Electric Cars

Props to Fred Lambert at Electrek for catching this: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is requesting from Tesla all information about a document called “Radar Saves Us” in its investigation into Full Self-Driving crashes. The details could prove that Tesla knew its camera-only approach to autonomous driving was flawed, which could trigger another massive recall for the company.

So far, most electric vehicles have looked more or less like cars. But recently, a few companies have looked to another, smaller mode of transport for inspiration. The Verge’s Andy Hawkins explains why companies like Amble and Chip are reinventing the golf cart, in the hopes of creating an entirely new kind of street-legal vehicle. As long as the speed limit stays low.

Tesla filed an NHTSA crash report that lists the driver as “Remote (Commercial / Test),” which Electrek says is a first for Tesla. It’s one of numerous accidents with Tesla’s robotaxis in the past year, and involved a Model Y hitting a tree stump while trying to get out of a dead end road.

Ferrari says the “Chassis 0” version of the polarizing Luce is an “unrepeatable opportunity,” and will go on the auction block during Monterey Car Week in August. The Jony Ive-designed Luce sparked a mixture of fascination and confusion when it was revealed in May. And now you can own the first production version, assuming you have more than $1.1 million at your disposal.

Not what anyone expected — or wanted — but a Tesla-branded balance bike is now available for the junior edgelord in your life.

After months of rumors, Honda finally confirmed that it’s killing off the electric Prologue SUV in the US after just two years of sales, CarBuzz reports.

Last month, Slate Auto said its barebones electric truck would start at $24,950, but that amount excluded the destination charge, so it wasn’t the actual final price customers would end up paying. Today, Slate spokesperson Jeff Jablansky emailed to let us know that the freight charge will be $1,450, calling it “the lowest among all pickup trucks in the U.S., because we believe that trucks should be affordable.” That means the total price of the Slate Truck will be $26,400 before factoring in local sales tax. Still pretty cheap!

In 2024, a dealership in Colorado offered a lease deal on the electric Fiat 500e that sounded too good to be true: $0 down, and $0 a month. Aside from taxes and insurance, the tiny Italian EV was essentially free. Two of the lads at the YouTube channel TFLEV were able to get in on the deal before it went away. So, 18 months in, how did it go? In a new video, they describe the ownership experience of an EV they call “essentially pretty fun” with a lot of flaws.

As telegraphed earlier this year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation today creating a $3,500 point-of-sale rebate for the purchase of a new electric vehicle priced up to $50,000. Used EVs sold for up to $25,000 get a $1,750 rebate. Automakers headquartered in California aren’t subject to price caps. Naturally, Tesla fans are mad.

Polestar is down for the count, global EV sales hit 2 million in June, and China’s electric vehicle industry continues to make news this week. Here are some notable headlines:

The EV startup is teaming up with Crayola on a special lineup of wraps for its paint-less electric trucks. Colors include Cerulean, Fern, Jersey Tomato, Razzmatazz, and Dandelion. Why they didn’t think to include Burnt Sienna is beyond me.

As reported by Electrek, the latest recall is for a “faulty differential unit that may fracture, resulting in a loss of drive power,” affecting more than 42,000 vehicles between 2021-2023 RWD models. The car has been previously recalled at a similar scale for battery safety issues. A poster on the Mach-E forum notes Ford says “a remedy is not yet available” but is expected later this year.

The Drive has new pics of Ford’s $30,000 prototype electric truck, giving us our best look at the pint-sized truck’s real door handles and giant interior touchscreen. But maybe the most interesting aspect, as noticed by mobility investor Reilly Brennan, is the new camouflage that features soccer balls, sail boats, hearts, and other emoji-like symbols. No poops, fortunately.

The EV company is telling investors to expect better sales than originally predicted, thanks to a strong start for the “make or break” R2 vehicle. Rivian previously projected sales of 62,000-67,000 vehicles for the year, but now expects to deliver 65,000-70,000. This comes after Rivian said it delivered 12,194 vehicles in the second quarter, a 14.4 percent gain year over year. The new forecast could signal strong demand for the R2, which just started customer deliveries last month. For a deeper look at what the R2 means for the company, check out my recent feature.

It follows last year’s EXP 15 “design concept,” and follows Bentley tradition by taking its name from the El Torcal de Antequera natural landmark in Andalusia, Spain. Bentley’s CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser says it “may just be the most considered car in our history.” We’ll find out more on September 23rd.

BMW’s Neue Klasse-ified SUV launched this week, including an all-electric iX5 with 800-volt charging that can add 170 miles of range in 10 minutes and go from 10-80 percent in 22 minutes, plus a 17.9-inch in-car display with Alexa, CarPlay and Android Auto.

The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, but the lawsuit concerned a 71-year-old woman who was killed by a Tesla Model Y driver using Full Self-Driving. It was the first known pedestrian fatality linked to FSD, Bloomberg reports. The news comes as Tesla faces another lawsuit from the family of a Texas woman who was killed in her home by a speeding Tesla driver.

You might remember I took a break from Decoder last year — we had a baby, so I took some leave. In my place, we had an excellent slate of guest hosts, and we’ve been working hard to bring you those episodes in full video since we launched our official Decoder YouTube channel.

The fire occurred in Martin County late last week after “a brake pad from the trailer hauling the six Teslas ignited and quickly spread to the vehicles,” according to local news outlet WPTV. Both lanes of Florida’s Turnpike and part of I-95 were shut down as toxic fumes and smoke clouded the area.

The Dual Standard variants had smaller batteries and less range than some of the other trims. But they also had some of the less expensive starting prices: $76,990 (before fees) for the Dual Standard R1S and $72,990 for the Dual Standard R1T. The move to simplify the R1 lineup comes as Rivian is ramping up production of the crucial R2, which initially starts at $57,990.