Powershare in Tesla Cybertruck can power home, charge other EVs

2025 Tesla Cybertruck  -  Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.With the rollout of the production 2025 Cybertruck on Thursday, Tesla included a couple of battery-related surprises—including a long-awaited turnaround on the ability to use its EVs for home-energy backup in power outages. While one of those battery surprises involved a separate range-extender, mounting inside the pickup’s bed and...

Tesla Cybertruck can’t go 500 miles even with extra battery

Tesla CybertruckIn an event Thursday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented a production version of the Tesla Cybertruck. It looks much like the stainless-steel genre-bender Tesla premiered in 2021, but the electric truck doesn’t come any where close to the $39,900 starting price or range of up to 500 miles that had been suggested at that time. Musk said very...

US-made 2025 Volvo EX90 priced under $80,000 tax-credit cap

2025 Volvo EX90Volvo has announced pricing and opened pre-orders for the 2025 EX90 electric SUV. U.S. versions of the EX90 will start at $77,990 in its seven-passenger layout, while the six-passenger layout with captain’s chairs will start at $78,490 (all prices include the $1,295 destination fee). That means at least some of the lineup is likely to be EV...

Hyundai and Kia move EV motors closer to the wheels but not in them

Hyundai and Kia Uni Wheel drive system for EVsHyundai and Kia on Wednesday unveiled a new EV motor design that splits the difference between conventional motors and in-wheel motors. Dubbed the Universal Wheel Drive System—or Uni Wheel for short—this design moves motors closer to the wheels but not into them. That's made possible by a planetary gear set with a central sun gear...

Reliability survey: Vehicles that plug in are more trouble-prone

2021 Audi Q5 plug-in hybridThe reliability of electric cars and plug-in hybrids is improving, but they still remain more trouble-prone than cars without plugs, according to a new Consumer Reports survey. On average, EVs had 70% more problems than internal-combustion vehicles, the survey found. Electric cars, electric SUVs, and electric pickups are all among the...

EV battery prices are dropping again

Audi battery assembly at Brussels, Belgium, factoryFollowing substantial increases in 2022, EV battery prices are falling again, according to new analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Lithium-ion battery pack prices have fallen 14% this year to a record low of $139 per kwh, BNEF reported this week. This was driven by decreases in raw-material and component prices, as well as...

Lotus fast-charging hardware delivers more than most EVs can handle

Lotus Flash Charge DC fast-charging hardwareLotus has long produced fast cars. Now it's also producing fast chargers. The automaker on Tuesday unveiled fast-charging hardware it claims to have developed in-house, including a liquid-cooled DC charger capable of up to 450 kw. It's designed to be used with a Lotus-developed power cabinet and 600-amp charging unit in a setup Lotus claims can...