The Slate EV truck FINALLY has an official price tag: $24,950 before destination fees, making it America’s cheapest EV and its most affordable pickup. But can this newcomer actually survive and compete in the brutal electric truck market? 

In this episode of the Plugged-In Podcast, Tim and Suvrat break down all the massive news surrounding Slate this week. They discuss whether its range, 205 miles, is enough for 2026. And they explain Slate’s new battery strategy (hello, LFP!) Plus, Tim actually got to see the truck in person and take a ride in it! He shares his first impressions on the interior, and whether the driving experience matches the hype. 

What do you think? Is the Slate truck priced to win? Let us know in the comments!

Slate's $24,950 EV Truck Will Test What America Really Wants
https://insideevs.com/news/799661/slate-truck-pricing-official-2026/ 

Why The Slate Truck Will Use LFP Batteries After All
https://insideevs.com/news/799667/slate-truck-lfp-battery-range/ 

Slate Truck Vs. Chevy Bolt Vs. Nissan Leaf: Which Affordable EV Actually Wins?
https://insideevs.com/reviews/799688/slate-truck-nissan-leaf-chevy-bolt-ev-comparison/ 

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The robotaxi wars just got real. On this week's Plugged-In Podcast, hosts Mack and Tim break down everything you need to know about the race to own autonomous ride-hailing—and there's a LOT happening all at once.

Tesla's Cybercab specs are finally public thanks to EPA filings: a 48 kWh battery, 219 hp front-wheel-drive motor, and an astonishing 165 Wh/mi efficiency rating that makes it the most efficient EV ever certified. But EPA certification and commercial robotaxi deployment are very different things—and Tesla's fleet is still tiny.

Meanwhile, Uber is building a web of partnerships—Lucid, Nuro, Wayve, and Stellantis—that looks less like a ride-hail company and more like a platform play for the autonomous age. And Mobileye is making a stunning pivot: no longer just a sensor supplier, it's entering the robotaxi arena with its own fleet. And 

Who actually wins this race? The company with the best hardware? The best software? The best network? Mack and Tim dig in.

#Robotaxi #TeslaCybercab #Waymo #Mobileye #ElectricVehicles #FSD #AutonomousDriving #InsideEVs

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Mobileye, Supplier Of Robotaxi Tech, Is Launching Its Own Robotaxi Fleet In The U.S.
https://insideevs.com/news/798968/mobileye-robotaxi-us-launch-2027/ 

Lucid And Uber Will Bring Robotaxis To Houston Next
https://insideevs.com/news/798932/lucid-gravity-robotaxi-houston-expansion-uber-nuro/ 

Full Tesla Cybercab Specs: EPA Documents Confirm Battery Size, Weight, Power, And Preliminary Range
https://insideevs.com/news/798790/tesla-cybercab-specs/ 

Can the highly anticipated Rivian R2 turn Rivian into a profitable EV powerhouse? This week on the Plugged-In Podcast, Mack and Tim sit down with a very special guest: Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained!
Both Mack and Jason recently got behind the wheel of the Rivian R2, and they are breaking down exactly why they loved it—and what it means for the future of the company.
But it’s not all good news for EV startups. Jason opens up about his tumultuous experience owning a Lucid Air. We dive deep into the challenges facing both Rivian and Lucid as they fight to become mainstream automakers.

Jason’s channel:
https://www.youtube.com/engineeringexplained

Jason's Lucid Air Experience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrz1LXNm9cI

Mack’s Rivian R2 review:
https://insideevs.com/reviews/798129/rivian-r2-first-drive-review/

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Is the internet overreacting to Ferrari’s first-ever electric car? In this episode of the Plugged-In Podcast, Mack and Tim break down the massive wave of public backlash hitting the newly unveiled Ferrari Luce. Tim shares his firsthand thoughts after actually seeing Maranello's Jony Ive-designed EV up close, and explains why he thinks it’s actually cool. (Sorry!)

Plus, we look at the positive side of the electric transition: the EV charging grid is officially getting a glow-up. From Rivian hitting a major infrastructure milestone to Walmart and Electrify America making charging less of a headache, things are moving fast. Finally, we unpack a Reuters investigation that suggests Tesla might still be years away from truly scaling full self-driving technology.

Reuters story on Tesla FSD
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/why-teslas-ai-trainers-dont-trust-its-self-driving-tech-or-its-safety-stats-2026-05-28/ 

Walmart’s Expanding EV Charging Network Is Getting Easier To Pay For (And Cheaper)
https://insideevs.com/news/796951/walmart-ev-fast-charging-expansion-card-discounts/ 

Rivian’s EV Charging Network Is Growing Fast, And It Just Hit A Major Milestone
https://insideevs.com/news/797654/rivian-ev-charging-network-growth-milestone/ 

It's Still Way More Expensive To Insure An EV. But That's Changing
https://insideevs.com/news/797585/ev-ownership-insurance-price-expensive/ 

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Do EV enthusiasts care about performance cars? Do traditional car enthusiasts care about EVs? This week on the Plugged-In Podcast, Mack Hogan and Andrei Nedelea break down the news about the Ferrari Luce, the company’s first EV. It’s got over a thousand horsepower, four independent motors, and a trick suspension that should make it plenty interesting to drive.

But in the second segment, we break down a key challenge for the Luce: Who is it for? Typical car enthusiasts that buy Ferraris seem relatively closed off to electric performance vehicles. And even for InsideEVs’ enthusiastic audience, nobody seems to care about the high-power stuff. They’d rather read about Hyundais and Chevies than Porsches and Ferraris.

Finally, Tim Levin and Mack sit down with Andrew Chapin, the Chief Operating Officer of autonomy company Nuro, to get an update on the autonomous vehicle race. You won’t want to miss it. 

I Saw Ferrari’s First EV In The Flesh. Here’s My Honest Take
https://insideevs.com/news/796897/ferrari-luce-electric-car-2026/ 

Mercedes-Benz's Electric Super Sedan Has A New Kind Of EV Motor And Unprecedented Charging Speed
https://insideevs.com/news/796361/2027-mercedes-amg-gt-4-door-coupe/ 

Nobody Wants Electric Supercars. But Why?
https://www.motor1.com/features/766252/nobody-wants-electric-supercars-opinion/ 

Lucid Gravity Robotaxis Will Hit The Uber App Next Year, With Nuro Tech
https://insideevs.com/news/766132/lucid-gravity-robotaxi-uber-nuro/ 

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Is the federal government about to change the cost of EV ownership? This week on the Plugged-In Podcast, Tim Levin and Mack Hogan break down the proposed $130 annual federal registration fee for electric vehicles and what it means for the future of highway funding.

Mack also shares his experience behind the wheel of the Volvo EX60—a minimalist luxury SUV that might just be the most polished electric vehicle Volvo has ever built. Plus, we discuss the brand-new Mercedes-AMG GT, which has officially claimed the crown as the fastest-charging EV in America, boasting an 11-minute charge time from 10-80%. 

Finally, Tim sits down with Brandt Hastings, President of North America at ABB E-Mobility, to talk about the massive shift in charging infrastructure and how ABB is meeting the demands of the next generation of EVs, trucks, and robotaxis.

Congress Wants You To Pay $130 A Year Just To Drive An Electric Car
https://insideevs.com/news/796222/ev-fee-gas-tax-house-bill-2026/ 

I Drove The 2027 Volvo EX60 And Think It's The Best Volvo Ever. All Because It’s Electric.
https://insideevs.com/reviews/796359/volvo-ex60-first-drive/ 

Mercedes-Benz's Electric Super Sedan Has A New Kind Of EV Motor And Unprecedented Charging Speed
https://insideevs.com/news/796361/2027-mercedes-amg-gt-4-door-coupe/ 

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Is the Golden Age of EV charging finally here? This week on the Plugged-In Podcast, Tim sits down with Seth Cutler, CEO of Ionna, the massive charging joint venture backed by seven of the world’s biggest automakers. We dig into how Ionna plans to deploy 30,000 chargers by 2030 and whether this company can actually fix the reliability crisis.

Plus, Mack takes the new Volvo EX60 for a spin to test its Google Gemini integration, which is also coming to vehicles from GM, Polestar, and other brands. Forget basic, frustrating voice commands. We’re talking full-on conversational navigation. The guys discuss why this is probably the best feature in new cars. 

We also look North as Chinese EVs trickle into Canada. While the US doubles down on 100% tariffs, Canada is taking a different path. Is this the backdoor for BYD and Geely to get into America?

Tesla Is Now Testing A Virtual Waitlist For Superchargers
https://insideevs.com/news/795797/tesla-supercharger-virtual-queues-tk/ 

Mazda's EV Delay Is Barely A Pivot
https://insideevs.com/news/795650/mazda-delays-first-major-ev/ 

The Floodgates Open: Chinese EVs Land In Canada
https://insideevs.com/news/795438/first-chinese-evs-canada-deliveries/

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Are Chinese cars really leaving the rest of the world in the dust? InsideEVs Staff Writer Kevin Williams joins the program to discuss the best Chinese EVs from Xiaomi, BYD, Geely, Nio, and more. He just got back from the 2026 Beijing Auto Show and tells us what he saw.

We discuss the Geely EX2, a cheap EV that’s become the country’s best-selling car. Kevin also drove the track-ready Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which has over 1,000 horsepower. And he got a good feeling about the Ford Bronco New Energy, an extended-range SUV that won’t be coming to the U.S. anytime soon. Are Americans missing out on this and other Chinese cars?

Finally, in Plus/Minus, Tim and Kevin discuss the Chinese cars that are coming to Canada, and how the BMW IX3's price tag is even cheaper than expected!

The Hyundai Ioniq V Looks Great. Its Job Is To Take Back China
https://insideevs.com/news/794010/ioniq-v-china-beijing-baic/

'Chinese Cars Are Ready For Prime Time In America': Geely SUV Crushes Every U.S. Competitor In New Test
https://insideevs.com/news/792060/geely-galaxy-m9-test-edmunds/

The Xiaomi SU7 Was Already Dominating The Market. Reviewers Say The Updated Version Is Even Better
https://insideevs.com/news/790997/youtube-xiaomi-su7-sedan-update/

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Used electric cars are booming right now. Mack and Tim bring on Scott Case, cofounder and CEO of Recurrent, to discuss. Recurrent tracks battery health in used EVs, and Scott is one of the foremost experts on range retention and the secondhand EV market as a whole. The guys ask Scott what buyers should know about EV battery degradation, whether EV depreciation might become less of an issue, and what specific EV deals he has his eye on. 

In Plus/Minus, Mack and Tim discuss Google’s Gemini chatbot hitting millions of GM vehicles, and the launch of the sub-$30,000 Volkswagen ID. Polo

The Facts Are In: You Shouldn't Worry About EV Battery Replacements
https://insideevs.com/news/779210/ev-battery-replacements-data-tesla/ 

What EV Slowdown? Used Electric Car Sales Hit A Record High In March
https://insideevs.com/news/793503/used-ev-market-us-march-sales-2026/ 

2026 Is Going To Be An Amazing Year For Used EVs. Here Are The Deals I'm Watching
https://insideevs.com/news/783100/2026-used-ev-deals/ 

Modern EVs Barely Lose Any Range, Even After Five Years: Report
https://insideevs.com/news/793891/evs-barely-lose-range-after-five-years/ 

Volkswagen ID. Polo: This Is It
https://insideevs.com/news/794406/vw-id-polo-electric-range-price-specs-options-official/ 

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This week’s episode is a special one, as Mack and Tim take some time to go through listener questions and comments. 

What would happen to startups like Lucid and Rivian if Chinese EVs were allowed into the U.S.? Is the Tesla Cybertruck doomed? What’s going to win out, the Rivian R2 or the BMW iX3? Was the EV tax credit just a handout to the rich? Why doesn’t Tim have an EV (yet)?

The guys dig into all of these questions and more on this week’s episode. If you want to be featured in the next round of listener questions, drop your thoughtful comments on YouTube or InsideEVs.com. 

Read some of our related stories:

SpaceX Bought Nearly 20% Of Tesla Cybertrucks Sold In Q4

https://insideevs.com/news/793205/tesla-spacex-cybertruck-20-sales/ 

2027 BMW iX3 Review: BMW Is Back

https://insideevs.com/reviews/793046/bmw-ix3-review-neue-klasse/ 

The Rivian R2 Launches At $57,990 With 330 Miles Of Range

https://insideevs.com/news/789597/rivian-r2-launch-pricing-specs-2026/ 

Check out InsideEVs for the latest future of transportation news and find us online:
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