Electrek

On today’s van-tastic episode of Quick Charge, Elon Musk teases a people-hauling Tesla that’s 10 years late, California says there are ZERO Robotaxis on the road, and the Chinese EVs continue to outsell the brand in Europe.

Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which will be the US’s largest wind farm when it’s complete, has sent its first power to the grid.

The EV2 is now on sale as Kia’s cheapest electric vehicle in Europe. A sporty GT-Line variant is also available, but it will cost over $10,000 more.

Renewable energy provided over a quarter of US electrical generation in January 2026 – 11% more year-over-year – and accounted for over 36% of installed generating capacity, according to data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In 2026, the EIA reports that solar, wind, and batteries added over 55 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity while the net total from fossil fuels and nuclear was less than 1 GW. Projections for 2026 are even more dramatic, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed the data.

The Japanese automaker is joining China’s EV price war. Toyota slashed prices on several electric vehicles in China, offering low-interest financing to compete with low-cost domestic rivals.

California’s top transportation regulator has made it explicit: Tesla is not operating an autonomous vehicle service in the state. The company holds the same permit as a limousine company.

Pat Tsen, the deputy executive director for consumer policy, transportation, and enforcement at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), confirmed that Tesla’s ride-hailing operation is classified as a standard chauffeur service — not a “robotaxi” — and is subject to none of the safety reporting and data transparency requirements imposed on actual autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo and Zoox.

It’s the first day of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, which is giving us a ton of increased savings running through the rest of the month – plus, several brands are expanding/increasing their ongoing sales to coincide with the event! One such brand is Anker SOLIX, which has entered its Spring Sale Final Days phase with increased savings of up to 69% on power stations (plus our continuing exclusive savings code), like the F3800 Plus Portable Power Station at an exclusive new $2,279 low. We also have Autel’s MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 50A Smart AI Level 2 EV Charger back at its $450 low, as well as a spotlight on Lectric’s XP4 and XP Lite2 e-bikes getting cargo bundles starting from $999, an exclusive deal on Jackery’s HomePower 3000 Power Station, a massive lineup of Worx tools getting up to 56% discounts, and more waiting for you below. And for all the ongoing hangover deals and latest Big Spring Sale deals alike, you can find them all collected into our Green Deals spring shopping hub here.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

The next generation of electric vehicle batteries is arriving, promising to be more efficient, safer, and lower cost. After another breakthrough, sodium-ion batteries for passenger EVs are nearing mass production.

The Amazon Big Spring Sale is officially in full swing, and in our usual fashion, we wanted to put all the best savings during this weeklong event in one place for all your shopping needs. We’re seeing a bunch of great deals on all the popular tech, and we will continue to update this hub throughout the entire event so you don’t have to worry. Below, you’ll find all the best current deals hitting power stations, e-bikes, alternate EVs, electric tools, appliances, smart devices, and more. Head below and start scoring what you need to start spring off properly, as well as prep for the seasons to come.

Is it an electric SUV, a van, or both? The EX30 is Volvo’s smallest, most affordable EV, and now it’s available as a mini electric van.

I’ll be honest with you: when Heybike first teased the Villain ($1399), my reaction was somewhere between amazed, intrigued and skeptical. Heybike makes fantastic commuter e-bikes and impressive folders: the kind of bike your unc (me) buys to ride to the farmer’s market. So when they showed up at CES with a Sur-Ron-ish-style electric dirt bike claiming 45 mph and 190 Nm of torque, at less than half the price, I had serious questions.

Elon Musk announced that Tesla is coming out with ‘something cooler than a minivan’ when pressed by fans for a vehicle with more passenger capacity.

However, we should temper our expectations as Tesla is greatly limiting new vehicle programs amid its transition into a ‘transportation as a service’ company.

The Afeela EV, Honda and Sony’s PlayStation on wheels, has been discontinued as Honda struggles to turn things around.

Many states across the US have spent the last several years promoting electric bikes as a climate solution. California, one of the leaders in e-bike adoption in the US, has funded rebate programs, invested in bike infrastructure, and championed e-bikes as a way to reduce car trips and cut emissions. At the same time, however, another trend has emerged: a sharp increase in youth ridership – and with it, a growing number of complaints about unsafe riding.

Now, some lawmakers in states with high e-bike usage are proposing something that would have sounded unthinkable just a few years ago: license plates for e-bikes.

If you’ve ever wished your daily commute felt less like a chore and more like, well, an experience, AOTOS thinks it has the answer. The smart mobility company is launching its new Flux X26 e-bike on Kickstarter this month, and it’s not your typical e-bike. This one leans hard into futuristic design, smart tech, and even a one-click wheelie feature.

Let’s take a closer look.

The worst kind of vehicle emissions aren’t the ones that move dirt or haul freight – they’re the ones that don’t. Every hour, every minute, ever second a combustion engine spends idling at a truck stop or job site is fuel burned, money lost, and air polluted for no productive reason. Vanair’s patented solar panel system for semi trucks is ready to help slash idle times.

Tesla has filed new site plans with Travis County detailing a significant expansion of its Giga Texas campus, including the long-promised “ecological paradise” along the Colorado River and infrastructure for the recently announced Terafab North Campus.

The filings, which include a permit application for “Tesla North Campus” submitted to the Travis County Fire Marshal on March 13, reveal the scope of Tesla’s ambitions for a campus that already stretches across 2,500 acres in southeast Austin.

The updated Xiaomi SU7 and SAIC’s Z7 and Z7T just launched, and the new EVs are already racking up thousands of pre-orders in minutes.

We’ve got some notable flash sales leading today’s Green Deals, including the newest Tenways Wayfarer Premium Cruiser e-bike with $366 in FREE gear hitting a new $1,799 low (alongside the CGO800S e-bike), as well as a 24-hour window to score EcoFlow’s DELTA 3 Plus Portable Power Station with a waterproof protective bag at a $609 low, among three additional offers. We also spotted Anker’s eufyCam S3 Pro 4-Cam Kit with an upgraded 1TB HomeBase 3 hard drive at a new $540 low, the 3-in-1 48V (24V x 2) Greenworks mower, trimmer, blower combo kit down at its best price since Black Friday, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget the hangover deals at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 deal, or the many ongoing deals from last week that we collected into our latest Electrified Weekly roundup coverage.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Toyota announced another $1 billion investment to upgrade two of its facilities, including $800 million in Kentucky to build its second EV in the US.

The top enforcement official of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Margaret Ryan, quit last Monday after just six months on the job. Reuters now says the reason for her departure is due to tension between Ryan and top SEC officials over enforcement cases against financial backers of Donald Trump, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Robotaxi network and vehicle developer Zoox has shared some more key milestones as we sit nearly four months into its “year of growth.” That includes massive expansions to its existing network, added features for riders, and the deployment of Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxis in two new US cities.

BYD is moving fast to establish a physical retail presence in Canada, with plans to open 20 branded dealerships within its first year in the market. The world’s largest EV maker is already scouting locations in the Greater Toronto Area.

The push comes just two months after Canada slashed its 100% tariff on Chinese-built EVs to 6.1%, a dramatic policy reversal that has unlocked the Canadian market for Chinese automakers for the first time.

Volkswagen Group is recalling close to 100,000 electric vehicles due to a potential issue with the battery modules, including nearly 75,000 ID models.