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.
When we were invited to Ford’s campus in 2019 to check out what we’d learn was the new Mustang Mach-E, we were told we were witnessing the future of the iconic 118-year-old American auto manufacturer. We soon learned that Ford wasn’t just messing around with another compliance EV, it was building a sport CUV and throwing their most prized emblem on it.
Fast forward to 2021. I got a chance to drive the Mach-E for a full week, and this wasn’t a Southern California summer jaunt, when most EV drives are scheduled. It was Nor’easter-plagued late January in New York, including a snowy road trip to Vermont. I currently drive a Tesla Model Y as a daily driver and have been driving EVs exclusively for a decade, so this Mustang isn’t my first rodeo.
GM’s out with another press release saying it aspires to be fully electric in its consumer fleet by 2035. Yet the company only sells one EV, down from a few if you included the Chevy Volt/Cadillac ELR a few years ago, on its lots. Press releases are easy and often for GM. Putting EVs on the lots is what we want to see.
Every day, presumably now for the next 14 years, GM will be rolling gas vehicles off its assembly lines knowing that each one will be contributing heavily to carbon emissions. Also, one has to wonder, Why make pie in the sky promises for 15 years in the future when current GM leadership will no longer be there and will have no responsibility? It all feels a little… greenwashy.
The EPA has the updated range estimates for the 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S, its midrange model now that the standard model Taycan has been announced. Surprisingly, the range jumped from 203 miles in 2020 to 227 miles of range this year, a gain of over 10%. What exactly happened?
Before today, buying a Porsche Taycan in the US was a six-figure layout. The first full battery electric vehicle from Porsche was only offered in packages starting from $103K for the Taycan 4S to $185K for the Turbo S (reviewed here).
Today, Porsche is now opening the floodgates to Taycan ownership with a base model offering starting at $79,900. With federal and state EV incentives, the price could drop below $70K. But what did Porsche cut to get the price there?
The GM announcements keep coming at CES 2021 this year. Today GM CEO Mary Barra announced a new division called BrightDrop that would be building electric delivery vehicles and the technology to go along with it.
GM is starting a huge campaign this week in the US and will be rolling out in phases globally to highlight the automaker’s move to electrification. The campaign was done by McCann as well as the logo and type, which was developed in-house. It’s a big change and will envelop all of its products, including its legacy ICE vehicles.
The year 2020 wasn’t horrible for everyone. For the companies that make electric bikes, a convenient, inexpensive, and fun way to avoid public transportation, business was so good that supply chain shortages made their products hard to find. Many companies we spoke with had record years.
It’s the move of ebikes into micromobility that has been the bigger trend for 2020, and our ebike of the year winner has highlighted this trend.
Congratulations to the Juiced HyperScorpion, a 33mph (53km/h) emoped that can be ridden as a class 1/2/3 ebike on bike trails or ridden like a moped on 35mph speed limit roads with traffic. It can even be pedaled like a traditional bike. It can be a cargo bike or a delivery bike. It’s a fun joy ride or it’s a great commuter and can provide fun exercise. It’s a little of everything.
Lanai Island, a former pineapple plantation that was almost entirely (98%) purchased by Oracle founder and Tesla board member Larry Ellison for $300 million in 2012, is the first in Hawaii to see a Supercharger permit filed by Tesla.
I’ve had the Juiced HyperScrambler 2 for over a month now, and every time I ride, I find out something interesting about the ebike/emoto hybrid. On most of those days someone asks me, “What the heck is that awesome thing you’re riding?!” and “Where I can get one?” The second part is easy — JuicedBikes.com. The first part? Let’s take a look.
As more and more people are retiring their old gas-powered leaf blowers for superior electric alternatives, they are finding a growing number of brands with different power, capabilities, and price points.
Today we take a look at the two of the highest-powered 40cc-equivalent hand-held options: The EGO LB6504 56V($299) — that my neighbor recently purchased — and my own year-old Greenworks 80V ($229).
Tesla made a significant update to its phone-charging setup in Model Y by not only going to USB-C in the rear, but also adding a higher-power 19W USB-C PD port in the front. But with all the new features of Tesla’s constantly updating OS including USB Game controllers, USB TeslaCam and Sentry storage, and Qi charging, are just two USB ports enough? Of course not. And that’s why Jeda’s USB Hub is a must-have for any Model Y owner.
Polestar is a bit of an enigma as far as auto companies are concerned. The company, which is a joint venture between Geely and Volvo (which, in turn, is also owned by Geely), operates independently on some fronts from either Geely or Volvo in order to remain nimble. But it also leans heavily on its incestuous parents for infrastructure, talent, and support. I spoke to its North American head, Gregor Hembrough, who incidentally came from two decades previous at Volvo in 2018, to find out why.
I was on hand yesterday for the ribbon-cutting of EVolve NY’s first operable electric vehicle fast charging station in LaGrangeville, New York. The location, at a Tops supermarket adjacent to the Taconic Parkway, is about halfway between New York City and the state capital in Albany. NYPA plans to blanket the state in these DC fast charging stations which will allow New Yorkers to travel within the state on electricity without excuses.
Not everyone has a few thousand bucks to drop on an electric bike so today I wanted to take a look at two of the least expensive, full-sized ebikes from Ancheer in both mountain bike and foldable formats. At around $600+ at Amazon, what compromises were needed to get to this price, and are they still a good fit?
If you are an EV owner with a dryer in your garage, you’ve probably dreamed up the NeoCharge product already. And if you have a second EV, you’ve surely needed one rather than calling an electrician to run a second 240V line. What is this black magic device, exactly?
Last year, I reviewed the Gazelle CityZen T9 ebike and thought it was a fantastic offering for those people content with 20mph assist speeds on smoother roads. But as someone who commutes on rougher backcountry roads, I much prefer getting close to 30mph before the electric assist cuts off. That not only means a Class 3 capable motor but some other improvements are necessary to the bike.
Today we are looking at the answer to most of my concerns with the T9: Gazelle’s Medeo T10+
This is an ongoing journal of my first few weeks with Model Y. Check out Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3, too.
One of the most important jobs for our Model Y is getting the whole family up to our summer/ski condo in Vermont from our home outside of NYC. The trip is around 180 miles. Our Model X 90D would get such poor range that we’d almost always have to make a Supercharger stop along the way in order to make it with confidence. I should note that the route is quite curvy and hilly, and the last leg is climbing a mountain, so it isn’t a straight shot by any means.
So one of the things I’m hoping to get from the Model Y is the ability to make it the whole way comfortably, without charging. To make it more interesting, we added bikes to the back, using our freshly installed tow hitch. Would the Model Y be able to make it?
This is an ongoing journal of my first week with Model Y. See Day 1 here.
Getting the Model Y was super easy, and you could tell this was a well thought out process on Tesla’s part. All of the money had been taken care of beforehand, and I even had a pretty significant credit since Tesla dropped the price by $3,000 between payment and pickup. Like I said before, I tried to get FSD for $7,000, but Tesla charged me $8,000, so I’ll decide later if I want that.
Compare that to my Chevy experience where it took two full days to get the Bolt sold to me at MSRP, and I’m pretty sure I’ll never visit a traditional dealership again. Oh, and don’t get me started on the local Toyota dealer.
With COVID-19, there are some nuances to the delivery experience, but here’s how it went down:
Over the next week or so, I’ll be documenting my Tesla Model Y buying experience along with first impressions of the car.
The end of my 2017 Model X three-year lease would have been August 11, and I tried to line up my Model Y delivery time as close as possible. However, Tesla representatives said my Model Y would arrive on July 19, and if I didn’t pick it up then (or within a three-day window), I’d have to jump to the back of the queue and wait until September or later. I agreed to take delivery on Sunday, July 19.
Tesla called me on the 17th to tell me my Model Y was a week late…
When BMW’s Mini announced that it would finally bring back the Mini Electric a full decade after the car had been previewed in limited release for potential EV owners, there was some excitement in the air. The Mini has always represented a fun, exciting, and compact car that could be quite popular in an EV form.
The record scratch moment came when it announced a range of barely 110 EPA miles and that its 32.6 kWh battery size was actually smaller than the Mini E demonstration car that people loved a decade ago.
Fast forward to this week when I finally got to drive, and to my surprise, really enjoy, the Mini SE…
VanMoof, the Dutch company that specializes in very futuristic Dutch-style electric bikes has a new $2,000 S3 model that we’ve had a few weeks to take for a spin. While we marveled at a lot of the design and technology of this prototype bike, I can conclude that it isn’t for everyone, particularly if you’ve got long steep hills to conquer or want to travel above 20mph. Expand Expanding Close
