increase its output targets from August while exports from key producers via the Strait of Hormuz are recovering, potentially adding to global supplies.
Brent crude futures fell 34 cents, or 0.47%, to $71.78 a barrel by 0408 GMT after settling 0.45% higher on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.49 a barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.29%. There was no settlement for WTI on Friday as U.S. markets were closed ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Saturday.
Both contracts were little changed last week, after mostly falling over the past few weeks, as investors kept a close eye on talks between the United States and Iran over the fate of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz while keeping tabs on the recovery in Gulf oil exports.
“Coming off the U.S. long weekend, traders are sitting tight and waiting to see whether U.S.-Iran relations will be cordial or volatile this week,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia agreed on Sunday to further increase output targets by 188,000 barrels per day from August, on top of similar increases for June and July.
However, the increase has remained largely on paper because of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic for key OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, capping their output.
“The number was largely in line with expectation,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
“With UAE leaving and when quotas are probably still not being met due to production still ramping up after the conflict – I’m not sure they mean much at the moment.”
The United Arab Emirates quit OPEC as of May 1.
Gulf members have begun reviving supplies shut during the Iran war and are increasing exports.
OPEC oil output in June rose by 3.3 million barrels per day month-on-month to 19.43 million bpd, a Reuters survey found, recovering from its lowest in more than two decades.
Gulf oil exports in June jumped more than 3 million barrels from May to exceed 10 million barrels per day, although the volume remained 40% below pre-war levels, data showed.
In addition, oil shipments from Russia’s western ports hit a record high in June and are expected to maintain that level in July as its refineries have been damaged in drone attacks by Ukraine that have forced Moscow to boost crude exports, industry sources said.
