Electrek

Kia issued a recall affecting more than 21,000 EV9 SUVs because the airbag system may fail to detect a child in the front seat.

Solar power now powers more than 10,800 US K-12 schools – that means 1 in 7 students goes to a school powered by the sun – but battery storage hasn’t quite caught on yet.

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla announcing the Cybercab launch, Cybertruck prices rising, VW launching an electric camper, and more.

Today’s episode is sponsored by GM. GM EV charging made easy, with Energy Pass and Plug and Charge. Learn more at https://gmenergy.gm.com/energypass

After chomping on the bit for literally years, we finally got to drive – and I mean really drive – the Porsche Cayenne Electric, and it was everything we’d hoped for, and more. Porsche flew us out to Aspen, Colorado, and gave us a 250-ish-mile mountain road (and off-road) course to devour with their flagship SUV. The $163K monster did not disappoint in acceleration, air-supported suspension comfort, and even fast charging. But, there, as always, are some caveats beyond the huge price tag…

Hyundai has several new electric SUVs coming, including a new global D-segment SUV positioned slightly above the IONIQ 5.

Alongside the massive Amazon Labor Day Sale that is live, we’re closing out this week’s Green Deals with an early-bird launch deal on Jackery’s latest HomePower 1000 Plus V2 Portable Power Station + bundles starting from $619, as well as the brand’s Member Event Sale lineup. Right behind that, we have an exclusive deal for Heybike’s upgraded 1,000W Mars 2.0 Folding Fat Tire e-bike at a new $749 low, and the ECOVACS LiDAR PRO Robot Lawn Mowers starting from a $999 low. There’s also a 2026 low on EGO’s 670 CFM leaf blower, an ongoing deal for Greenworks’ 24V 22-inch hedge trimmer, and more down below. That includes the hangover deals from this week down at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Segway Navimow Labor Day robot mower sale, the EcoFlow Monthly Madness flash sale running the rest of the month, 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.

Tesla holds its Cybercab launch event in Austin on September 3, and it’s being sold as a milestone. Here’s my prediction: it’s going to look a lot like the last time Tesla launched this car, back in October 2024.

Expect a big robotaxi fleet number as the headline, a steering wheel and safety monitor finally coming out, and almost nothing that touches the one thing actually holding the program back.

Including new small-scale solar, renewables’ capacity is likely to surpass natural gas by summer 2027 or sooner, according to new data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.

The ID. California Cruise is Volkswagen’s first fully electric California camper. Based on the ID. Buzz, the camper van comes with a bed, window blinds, and other camping gear.

BYD posted its first quarterly profit increase in more than a year, with second-quarter net profit rising 29.8% to 8.2 billion yuan ($1.22 billion) as a record surge in exports offset a weak Chinese market.

The rebound ends four straight quarters of profit declines and reverses the 55.4% collapse BYD reported just three months earlier.

The largest benefactor of the Interior Department’s most recent illegal wind buyout is an Australian-American billionaire whose private equity firm will receive $900 million in exchange for a stake in a methane gas terminal in Louisiana. The near-billion-dollar buyout comes after the same billionaire gave a $1 million bribe to the originator of the deal.

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Flit and SONDORS (yep, that one), testing a battery charging cabinet and the Qronge e-moto, London cops riding Sur-Rons, and more.

If you are late to the pre-teen suburban e-moto scene, we’ve been wading through the exploding market of low-cost Sur-Ron competitors over the past months. While we can all debate the safety and legality issues these bikes bring, the reality is that they are incredibly popular and useful for those who can get around their neighborhoods and back roads and are comfortable hitting speeds up to and above 40mph. Enter the low cost $1299 Qronge X1 Spark L.

California’s Ontario International Airport (ONT) has been awarded a $~4.15 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand its zero emission infrastructure and add more electric ground support equipment (GSE).

The Port of Los Angeles has secured a new, 30-year lease with Yusen Terminals, with the marine terminal operator fully committed through 2056 in a deal that paves the way for an fresh, $200 million investment in zero-emission cargo-handling equipment. (!)

Swedish mining company LKAB is putting a pair of massive, 130-ton GVW electric Scania haul trucks to work at its Malmberget iron ore mine – which happens to be more than 4,000 feet below the surface of the Earth.

The new Kia EV3 is essentially an upgraded version of the now-retired Niro EV, and it’s about $10,000 cheaper.

Santa Monica, California’s public Big Blue Bus fleet is getting 130 DC fast-charging ports as it works toward building an entirely electric fleet by 2032.

BYD is preparing to launch a new electric hatch, positioned between the Dolphin and Seagull (Dolphin Surf) in terms of size.

BYD announced that it has already installed 10,000 of its 1.5 megawatt “flash charging” stations, despite only starting earlier this year. The number puts it halfway to its lofty goal of 20,000 stations by year’s end – and just about on pace to hit it.

The bZ5 is about the size of a Tesla Model Y and much more high-tech than Toyota vehicles we are used to.

A Tesla running the latest version of “Full Self-Driving” failed to stop at an active railroad crossing this week and nearly drove straight into a passing train, according to the driver and as evidenced in dashcam footage.

The kicker: it was running FSD v14.3.7, the newest build Tesla has released — and it’s at least the third time this year that Electrek has documented FSD trying to drive a Tesla into a train.

Leading today’s Green Deals is the Segway Navimow Labor Day robot sale, with offers like the advanced X430 Robotic Lawn Mower down at its second-lowest $2,249 price, among others starting from $669. We also have the EcoFlow August Monthly Madness flash sale with three power station units, a dual fuel generator unit, and two EcoCredits promotions starting from $1 – plus, there’s a 24-hour deal to score the 1,024Wh DELTA 3 Classic Portable Power Station with a 45W solar panel for $499. We also have a budget-friendly Worx cordless electric hedge trimmer at its 2026 low, and more waiting for you down below, including the hangover deals from this week that are down at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Bluetti 72-hour power station and alternator charger bundle flash 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.

Aptera’s solar electric vehicle can pull more than 4 kWh of usable energy out of the sun in a single day, and now an independent testing house has put its name on the number.

TÜV Rheinland, the 150-year-old German testing and certification firm, ran three days of on-site solar measurements at Aptera’s Carlsbad, California headquarters and confirmed the car generated 4.23 to 4.75 kWh per day, enough for roughly 42 to 47 miles of driving on sunlight alone.