Electrek

Lotus Cars’ compelling, high-performance electric sports sedan and SUV received a number of fresh updates earlier this week, but packs superior infotainment tech, styling tweaks, and (of course) a mind-bending 905 electric horsepower. (!)

The welding equipment experts at Lincoln Electric know a thing or two about high-voltage equipment. Now, they’re bringing that electrical expertise to a whole new market with a portable, self-contained, 50 kW DC fast charger designed to deliver a quick shot of range and get stranded drivers back on the road.

Electric vehicles have come a long way, but let’s be real—they still have their hangups: “range anxiety,” long charging times, and questions about safety and sustainability. But what if all those worries could be put to rest?

Hyundai wants to give you the chance to see for yourself just how peaceful the ride is in its EVs. In the UK, Hyundai is offering a new 24-hour “Rest Drive” for the new Kona Electric, allowing you to experience it on your daily travels.

American EV automaker Rivian submitted a slew of patent applications with the USPTO this week, including a deployable rear diffuser mechanism to adjust a vehicle’s drag and some software systems related to infotainment, navigation, and video playback.

The US battery storage market just had its biggest quarter ever. In Q2 2025, a record 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity came online, according to the latest US Energy Storage Monitor report from the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and Wood Mackenzie.

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s Q3 delivery estimate, the launch of FSD v14, Lucid Gravity ramp-up, and more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Climate XChange, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to help states pass effective, equitable climate policies. The nonprofit just kicked off its 10th annual EV raffle, where participants have multiple opportunities to win their dream model. Visit CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek to learn more.

Mazda calls the EZ-60 a “dream car.” The electric SUV is now available in China with prices starting under $17,000. Starting next year, Mazda will launch the new electric SUV in other global markets, including Europe and North America.

As yesterday was particularly EV heavy, today’s Green Deals is being led by multiple power station discounts, with the headliner being Anker’s SOLIX Early Prime Day Sale with up to 65% initial discounts, free gifts, extra savings, and more starting from $299. Among the massive lineup, we spotted Anker’s SOLIX F3000 Portable Power Station starting at a new $1,449 low. There’s also an exclusive $690 in savings on EcoFlow’s DELTA 2 Power Station with a FREE 5,000mAh magnetic power bank at a $379 low, as well as the brand’s latest 48-hour Early Prime Day flash sale, which has dropped the DELTA Pro 3 440W solar bundle to a new $2,999 low. From there, we have Birdfy feeders/birdhouse lows, Velotric’s $699 folding e-bike, a rare Husqvarna tool discount, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about all the hangover deals collected at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Lectric Ultimate Tailgating Flash Sale, or the Segway Roll into Fall Savings Sale, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

XPeng Motors is making good on previously shared plans to expand to 60 global markets this year, many of which already include countries in the EU. The Chinese automaker announced five new markets and some pop-ups in additional regions as it continues its quest to become a household name in BEVs.

The Kelce Car Jam is back, baby. Hosted by one of the NFL’s hottest stars (and Taylor Swift’s new fiancé), Travis Kelce, Lucid Motors (LCID) will be at the event, offering the chance to test drive its luxury electric vehicles. For every EV test drive, Lucid pledges to donate $87 to Kelce’s Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation.

California now has 201,180 public and shared EV charger ports available across the state — 68% more than the number of gasoline nozzles, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC).

Solar EV startup Aptera has announced a Senior Vice President of Engineering, donning quite the resume in electric mobility. Leon Kaunitz joins Aptera after leading engineering teams at Tesla, Ford, and NIO, with the goal of bringing the SoCal startup’s long-promised Aptera solar EV into mass production.

Two Tesla Megapacks caught fire this week at a massive 360 MW battery project in Boulder City, near Las Vegas, Nevada.

The ID.4 is one of several Volkswagen electric vehicles that will be impacted by the planned shutdowns at two German EV plants. VW is also planning to halt production of the ID.4 in the US.

Tesla is asking the Trump administration not to repeal EPA rules that allow automakers to sell more polluting vehicles despite the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, donating more than $200 million to Trump’s campaign, which clearly included repealing the EPA rules as part of its platform.

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Trek and Gazelle, Surronster got arrested in Mexico, Rivian’s ALSO e-bike leaked, Pakistan is giving women free pink e-scooters, Coca-Cola goes all in on electric rickshaws, and more.

Lease deals get all the headlines, but 75% of new car buyers still finance their cars, indicating that they want to own their vehicles once the payments are done. If that sounds like you, and you’ve been holding out for relief from sky-high payments, a wave of new EVs are now available with 0% financing — making it one of the best months yet to buy a new EV.

UPDATE: the OG Tesla-killer is offering a killer deal.

Government researchers in the US and abroad believe we could help decarbonize and electrify the transportation sector with hardy, fast-growing plants that collect the metals needed to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in their roots, then harvest those metals later with a process that’s cleaner and cheaper than traditional mineral mining.

Peak Energy just switched on a 3.5 MWh sodium-ion battery, the largest sodium-ion energy storage project developed in the US. The system is the first of its kind at grid scale, and may eventually be a game-changer for delivering affordable energy in the US.

Subaru announced prices for the new and improved 2026 Solterra EV on Thursday. Despite significant upgrades, including added range, power, an NACS port for recharging at Tesla Superchargers, and more, the upgraded Solterra still starts at just $38,495, the same as the outgoing model.

The latest automotive numbers in Europe were released for August, confirming that Tesla’s decline is continuing, but it has slowed down, with the company “only” being down 22%.

However, the most worrying part for Tesla is that it is happening while battery-electric vehicle sales were up 30% last month.

Hyundai Motor is recalling nearly 8,000 2023-2025 Genesis GV60 EVs due to a potential issue with the molding at the top of the windshield that may cause it to fall off.

A new software update from Rivian was sighted earlier this month, and it’s being prepared for a full rollout to Gen 2 R1S and R1T EVs. The latest Rivian update includes upgrades to the American automaker’s Enhanced Highway Assist driving, more energy-conscious home charging capabilities, and a slew of other improvements outlined below.