Electrek

Tesla’s Solar Roof was supposed to revolutionize residential solar. Elon Musk unveiled the product in 2016 with the promise of beautiful solar tiles that would replace your entire roof — and he set a target of 1,000 new Solar Roofs per week by the end of 2019. Nearly a decade later, Tesla has installed roughly 3,000 Solar Roof systems total, stopped reporting deployment numbers, and is now quietly pivoting to conventional solar panels.

The gap between Tesla’s Solar Roof promise and reality is one of the most stark examples of unfulfilled ambitions in the company’s history — and it has left thousands of customers stuck with an expensive product that Tesla appears to have deprioritized.

The ID. Polo GTI is Volkswagen’s first electric GTI. A day before its official debut, images leaked online, revealing the EV hot hatch for the first time.

XPeng (XPEV) is in talks with Volkswagen about acquiring a factory in Europe as the Chinese EV maker’s contract production in Austria runs out of capacity. The company’s exports hit a record 6,006 vehicles in April, up 62% year-over-year.

The move comes just one day after BYD revealed it is also pursuing European factory deals with Stellantis and other automakers, signaling a broader wave of Chinese automakers moving to localize production on the continent.

The new MG4, the world’s first mass-produced EV with a semi-solid-state battery, has quickly become a bestseller in China, with the 100,000th model rolling off the production line in just eight months.

Leading our Green Deals today is EcoFlow’s latest flash sale that is seeing the 5,120Wh expanded DELTA 3 Ultra Plus Power Station bundle with a DELTA 3 Max Plus Extra Battery dropping down to a $1,999 2026 low, among some additional offers. We also noticed that ENGWE is still offering similar deals on three of its e-bikes since its Anniversary Sale ended – all of them at their lowest prices – like the newest M20 3.0 Moped-Style e-bike with $114 in FREE bundled gear starting from its $1,349 low. We also have ALLPOWER’s 256Wh VOLIX Portable Power Station hitting a new $99 low, a returning low on the Gotrax R7 e-bike with up to 50 miles of travel range, a 24V 8-inch Greenworks polesaw deal, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s collection of Bluetti Elite 300 power station and bundle exclusive lows, the low prices across Beatbot’s Anniversary Robot Pool Cleaner Sale, and more.

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 ID. Buzz is coming back for the 2027 model year. While the electric van is set to return, Volkswagen said the ID.4 is now going on a brief hiatus.

Honda is waving the white flag. The Japanese automaker previewed two new hybrids set to launch by 2028 after taking an over $9 billion hit over its failed EV bet, leading to its biggest loss in company history.

China’s top auto industry group is calling for the creation of a standardized budget electric vehicle category — modeled on Japan’s wildly popular K-car ecosystem — to revive sluggish domestic car sales and bring millions of new buyers into the EV market.

The proposal, from the head of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), would target elderly consumers and rural markets where cheap, unregulated electric vehicles have flourished dangerously for years.

I drove the IONIQ 9 for more than 600 km across a mix of highway and city driving, and I enjoyed the package Hyundai has put together. The E-GMP platform, the cabin space, and the seat quality are all class-leading or close to it. A few software-layer gaps keep it from being perfect, but for a family that covers distance, the IONIQ 9 is one of the most complete three-row EVs on the market today.

Here is the full review and Electrek EV score for the Hyundai IONIQ 9 2026:

An 82 year old Congressional representative is getting heat for an embarrassing letter she wrote to a well-meaning 10 year old constituent on the topic of electric cars and climate change, where she seems to brag about saddling his generation with debt through a recent climate rollback she voted for. And she’s up for re-election for the 12th time, by the way.

When I first got into e-bikes, I treated them exactly as they felt at the time: tiny electric motorcycles with pedals attached. This was back around 2009 or 2010, years before the 3-class system was even a twinkle in the eye of an e-bike industry lobbyist. I had one of maybe a half-dozen e-bikes in a city of 400,000 people, and they were so new and hard to find that I had to build mine myself from mail-order parts and an old bike frame.

Juiced Bikes is officially back – and now it’s bringing its aggressive value pricing strategy to the electric dirt bike market.

The newly revived company, now backed by the same leadership team behind Lectric eBikes, has just launched Juiced Powersports, a new expansion focused on high-performance electric off-road motorcycles. And its first model, the Juiced Nomadix, looks like it’s a shot across the bow of the Sur Ron-style market with pricing that could seriously shake things up.

Or perhaps more accurately, with these specs and pricing, it’s a shot right through the bow and out the other side.

The Trump Administration’s decision to repeal of the 30% home solar tax credit in 2025 looked like the end of the road for subsidized residential rooftop solar projects, but homeowners can still get it under certain circumstances – until America’s 250th birthday, that is.

An equipment rental company in the UK is making it easier than ever for construction and groundskeeping crews to test out electric equipment options by adding more than 100 electric machines from JCB to its Leicestershire rental fleet.

Kia officially entered the forbidden land after launching its first EV in Japan. The PV5 will spearhead Kia’s “full-scale attack” on the Japanese market as it looks to take on Toyota, Honda, and Nissan on their home turf.

After five decades, Volkswagen confirmed the first electric GTI, the ID. Polo GTI will make its debut on Friday, May 15.

Our mid-week Green Deals are jam-packed with tons of lows, some short-term promotions, exclusive savings, and more. Leading the list is Bluetti’s latest Elite 300 3,014Wh Portable Power Station and bundles at exclusive lows starting from $1,011. We also noticed Segway offering its F3 Electric Scooter with a $29.99 accessory bundle credit down at $750 for a few more days, as well as two varying exclusive deals on the Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus 3,584Wh Portable Power Station with or without a 500W solar panel starting at $1,449. From there, we have a full lineup of Beatbot pool cleaner lows during the brand’s Anniversary Sale, Greenworks’ latest ultra-compact electric pressure washer at a new low, Govee Outdoor Garden Light lows, an EGO string trimmer + leaf blower bundle, Worx sawhorses, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s full lineup of Lectric Memorial Day e-bike savings, and more.

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 all-electric bZ4X Touring, sold as the bZ Woodland in the US, is Toyota’s most powerful vehicle without a GR badge. It’s also the fastest Toyota EV yet.

A Nevada utility just told 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents that it’s redirecting 75% of their electricity supply to data centers — and they have less than a year to find a new power source. It’s one of the starkest examples yet of the AI boom’s impact on everyday Americans.

The case is extreme, but the pattern is not. Across the country, data center electricity demand is reshaping the grid, driving up rates, and pushing a growing number of homeowners toward solar and battery systems — not as complementary power, but as essential infrastructure.

The all-electric Golf will not arrive in 2028 as expected. After another delay, here’s when you can expect to see the Volkswagen Golf EV now.

Waymo announced a major expansion of its autonomous robotaxi service area, growing to over 1,400 square miles across 11 US cities. That’s an estimated 27% increase from its previous coverage and more territory than the entire state of Rhode Island.

The expansion starts in Miami, with Austin, Atlanta, Houston, and the San Francisco Bay Area up next for broader coverage.

BYD wants to take over underutilized plants in Europe from legacy automakers to fuel its aggressive overseas expansion. Executive vice president Stella Li confirmed that BYD is holding discussions not only with Stellantis but also with “other companies too.”

BYD has overtaken Tesla to become the world’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator, capturing 13% of the global market in 2025 compared to Tesla’s 10%, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

The shift marks the end of Tesla’s reign as the top energy storage deployer — a position it held in 2023 and 2024 — as Chinese manufacturers now dominate the rapidly growing stationary storage market.

Gas car sales have collapsed in the world’s largest auto market, dropping 37% year-over-year in April. As a result, 9 of the top 10 vehicles in China last month were plug-ins, with only a single one on the list sporting an ICE-only configuration.