AXL Involvement in Student Organizations

Youth are growing up in a world where the EV transition is fully underway. They are seeing the cars on the roads, they are reading about their effects online, and they are learning how they operate in the classroom. Youth are curious about solutions. Youth are driven to create change. Youth are creative beings that are wired to think outside the box. Youth possess the minds ripe to become entrepreneurs.?

AXL is an electric vehicle start-up. And youth want to learn about electric vehicles. Youth are full of questions and ideas that can help start-ups like AXL achieve success. For this reason, AXL leaders have begun to participate in community activities that put youth at the centre of the conversation, giving them a podium on which they may stand to ask their questions and be heard by today’s leaders.?

Because EVs are becoming part of the fabric of youth life, the youth group of YEF posed the question to their mentors, “Can Canada have its own Tesla?”?

This question sparked the creation of an entire event, which was fully organized and hosted by the Youth Entrepreneurship Forum in Markham this past February.?

AXL couldn’t possibly get to answer a more exciting question. Ali Eslami, CEO of AXL, was invited to join two one from government and one from academia – to speak on the feasibility of a Canadian-owned EV brand. And the youth group were ripe with questions.?

• How can we encourage mass adoption in a positive way??
• How can we help Canada be able to create its own battery supply chain??
• How can Canada ensure adequate grid power once we achieve mass adoption??
• What are some battery recycling and repurposing options??
• What are the environmental impacts of electric batteries versus internal combustion engines?

And the questions didn’t end after the panel discussion. The youth were eager to get a minute of 1-1 time with the speakers and continued to ask bold and challenging questions. Questions that need answers from companies determined to see the EV transition be a success.?

AXL will continue to involve youth throughout each stage of its progress. We are starting with a walkthrough of our head office, where we will share with youth and their parents how AXL started, where we are today, and where we plan to be in five years from now. This will be the first of many “open house” opportunities. Our head office in Newmarket is by high schools, colleges, and universities, and it is our duty to share what we have learned – and are still learning – with the brilliant minds of tomorrow.?