After seeing the new Roadster in the flesh at Thursday’s Tesla Semi unveiling, I’ve had a lot to think about.  Fred and Seth already both covered this car, but it’s so groundbreaking that I felt I needed to chime in.

And as a current Roadster 1.5 owner, which had been my dream car ever since seeing the first introductory website put up by Tesla way back in 2006, I’m writing this article as a sort of catharsis, a reliving of that night that I first saw the car I sorely wished could be mine but thought at the time I’d never have the opportunity to own.

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Toyota announced today that it is starting to test new high-efficiency solar cells to be used on electric cars that could potentially boost the range by 35 miles (56 km) of range per day. expand full story

This week on a special holiday weekend Wednesday Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including Tesla’s incredible delivery numbers for the second quarter, a series of new Tesla exec departures, the Model 3 Euro NCAP crash test results, and more.

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The Lightyear One, a new solar-powered electric car developed by several times Solar Challenge winners, has been unveiled today and the startup claims an unbelievable range of 450 miles (725 km) on a single charge. expand full story

This week on the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including Tesla getting into battery cell production, a 400-mile range electric car is coming soon, solar roof V3 is coming, and more.

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EVgo has contracted for 100% renewable energy to power its fast charging network, the company announced today, making it the first US EV charging network to do so.

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The idea of an all-electric Tesla motorhome is getting a lot of people excited and inspired an entrepreneur to build Tesla Model S-based electric motorhome.

The prototype vehicle was unveiled and it is somewhat disappointing. expand full story

Sono Motors, a German EV startup, announced today that it will build the crowdfunded solar-powered Sion EV at a manufacturing facility formerly owned by SAAB in Trollhättan, Sweden.  The plant is owned by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a holding company which acquired most of SAAB’s assets after its bankruptcy.

Sono has contracted NEVS to produce 260,000 vehicles in an eight-year period, beginning in the second half of 2020, and plans to use 100% renewable energy to power its factory.  The car will launch at a cost of 25,500 Euros (~$28,900).

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Tesla’s referral program was set to finish tonight, but, as they’ve done many times before, instead it got a midnight update extending it for a little while longer.  The program now goes through September 16th instead of July 31st, with prize availability unchanged from the last round of the program.

There are two big changes: first, the Model 3 Performance is now eligible for unlimited supercharging when ordered using a referral code, previously only available to Model S and X orders.  Second, while S/X/3P cars ordered with a code before September 16th will still qualify for free unlimited supercharging for the entire duration of original vehicle ownership, cars ordered after September 16th will only get one year of free supercharging.

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Last month, we reported on Tesla’s update to its referral program which will finally put an end to unlimited free supercharging, starting with orders placed after September 16th.

At the time, the plan was to downgrade the perk for ordering with a Tesla referral code to a year of free supercharging.  Now, less than a week before the expiry of the program, Tesla has changed things up again, and will instead offer a $100 supercharging credit to customers who buy a new Model S, X or Model 3 Performance using a code from a current owner.

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