Andrew J. Hawkins

The automaker only announced the new 4-door electric sedan last spring and it’s already adding a new variant. The Mercedes-AMG GT 53 will be a new high-performance model arriving in US dealerships in 2027. Mercedes has used the 53 badge for its electrified 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engines. Now it will be applied to an all-electric sedan with a dual-motor 800V architecture, 536 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, and a 0-60 acceleration in 3.4 seconds.

The Amazon-owned robotaxi company said it would launch its first-ever commercial service in Las Vegas on August 10th. Fares will be calculated from a base fare, plus distance and time traveled. Destination fees, such as trips to the airport, may also be factored in. The news comes a few days after Zoox obtained approvals from the Department of Transportation to start charging for rides in its steering wheel- and pedal-less vehicle.

The MTA is auctioning off its old MetroCard vending machines, and I’m struggling to picture where one would fit something like this in your average New York City apartment. It weighs 1,050 pounds! Maybe some enterprising transit nerd could convert it into a work station for their computer.

The New York City Council just released a surprisingly large raft of bills — 17, to be exact — aimed at overhauling the city’s enforcement and regulation of electric bikes. The council is considering a ban on higher speed e-bikes, new license and insurance requirements for delivery companies that rely on e-bikes, and stricter penalties on riders who flee the scene of a crash. But transportation advocates are worried that the bills will discourage people from using e-bikes while also ignoring the larger danger posed by reckless driving. Either way, the great e-bike crackdown continues.

The vehicles will operate with safety drivers, but are built for fully driverless operations, the companies say. After the UK opened the door for autonomous ridehail vehicles, several companies have indicated they intend to launch in London, including Uber, Wayve, and Waymo. Lyft and Baidu’s vehicles will stick to the neighborhood of Brent for their initial testing.

“When I logged into my Tesla account and view my lease/contract with it, it loads a PDF which just shows the Book of Enoch?” the anonymous owner said in a Reddit post (first spotted by Electrek). “What do I even do with this? Lol.” The Book of Enoch is a 2,000 year old apocalyptic religious book about angels and demons, so it’s anyone’s guess why it would pop up for a Tesla solar customer looking for their lease. AI-prompted mixup seems like a likely bet.