After 500 miles of test riding, I’m ready to call the 2024 Zero S a fun on-ramp to the world of electric motorcycles. The Zero S has all the benefits of electric motorbikes with a sporty design and a competitive price. Read on for six reasons to love the newest Zero S, plus three things I would change.
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This smart splitter solved my EV home charging needs without costly electrical work
Part of positive EV ownership is having a convenient home charging solution. While public charging stations are great for travel, home charging is both a time and cost savings. The NeoCharge Smart Splitter has been key for making home EV charging smooth for me.
Adding a second 240V outlet to my house as a renter is a tall order. Continually swapping the dryer plug and mobile charging plug is inconvenient and ill-advised. The Smart Splitter solves both those problems easily and affordably.
Expand Expanding CloseMeet the latest Tesla Cybertruck raffle winner [Interview]
It turns out people really do win giveaways. In February, Tim Harrington took delivery of the first Cybertruck to be raffled off by Tesla. He later showed how the Cybertruck fits in his garage “like a glove.”
2024 continues to be the year of the Cybertruck, and well, Tesla has done it again. After holding a second Tesla referral raffle, the company has delivered another free Cybertruck to one extremely fortunate winner: Jacob Knight.
Expand Expanding CloseWhy gas bikes just can’t compete with electric motorcycles in the summer
Summer is coming in hot, and the impending heat is set to once again break the prior year’s record-breaking temperatures. For gas motorcycle riders, a scorching hot planet isn’t the only immediate source of discomfort outside. The benefit of riding electric is two-fold…
Expand Expanding CloseLiveWire S2 Mulholland test ride: electric cruiser from the future
Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire company unveiled its third electric motorcycle in March: the S2 Mulholland. At first glance, the electric cruiser closely resembles the existing LiveWire S2 Del Mar. That’s thanks to the shared Arrow platform fulfilling its purpose of spanning multiple electric motorbikes.
Still, there are a number of key differences between the S2 models that make these two distinct bikes. While we’ll have to wait for an extensive review, I recently completed a LiveWire S2 Mulholland test ride and have some initial impressions.
Expand Expanding CloseGM hires former Apple Pay and iCloud directors for software and services team – source
GM continues to hire current and former Apple employees as it rejects CarPlay from its EVs. General Motors has hired former directors of Apple Pay and iCloud to work on GM’s new software and services division, according to a source who shared hiring details with 9to5Mac.
Expand Expanding CloseFord taps Eddy Cue’s former deputy Peter Stern to lead services after leaving Apple
Prior to leaving Apple in January, Peter Stern was widely considered the eventual successor to Apple Services boss Eddy Cue. Fast-forward to today and Stern has popped back up as the new head of software and services integration at Ford.
Expand Expanding CloseApple AirPlay found in latest version of Tesla iPhone app after Musk signaled support
Apple CarPlay is probably never coming to Tesla EVs, but it looks like next best thing is on the way.
Expand Expanding CloseApple’s former head of iCloud will be in charge of making GM EV software without CarPlay
Here’s a twist in the ongoing story of GM and CarPlay. General Motors has hired Mike Abbott to run its software team, the company announced today. That’s the same Mike Abbott who just left Apple after spending five years in charge of iCloud software.
Expand Expanding CloseVolkswagen CEO questions Apple Car future as Polestar ships OTA CarPlay and promises next-gen adoption
Apple’s car ambitions range from replacing your infotainment system with the iPhone to someday selling self-driving electric vehicles. Not every auto exec is convinced Apple will ever cross the finish line to shipping its own car, however. Meanwhile, more automakers are continuing to adopt Apple CarPlay even as the company teases its next grand vision for taking over your car software.
Expand Expanding CloseEx-Tesla VP turned Apple Car engineer poached by electric plane startup in latest staff loss
Apple has lost a senior member of its autonomous electric car team to a startup focused on electric aviation. Michael Schwekutsch, who left Tesla to join Apple as senior director of engineering for Special Projects Group in 2019, has left the company to work for Archer. This is just the latest in a revolving door situation surrounding Apple’s years-long effort to develop an electric vehicle with self-driving features.
Expand Expanding CloseApple loses ‘global head of battery developments’ to Volkswagen over EV ambitions
Nearly three years ago, Apple made news when it poached a prominent Samsung executive in charge of next-generation battery development. Fast forward to now and that same battery guru has been poached again — only this time by a major carmaker.
Expand Expanding CloseApple now believes it can ship self-driving EV as soon as 2025, Bloomberg reports
Apple is currently determined to ship an electric car that can drive its passengers around within the next four years, according to reporting from Bloomberg. The latest report emphasizes both the features and pacing set by current leadership over the project at Apple.
Expand Expanding CloseNASA just completed a critical propeller test for its all-electric experimental plane called X-57
NASA is developing an all-electric experimental plane called the X-57 Maxwell as part of an effort to share insight with regulators before EV planes establish a market. Propellers for the electric X-plane recently completed wind tunnel testing at the Langley Research Center in Virginia.
Expand Expanding ClosePorsche Taycan EV gains exclusive Apple Podcasts and Apple Music time-synced lyrics integration
Last year Porsche and Apple collaborated to integrate Apple Music streaming directly in the first all-electric Taycan. Now the German automaker and Apple are extending the partnership to bring new features to Porsche’s first electric vehicle. Apple Music’s time-synced lyrics feature will now be viewable on the passenger display inside the Porsche Taycan, and Apple Podcasts is directly integrating with an infotainment system for the first time.
Expand Expanding CloseNew Nissan Ariya electric crossover packs Wireless CarPlay on a 12.3-inch display
Nissan has a transformation plan to achieve sustainable growth and profitability by the end of 2023. The all-new Nissan Ariya crossover electric vehicle is a part of that plan, and the infotainment center tech inside is ready for the modern driver.
Apple ramping self-driving car testing, more CA permits than Tesla and Uber
Apple doesn’t appear to be slowing down on its mysterious self-driving car technology testing. As noted in a new report on Uber’s fatal accident involving an autonomous vehicle, the Financial Times includes new data on how many self-driving cars Apple may be testing in California.
Apple’s self driving car testing expands to nearly 30 SUVs as research continues
Apple has dramatically increased the number of self driving vehicles it is testing, Bloomberg reports. The company first received approval from state officials last spring to test three self driving cars on the road, but new inquiries to the California DMW show Apple has since expanded its test fleet to 27 vehicles total.
Report: Apple possibly leasing Chrysler’s former proving grounds to test autonomous cars
Rumors that Apple plans to develop and market a self-driving vehicle may have gone cold, but CEO Tim Cook has publicly acknowledged that the company is working on a ‘large project’ around autonomous systems.
The latest detail in the story comes via Jalopnik which reports that Apple may have leased Chrysler’s old proving grounds which could be used for testing autonomous cars.
Apple granted permit to test self-driving cars in California
Apple’s car project has gone quiet over the last few months after frequent reports detailed the company’s efforts to develop an electric vehicle. Now there’s a new development via Business Insider: Apple has registered with the state of California to test self-driving vehicles.
Report: Former hardware exec Bob Mansfield now leading Apple’s electric vehicle project
Apple’s electric vehicle project may be gaining steam thanks to a recent change in staff at the top. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple has recruited Bob Mansfield out of retirement and back to the company to lead the ‘Project Titan’ Apple Car team. Mansfield previously led Apple’s hardware team before moving to a special projects role then an advisor position. Pulling Mansfield out of retirement to work on the Apple Car effort suggests the company strongly intends to bring an electric vehicle to market as the former exec has a reputation for getting the job done.
Shift your expectations, Apple’s electric vehicle reportedly won’t debut until 2021
News around Project Titan, the name given to Apple’s electric vehicle ambitions has been relatively quiet lately despite the anticipated introduction in 2020 inching closer by the day. That may be because the introduction target for Apple Car has moved back one year to 2021. Included in a profile of three brothers who are said to have worked on the Apple Car initiative, The Information includes this detail:
Report: Apple interested in charging station tech for powering rumored electric vehicle
If Apple is going to produce an electric vehicle like Tesla, then naturally Apple will want to provide customers with a way to recharge away from home without relying on infrastructure from third parties. Reuters now reports that Apple is showing interest in such charging stations as it’s talking to existing companies and hiring engineers with experience in building them.
Tim Cook says it’ll be ‘Christmas Eve for a while’ when asked about Apple Car
Tim Cook and company lead Apple’s annual shareholders meeting of 2016 this morning, and as usual there were some interesting questions and answers between those in attendance. Like last year, Apple’s rumored electric vehicle project came up, only the Apple CEO didn’t automatically defer to CarPlay this go around.