Digits: EV ads, a close call, and a Staten Island ferry

Plus: Train theft and Disney’s descendants.

1) It may seem like car ads haven’t changed in decades, but they are — and fast. In 2019, automakers spent $83m to air 8k commercials for electric vehicles. In 2021, they spent $248m (out of $3.3B total) on 33k electric vehicle ad spots.

Staten Island Ferry

2) Yikes alert. Cracker Barrel was ordered by a Tennessee jury to pay a man $9.4m after accidentally giving him a glass of Eco-San — a commercial sanitizer — instead of water. Seems reasonable.

3) New York City put a broken-down Staten Island ferry up for auction last week. The winners — SNL stars Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, along with real estate broker Paul Italia — bought it for $280k and plan to turn it into an entertainment space.

4) Back in 1899, Butch Cassidy famously robbed the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 in Wyoming. Today, train theft is running rampant in Los Angeles, with rates up 160% since 2020, per Union Pacific. Photos show LA train tracks littered with thousands of Amazon boxes.

5) Descendants of Walt Disney are releasing a documentary critically highlighting the company’s pay inequality. The film contrasts 4 Disney custodians who made $15 an hour with former CEO Bob Iger, who made $65.6m in 2018.

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