Jameson is based in Southern California and has been driving electric vehicles since 2009 and writing about EVs, sustainability and policy for Electrek since 2016.
You can contact him at jamie@electrek.co, or on his bluesky account that he just set up and maybe will never use at https://blskyl.ink/jamesondow
When Tesla CEO Elon Musk publicly denied a report that Tesla had canceled its work on the $25,000 “Model 2” despite the project ending weeks prior, Tesla executives were “alarmed” by Musk’s public lie, according to a new report by Reuters.
Tesla is trying to use a piece of property in Australia, near Adelaide, in order to build a battery factory and Tesla showroom. But it’s facing steep opposition from locals, most of whom cite dissatisfaction with Tesla CEO Elon Musk as their reason to oppose the project.
A new study is out which quantifies just how much EVs help not just in cutting harmful exhaust emissions, but also cutting other types of pollution that come from personal vehicles. But of course, public transport, biking and walking are even better.
Republicans launched multiple attacks against EVs, clean air and American jobs this week, at the behest of the oil industry that funds them. These attacks won’t be successful, and EVs will continue to grow regardless, and inevitably take over for outdated gasoline vehicles.
However, these republican attacks on EVs will still have some effect: they will diminish the US auto industry globally, leading to job losses and surrendering one of the jewels in the crown of American industry to China, where there is no similar effort to destroy its own rapidly growing domestic EV industry.
Hot on the heels of Congress illegally attacking clean air, a coalition of 11 states has launched an Affordable Clean Cars Coalition to expand access to clean cars even as the federal government tries to raise costs for Americans and drag down the US auto industry during the all-important transition to EVs.
The 2025 version of the Axios Harris poll of brand reputation is out, and it shows a sharp decline in the reputation of Tesla and other Elon Musk-related brands, putting them among the lowest-ranked brands in America, largely due to the toxicity of Musk himself.
California will go to court to protect its clean air in the face of illegal attacks by republicans in Congress, said California Governor Gavin Newsom today.
California and 16 other states have sued the government for illegally withholding $5 billion in funds that Congress earmarked for EV charging, calling the action “another trump gift to China.”
Update, May 22: After the initial lawsuit was filed on May 7th when this article was first written, a number of nonprofits including Sierra Club, Earthjustice, NRDC, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Plug in America joined the lawsuit today. Also, the Government Accountability Office determined today that the seizure of funds was illegal.
Update 2, Jan 23, 2026: A federal court has found that DoT violated the law by freezing the funds, and permanently bans the feds from interfering with the program.
But that’s not the only bad stuff that’s in the bill – it will also inflate your electricity costs and threaten a recent boom in solar installations that is helping to grow domestic energy production and feed power-hungry data centers for AI.
House republicans passed their tax proposal, which kills a slew of tax credits to help working families become more energy efficient, improve US air quality, and boost US manufacturing. The republican bill instead channels that money to wealthy elites, increasing the deficit by trillions of dollars along the way.
Toyota USA has refreshed its RAV4 for 2026, and, in a significant step forward for efficiency, Toyota has axed the non-hybrid version of the vehicle. The RAV4 will now only be available in conventional (gas-powered) hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions starting in the 2026 model year.
However, in an act of greenwashing reminiscent of many things Toyota has done before, it’s confusingly calling its vehicles “100% electrified” – despite that every single RAV4 includes a gas engine.
Honda said it will reduce its planned EV investments by $21 billion, claiming that it’s doing so due to a slowdown in EV sales which isn’t actually happening.
Instead, it will focus on hybrids, which get 100% of their energy from fossil fuels, and which cause climate change and poison the air you breathe.
Arc, the company behind the powerful Arc One and Arc Sport electric boats, announced its next model today: the Arc Coast, a center console boat with many of the capabilities of its predecessors at a significantly lower price.
Republicans announced a new tax plan today and it’s just about as bad for America as expected, taking money for healthcare, clean air and energy efficiency from American families and sending it to the ultra-wealthy instead.
US republicans have unveiled their new tax proposal, which kills a slew of tax credits to help working families become more energy efficient, improve US air quality, and boost US manufacturing. The republican proposal instead channels that money to wealthy elites, increasing the deficit by trillions of dollars along the way.
Blue Bird, the iconic American school bus manufacturer and one of the largest electric school bus makers, has announced an all-electric medium duty Class 5-6 truck chassis.
Range Energy, a company which builds large-battery electric trailers to help fleets electrify at the drop of a hat, has announced partnerships with Thermo King and ESL Power Systems to bring its technology to refrigerated trailer units.
Tesla is the only EV brand with a net negative brand perception, according to the Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report – and much of the negative shift has happened in the last 6 months.
Waymo has released new research saying that its driverless robotaxis reduce pedestrian- and cyclist-involved collisions by 82%-92%, and crashes that involve an injury by 96%, when compared to the average driver.
Rivian is launching its first ad campaign, with digital ads showcasing stories from Rivian owners about how they’ve used their electric truck’s unique capabilities in interesting ways.
Republicans in Congress have voted to use its authority under the Congressional Review Act to roll back California’s states’ right to protect its own residents’ lungs and pocketbooks with better emissions rules.
But here’s the thing: Congress doesn’t have that authority, and the republican party is once again just farting in the wind with the sole purpose of letting everyone know that it wants to poison Americans and raise their fuel costs.
Oil-backed House republicans have proposed putting a $200/year federal registration tax on EVs, with the false rationale that it will help to close a supposed budget shortfall that has in fact been caused by Congress’ refusal to raise the federal gas tax since 1993.