Paolo Gerbaudo
@paologerbaudo.bsky.social
Senior researcher in Social Science, Universidad Complutense, Madrid. Interested in social movements, populism, political organisation, technology.
7/ The quality of cars is very high. #XPeng is the EV firm with the highest customer satisfaction in China, and it has started to export to the Middle East. In the picture the new P7 model.
November 16, 2025 at 8:46 AM
7/ The quality of cars is very high. #XPeng is the EV firm with the highest customer satisfaction in China, and it has started to export to the Middle East. In the picture the new P7 model.
6/ Strong vertical integration was clearly seen in the plant, with different stages in the car production happening at short distance. This is to a great extent enabled by the fact that EVs are far more simple mechanically compared with internal combustion engine cars.
November 16, 2025 at 8:45 AM
6/ Strong vertical integration was clearly seen in the plant, with different stages in the car production happening at short distance. This is to a great extent enabled by the fact that EVs are far more simple mechanically compared with internal combustion engine cars.
5/ It is now also producing its own custom-built AI microchip called "Turing", in a manifestation of its broader ambition in "future mobility" and self-driving cars.
November 16, 2025 at 8:44 AM
5/ It is now also producing its own custom-built AI microchip called "Turing", in a manifestation of its broader ambition in "future mobility" and self-driving cars.
3/ Over the course of the visit we saw different production departments: the stamping, welding, final assembly and packing. The first two sections are almost completely automated, while the latter are still quite labor-intensive.
November 16, 2025 at 8:43 AM
3/ Over the course of the visit we saw different production departments: the stamping, welding, final assembly and packing. The first two sections are almost completely automated, while the latter are still quite labor-intensive.
2/ However automotive is still very much the core business of the company and where it is reaping impressive results. Last month the company celebrated a 73% growth in deliveries and its stock price has surged significantly this year.
November 16, 2025 at 8:42 AM
2/ However automotive is still very much the core business of the company and where it is reaping impressive results. Last month the company celebrated a 73% growth in deliveries and its stock price has surged significantly this year.
1/ One of many EV brands in China (by some counts as many as 90) #Xpeng has become famous recently because of the IRON humanoid Robot. The firm CEO Xiaopeng He was described as "Chinese Elon Musk" with ambitions in many other industries (such as low altitude flying vehicles).
November 16, 2025 at 8:41 AM
1/ One of many EV brands in China (by some counts as many as 90) #Xpeng has become famous recently because of the IRON humanoid Robot. The firm CEO Xiaopeng He was described as "Chinese Elon Musk" with ambitions in many other industries (such as low altitude flying vehicles).
Yesterday I visited the #Xpeng production plant in Guangzhou. It was an opportunity to see the production process in person at one of the emerging Chinese EV firms. The impression was one of high sophistication and a reminder that the Chinese EV world is far bigger than #BYD. 🧵
November 16, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Further we underline (2) the emphasis on technology adoption, rather than the expansion of productive capacities (basically the EU continues to adopt much of the tech it adopts). This leads to the paradox that NGEU may further entrench EU tech dependency on the US and China.
September 3, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Further we underline (2) the emphasis on technology adoption, rather than the expansion of productive capacities (basically the EU continues to adopt much of the tech it adopts). This leads to the paradox that NGEU may further entrench EU tech dependency on the US and China.
We highlight: (1) a tension between two competing narratives, short-term economic recovery ('recovery narrative'), and long-term technological transformation ('modernisation narrative'), with the NGEU ending up focusing more on the former.
September 3, 2025 at 10:01 AM
We highlight: (1) a tension between two competing narratives, short-term economic recovery ('recovery narrative'), and long-term technological transformation ('modernisation narrative'), with the NGEU ending up focusing more on the former.
We critically examine the strategic contradictions of NGEU, both in its overarching conception narratives and the details of its concrete policy content, to assess the degree to which the plan has fulfilled its promise of future-proofing the political economy of the EU.
September 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM
We critically examine the strategic contradictions of NGEU, both in its overarching conception narratives and the details of its concrete policy content, to assess the degree to which the plan has fulfilled its promise of future-proofing the political economy of the EU.
Varieties of Religious Experience: Tech Conference Variety.
June 13, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Varieties of Religious Experience: Tech Conference Variety.
Another exhibit of the prominence of the security frame in post-global discourse; but where the notion of security is geared exclusively towards defence. Many who find themselves in a difficult economic situation in reading this will ask: “Secure at home? Really?”
June 3, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Another exhibit of the prominence of the security frame in post-global discourse; but where the notion of security is geared exclusively towards defence. Many who find themselves in a difficult economic situation in reading this will ask: “Secure at home? Really?”
Two days of insightful discussions on sovereignty, its dispersion and mobilisation, in times of global disorder with amazing colleagues. Really glad to be part of the @alameda.institute community!
May 27, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Two days of insightful discussions on sovereignty, its dispersion and mobilisation, in times of global disorder with amazing colleagues. Really glad to be part of the @alameda.institute community!
Chinese University invites Harvard int’l students. As the US squanders its hegemonic power and sees its scientific advantage eroding China is putting itself forward as the alternative.
May 27, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Chinese University invites Harvard int’l students. As the US squanders its hegemonic power and sees its scientific advantage eroding China is putting itself forward as the alternative.
Trump's Golden Dome and Stargate (not to speak of Musk's deranged Mars ambitions) alongside China's mega-infrastructure projects (high speed rail etc) are proof that we are not just in a time of MAGA, but also of MEGA. Megalomania, a typical trait of "high modernism", is coming back BIG time.
May 22, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Trump's Golden Dome and Stargate (not to speak of Musk's deranged Mars ambitions) alongside China's mega-infrastructure projects (high speed rail etc) are proof that we are not just in a time of MAGA, but also of MEGA. Megalomania, a typical trait of "high modernism", is coming back BIG time.
It would be surreal if Vietnam gets a bullet train before the US.
May 22, 2025 at 5:16 PM
It would be surreal if Vietnam gets a bullet train before the US.
🎉 Thrilled to share that I’ve signed a contract with Stanford University Press for a new book on social media and emotional manipulation in the age of online hate, AI propaganda, “outrage hooks”, “fear seeding”, and “empathy bait”.
May 20, 2025 at 9:15 AM
🎉 Thrilled to share that I’ve signed a contract with Stanford University Press for a new book on social media and emotional manipulation in the age of online hate, AI propaganda, “outrage hooks”, “fear seeding”, and “empathy bait”.
DOGE as a smokescreen of kleptocracy. www.france24.com/fr/am%C3%A9r...
April 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
DOGE as a smokescreen of kleptocracy. www.france24.com/fr/am%C3%A9r...
This picture summarises well what "nationalism" means for European national-populists. Nationalists they certainly are, but of another nation.
April 19, 2025 at 11:59 AM
This picture summarises well what "nationalism" means for European national-populists. Nationalists they certainly are, but of another nation.
Ayer estuve en la Base de Canal Red para discutir sobre la política italiana y de porque hay tan poca izquierda y tanta derecha en el Belpaese tras las manifestaciones en la Piazza del Popolo. En este screnshot parece que estoy diciendo “no es culpa mia, lo siento ragazzi!”
March 22, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Ayer estuve en la Base de Canal Red para discutir sobre la política italiana y de porque hay tan poca izquierda y tanta derecha en el Belpaese tras las manifestaciones en la Piazza del Popolo. En este screnshot parece que estoy diciendo “no es culpa mia, lo siento ragazzi!”
In this table you see summarised the main theses of the article, comparing and contrasting networked and clustered publics.
December 19, 2024 at 2:32 PM
In this table you see summarised the main theses of the article, comparing and contrasting networked and clustered publics.
🎉 My new journal article “TikTok and the Algorithmic Transformation of Social Media Publics” has just been published on New Media and Society! t.co/HNRw8BKlKL
December 19, 2024 at 2:31 PM
🎉 My new journal article “TikTok and the Algorithmic Transformation of Social Media Publics” has just been published on New Media and Society! t.co/HNRw8BKlKL
Glad to be here in Chile and to visit the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, a public university with a great democratic history, and to be hosted by the University Radio (Radio Usach). Today I will give a presentation on the politics of sentiment.
December 10, 2024 at 9:51 AM
Glad to be here in Chile and to visit the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, a public university with a great democratic history, and to be hosted by the University Radio (Radio Usach). Today I will give a presentation on the politics of sentiment.
I am very happy to have worked on this policy paper titled “Reclaiming digital sovereignty: a roadmap to build a digital stack for people and the planet” with such great colleagues as Cecilia Rikap, Cedric Durand, Paris Marx and Edemilson Paraná!
December 3, 2024 at 3:40 PM
I am very happy to have worked on this policy paper titled “Reclaiming digital sovereignty: a roadmap to build a digital stack for people and the planet” with such great colleagues as Cecilia Rikap, Cedric Durand, Paris Marx and Edemilson Paraná!