Founder, Publisher, and Editorial Director of the 925, LLC publications.
Seth Weintraub is an award-winning engineer, journalist, and publisher who won back-to-back Neal Awards from 2007–2010 during his three-plus years covering Apple and Google at IDG’s Computerworld.
From 2010-2011, Weintraub covered all things Google for Fortune Magazine, amassing an impressive rolodex of Google contacts and a love for Silicon Valley tech culture.
It turns out that his hobby – the 9to5Mac news site – was always his favorite, and in 2011, he went full time adding his Fortune Google followers to 9to5Google, in addition to adding the style and commerce component of 9to5Toys gear and deals site. In 2013, Weintraub bought one of Tesla’s first Model S EVs off of the assembly line, which began his love affair with electric vehicles and green energy — this, in turn, became Electrek in 2014. To cover the burgeoning world of drones and UAVs led by China’s DJI, DroneDJ was born in 2018, and then more recently, Connectthewatts and SpaceExplored were launched to cover connected fitness and space.
From 1997-2007, Weintraub was a Global IT director and Web Developer for a number of companies, with stints at multimedia and branding agencies in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Madrid, and London before becoming a publisher/writer.
Seth received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California with a minor in Multimedia and Creative Technology in 1997. In 2004, he received a Master’s from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art’s ITP program.
Weintraub is a licensed single-engine private pilot and a certified open-water scuba diver, and he spent over a year backpacking to 60 cities in 23 countries. Whatever free time exists is now guaranteed to his wonderful girlfriend, Alana, and two amazing sons.
More: About.me. BI 2014 profile.
Tips: seth@925.co, or llsethj on Threads/BlueSky or link at top of page.
The flying taxi company Kitty Hawk last night launched ‘Cora’, a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) personal airplane/helicopter drone hybrid that will carry a passenger. Kitty Hawk is funded by Google co-founder Larry Page and CEO-ed by Sebastian Thrun, the self-driving car pioneer who is the founding director of Google’s X lab.
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Pacific Gas and Electric customers in California can (now until May 31st) receive an additional $10,000 off the price of a BMW i3 via the instructions on the press release below. They join Southern California Edison customers and New Jersey’s PSE&G customers in getting the $10,000 rebate.
That’s in addition to the $7500 federal tax credit and the $2500 California State EV credit for eligible incomes as well as use of the HOV lanes and other incentives. PG&E throws in a $500 Clean Fuel rebate as well. That’s a total of $20,500 off the price of the BMW i3 which starts at around $44,500 making the final base cost of the i3 $24,000. Find BMW i3 inventory and lowest prices using this link.
EVgo today announced price drops, a simpler scheme and longer charge windows to “the nation’s largest network of public electric vehicle (EV) DC Fast charging stations”. EVgo says that the new rates match or beat gasoline on a per mile basis and the new service will be a boon for apartment dwellers and current/prospective EV buyers who need to take trips outside of their EV range. However, there are some important details to consider.
You know that argument that comes up when someone sees your electric car and says something like, “it is way worse to mine lithium needed for batteries than oil and what happens when the lithium runs out? I saw a Meme on the internet so I know it is true.” Well…
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Google this week announced that it was putting Google Assistant on Android Auto which basically means that your Android phone is now a Google Home/Amazon Echo type of device in your car that you can talk to. This, as opposed to having to push the button on the steering wheel, is great for passengers who want to ruin my music vibe.
Unfortunately, my Chevy Bolt was on an older version of the firmware which apparently isn’t OTA upgradable and cut out Android Auto on my Google Pixel every few minutes. To properly test and use Google Assistant, I was going to need to get a firmware update. Off to the Chevy dealer, right?
Virginia lawmakers have put forward House Bill 469 which would allow for a 10% State tax refund on the purchase of an electric vehicle up to a $3500 maximum.
iDevices is launching several new products at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, including a new smart EV charger with its recently announced parent company Hubbell.
With the relative success of its Chevy Bolt EV and the hunger for EVs in China, GM is one of the few big automakers actually trying to build a business around electric vehicles. CEO Mary Barra has committed separately to 5 crossovers, 2 minivans, 7 SUVs and 10 new electric vehicles by the end of the decade in China. But with the Bolt EV reportedly losing up to $9000 per vehicle initially, how does the company get to real profitability with these vehicles?
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…
Continental AG, the large German automotive OEM company today previewed some new electric car charging technology that they plan to showcase at CES in Las Vegas next month. The announcements amount to two different parts of the EV charging infrastructure that would be OEM-ed into Electric vehicles by automakers:
Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV is 3 years late and it comes with a paltry 12kWh battery yielding a range of 22 EV-only miles on a charge. That’s the bad news.
But today the only US plug-in SUV under $35,000 showed up for sale and as things stand it is the only affordable SUV you can drive via plug-in electricity in the US. Luckily it can also tow a 1500lb load and can charge relatively quickly via CHAdeMO…
This week on the Electrek Podcast, we are discussing the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including Tesla’s victory over car dealers in Missouri, Model 3s being delivered to customers, today’s Nissan LEAF review, Boring Company progress and more.
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Norway, Paris/France, England, India, Germany, China and Scotland have all announced plans to ban the sale of gasoline vehicles in the upcoming decades. The US state of California might be close behind if a new bill expected to be introduced in the coming month by Assemblymember Phil Ting takes hold.
Home Depot offers a 4 pack of dimmable Ecosmart Light Bulbs for $10.95 with free shipping . That’s over half off the regular price and one of the lowest prices we’ve seen for 75W equivalent bulbs that are also dimmable. These bulbs which are ideal for track and recessed lighting have a brightness of 940-Lumens have an actual Color Temperature- 2700K Soft White and are shatter resistant.
At 13W, these are about 6 times more efficient than incandescent for the same light and will save you an estimated $9/year/bulb in energy costs. That means these pay for themselves in a few months.
I’m just waking up after last night’s Tesla Semi and next gen Roadster Event and it feels like a dream in a lot of ways. If you would have told me yesterday that there would be an EV that met any of the following specs, I would have said “Vaporware!” Keep in mind these are base specs (!!) and the Founder’s Series car, which will take advantage of technologies gained in the 3 years before production, will somehow be better than:
It’s over. It’s. Just. Over. I’ve said it before but there is no way to dispute it anymore. Electric vehicle engines are superior to internal combustion. Full stop.
Steve Jurvetson, a partner of Venture Capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, is one of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s biggest backers, not only being early investor in Tesla but also SpaceX. He’s also owner of the 1st Model S off the line and reportedly helped Tesla find money when its fortunes weren’t so bright back in 2008.
However, today it was revealed that he’s left DFJ in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment. The VC company today released the following statement:
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YEARS in the making, EVgo this week released their first app for consumers on both Android and iOS. I’ve tried it on both platforms and have gotten similar results in a little over a day of testing with two separate EVgo 50kW DC fast chargers. I tested both the Chevy Bolt with CCS SAE Combo charger and the Tesla Model X with Chademo adapter. So, how’d we do?
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On Thursday, GM announced a pretty big move in promoting Pamela Fletcher, who led the team that successfully launched the Bolt EV, to the newly created position of ‘Vice President, Global Electric Vehicle Programs’. Before that, her title was Executive Chief Engineer Autonomous & Electrified Vehicles and New Technology so it can be assumed that this is more of a creation of a new group inside of GM rather than a promotion for Fletcher. She was also chief engineer behind the impressive Volt Propulsion System (Voltec) so I’d be hard-pressed to find someone more qualified to lead GM’s EV programs.
The creation of the group could be a big deal not just for Fletcher but for GM’s electric vehicle programs and hopefully, it is the first step to bigger changes within the organization. Here’s why…
I’m in Wisconsin visiting with in-laws this week but when I heard that Trek announced its new CrossRip+ ebike, I knew it would be a great opportunity to visit the headquarters/factory in nearby Waterloo. I was neither disappointed by the factory, bike celebrities wandering the halls during the World Cup event, nor the CrossRip+ electric cyclocross which Trek let me take on a 10 mile on and off road test ride…
We’ve got about 30 minutes until Nissan launches the 2018 LEAF. We’ve heard tons of rumors and Nissan has given us more teasers than probably healthy but we’ll get some more details tonight at the launch. Stay tuned after for our analysis. YouTube livestream below:
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When we got our test drive/rides in the Model 3 a week ago, many of the finer details of the groundbreaking EV were still off limits.
The Model 3s were all being charged via the company Superchargers outside of the VIP/Press area so we didn’t get to experience what it was like to plug in the vehicles or even operate the app. However, Tesla Board member and venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson this morning showed his YouTuber skills in demonstrating the feature on his VIN#5 Model 3.
It is hard to overstate the significance of today’s Tesla Model 3 launch at the Fremont California factory. It very well could be the beachhead that electric cars need to tip the scales over gasoline cars in the US and the world.
Will we be witnessing history tonight? Let’s put it into perspective…
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted in the recent shareholder meeting that initial Model 3s would come with just 2 options: wheels and color. Assuming a few different wheels in 18″ and 19″ varieties, that doesn’t leave much room for a wide palette of colors in Tesla’s configurator which is scheduled to be released “in late July” or any minute now.
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A little nugget of information came our way while reading a Reuters report on UAW and their reaction to a car sale slump at GM.
GM is reviewing whether to cancel at least six passenger cars in the U.S. market after 2020, including the Chevrolet Volt hybrid, which could be replaced in 2022 with a new gasoline-electric crossover model, Reuters has learned from people familiar with the plan.
Gosh it is hard to believe how slow the auto industry is compared to others like the electronics industry. Can you imagine Apple’s iPhones in 2022? Who will be President then? Will we have a civilization on Mars?
