This week on the Electrek Podcast, we are discussing the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including Elon Musk confirming Tesla pickup truck plans, Model 3 vehicles flowing out of Fremont factory by the hundreds and what we expect in the EV and renewable energy world in 2018.

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It has been almost a year since we reviewed the very capable Hyundai IONIQ Electric. As a refresher, this is the most efficient EV on the US market at 136 MPGe and the only model more efficient than the Tesla Model 3.

The problem, or recurring theme in a broader sense, is that it is almost impossible to get your hands on the all-electric version if you live outside of California even though the hybrid version is all over the country. This is because it is a compliance vehicle.

What could have been good news this week is that Hyundai finally announced the Plug-in Hybrid version price (along with EV only range moving from 27 to 29 miles). But not all Plug-ins are created equal…

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Logistics giant DHL has an extensive effort to electrify its massive fleet of delivery vehicles. The company is both buying EVs and making its own, the “Streetscooter”.

BMW is now getting on board with the Streetscooter program as a supplier for the battery modules. The vehicle will use the same battery modules as the BMW i3.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly arrived in Chile this week, sparking rumors in the lithium world, which Chile is the center of in some sense.
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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news. Featured Image Source.

U.S. renewables replace coal and gas in 2017 – In the first nine months of 2017 gas use fell 11% year over-year. If borne out through the last three months this would be the first such fall since 2013. The bigger story here, in my opinion, is that both coal and natural gas usage fell in the same year. For a while, coal was down – and gas was up. And coal was down because gas took over. Well, this year gas was able to go down because we had a lot of solar/wind in place, and hydroelectricity out west was huge. From what I’ve read – it won’t happen again out west with hydro because of droughts. What matters more is that this happened once – because that means it can happen again.

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With more Tesla Model 3 vehicles on the road, crashes are inevitable and now we learn that the first few accidents have already happened.
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After deliveries picking up over the last few weeks and clear evidence of production increasing in Fremont, Electrek is finally getting its first Tesla Model 3 today.

We are going to have some extensive coverage of the vehicle over the next few weeks, which is why we are asking you if there’s anything specific you’d like to know about the new electric car.
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Details about the Mission E, Porsche’s upcoming first all-electric vehicle, keep trickling down to the public ahead of the official launch in 2019.

Now, a new report suggests that the Porsche Mission E will start at about ~$75,000 with three performance trims.
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Despite introducing a significant design refresh with the 2018 Leaf, Nissan has showed interest in launching new sportier versions of its new electric car.

They have now released the first image – pictured above – of a new Leaf GT electric car concept to be unveiled at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon next month.
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Electric buses are becoming increasingly popular with transit fleets around the world, but no more than in Shenzhen, China.

The megacity has been building a large fleet of electric buses for years now, but this week it announced that it completely electrified its fleet with more than 16,000 electric buses.
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Electric vehicles and home solar energy go hand in hand. It enables electric vehicle owners to drive on sunshine and mitigate any increase in electricity consumption due to their new vehicle.

In the past, Nissan has often partnered with solar installers to promote solar energy with new electric vehicle purchases and now they started doing it again in Japan with the new 2018 Leaf.
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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news. Featured Image Source.

Oxford PV granted financing for perovskite serial production – Oxford PV received an EU bank financing of €15m, to support the transfer of its disruptive perovskite on silicon tandem solar cell technology from lab scale to commercialisation. Plus “The company has demonstrated the necessary parameters in efficiency and stability on its perovskite photovoltaic technology, to engage commercially with major industry players and play a key role in enhancing solar energy supply in the future.” Two items – 1. Perovskite is moving from a lab to a commercial facility. That’s pretty cool. 2. From the quote – ‘necessary parameters in efficiency and stability’ – most perovskite push back has been due to it quickly degrading in sunlight and water. If stability is meeting requirements – then perovskite is getting real.

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We are receiving increasingly more evidence that Tesla has achieved higher volumes of Model 3 production as vehicles are seen driving out of the factory in volume and leaving the plant by the truckload. 
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With every passing year, Tesla is proving the naysayers wrong by not only surviving but increasingly solidifying its position in the automotive market and energy industry.

2018 is shaping up to be another record year for the company and today we take a quick look at what we expect from Tesla for the year.
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After announcing the implementation of its zero-emission vehicle mandate, which will start in 2019, China now has also agreed to extend its electric car rebate until the end of the decade.
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The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) – the group that manages 80% of the electricity used in California – has begun showing utility-scale batteries charging and discharging into the power grid via their website.

By resolution, due to a natural gas emergency, the State of California requested large-scale battery based energy storage projects be attached to the grid at the end of 2016, early 2017. Now we get to watch the systems – some that we covered – do their job.

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2018 is shaping up to be another record year for electric car production and deliveries in most markets around the world, but as it stands right now, it doesn’t look it will be “the year” for new electric car models.

Nonetheless, there will be a few new EVs hitting the market and here we take a quick look at them.
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It doesn’t feel right calling the Tesla Model S P100D a “supercar” since it takes the form of a family sedan, but it does perform like one on the drag strip.

The all-electric car does compete with supercars and it recently had a good challenge from the new Acura NSX.
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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news. Featured Image Source.

Men Resist Green Behavior as Un-Manly – The idea that emasculated men try to reassert their masculinity through non-environmentally-friendly choices suggests that in addition to littering, wasting water, or using too much electricity, one could harm the environment merely by making men feel feminine. C’mon fellas – overcompensating for something? You seriously need special marketing so your sensitive little feelings don’t get hurt while saving the planet? You’d think you’d support the thing that would make your offspring healthier…

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Out of all the features currently requested by Tesla owners for an over-the-air update, automatic windshield wipers might very well be the most requested.

After roughly a year of delays, CEO Elon Musk now says that it is coming “very soon.”
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Volkswagen still doesn’t have a full all-electric car program from the ground up in production, but it is already seeing demand for EVs increasing and it decided to turn to its compliance EV, the e-Golf, to satisfy demand.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on another one of his Tweetstorms today and albeit a smaller one, we got some new insights into Tesla’s upcoming new updates and features.
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Part of solar power’s allure is the ease with which one can get electricity out of ‘simple’ hardware in very complex moments. In southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean we’re seeing solar power – right now – offering huge services to people in trying times.

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