Quick Charge

On today's completely predictable episode of Quick Charge, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the weather looks like it'll be too rough to show off his new "flying" Roadster 2.0 on October 1st, so he's pushing the reveal back another two weeks – but after 9 years of moving goal posts and broken promises, what's a few more weeks?

We've also got a review of the Tom Hanks classic The Money Pit, which may or may not be a reference to spending $250,000 on a car you've never driven, touched, or even seen – but which you might get to see in two weeks. Plus: the EU is delaying the vote to approve Full Self Driving (Supervised) until at least December, and y'all tell us who you think should be to blame when robotaxis crash into stuff.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show

SOME OF MY FAVORITE GEAR:

On today's pressing episode of Quick Charge, we challenge the notion that all press is good press by filling the void of information surrounding this week's Tesla Cybercab launch with a whole lot of bad news for the Full Self Driving brand.

This week's headlines have been full of bad news for Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self Driving brands, but the big questions are more about the broken promises made to the company's earliest believers – plus, Waymo racks up speeding tickets while IONNA slashes the cost of your electric road trips for Labor Day.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On today's hard-working episode of Quick Charge, we tip our collective hat to Apple CEO Tim Cook on his last day at work before taking a look at Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto's approach to the compact truck market, and ponder its chances against The House That Henry Built.

We've also got a pint-size powerhouse in the form of Waev's new Tiger Li-Ion airport tug that can tow more than 60,000 lbs., all day, every day, for nearly $20,000 per year less than the diesel competition.

Today’s episode is sponsored by GM Energy Pass, a new feature that simplifies your drive, from daily commutes to epic road trips. By bringing charging options together in one place, we make it easy for you to find charging stations and plug in your EV. Plus, you can access large public charging networks—bringing you peace of mind on every drive. Learn more at GM Energy.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On this second consecutive self-steering episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at how Tesla increased its national self-driving Robotaxi fleet by half with the stroke of a pen, and see how the company's autonomous deployments compare to the rest of the world's.

We've also got some news from autonomous freight and logistics experts Einride, who have Level 4 autonomous heavy trucks operating in Europe and, more recently, Ohio – but they're just scratching the surface, because China has literally THOUSANDS of fully autonomous ultra heavy haul trucks operating in mines, today.

You can check those out in the source articles linked, below, then let us know what you think how the hype stacks up against reality in the comments.

Today’s episode is sponsored by GM Energy Pass, a new feature that simplifies your drive, from daily commutes to epic road trips. By bringing charging options together in one place, we make it easy for you to find charging stations and plug in your EV. Plus, you can access large public charging networks—bringing you peace of mind on every drive. Learn more at GM Energy.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On today's self-steering episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at Waymo's westward expansion into 18 new California counties – a move the company believes will power it to more than one MILLION paid rides by the end of the year.

Waymo has won approval to expand its services in California to encompass all speeds, all zones, and all weather service for the majority of California's population. When considered alongside the rapid expansion of robotaxi inventory at the company's Mesa conversion facility, it sure does look like Waymo is scaling in a big, big way.

Today's episode is sponsored by GM Energy Pass, a new feature that simplifies your drive, from daily commutes to epic road trips. By bringing charging options together in one place, we make it easy for you to find charging stations and plug in your EV. Plus, you can access large public charging networks—bringing you peace of mind on every drive. Learn more at GM Energy.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On today's time-sensitive episode of Quick Charge, we revisit the idea that even a broken clock is right twice a day as we examine US President Donald Trump's takes on electric vehicles, range anxiety, highway road signs, and why he's absolutely right.

The Donald and I don't see eye-to-eye too often, but when he called range anxiety a disease at a Las Vegas political rally last week, he hit on something wasn't just true – but which was at the very root of the range anxiety phenomenon: visibility.

If you blinked (blunk?) and missed it, President Trump commented on the fact that you never almost see highway signs advertising electric vehicle charging. And while, sure – you might see that kind of thing in California or in the swankier parts of Austin or Scottsdale, you almost never see it on highway signs in what are dismissively referred to as "the flyover states," and that absolutely matters.

In this episode, I lay out my case for highway signs serving as the bedrock of American drivers' confidence in the petroleum-power infrastructure, and how a simple change in the way we look at highway signs could eliminate range anxiety forever.

Until that happens, though, there's GM Energy Pass – a new free offering technology that promises to make life easier for electric Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC drivers that eliminates the need to juggle apps and payment methods while simplifying the experience altogether. When you get to a participating station, just plug in your GM vehicle into an EV charging station and start charging immediately. You don’t have to pull out a phone or credit card or download a new app. You just Plug, and Charge – as it should be! Click here to find out more.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Original content from Electrek; images by Chargeway/Matt Teske, and KARE 11 Minneapolis.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On today's super simple episode of Quick Charge, we talk about GM's new Energy Pass, SpaceX's big bet on fossil fuels, and Tesla's long-promised Roadster set to arrive "real soon." Again. For what is nearly the tenth year in a row.

GM is offering two new technologies that promise to make life easier for electric Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC drivers. Called "Energy Pass" and "Plug and Charge," the pair eliminate the need to juggle apps and payment methods while simplifying the experience all together – when you get to a participating station, just plug in your GM vehicle into an EV charging station and start charging immediately. You don't have to pull out a phone or credit card or download a new app. You just plug, and charge – as it should be! Click here to find out more.

We also talk about SpaceX's decision to power its newest mega chip factory with fossil fuels, act sad about Megatron killing Jazz after I'd bought the car, and Tesla's design chief trying to sell Leno on the idea that his Tesla Roadster really actually very much is coming "soon."

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On today's brain-addled episode of Quick Charge, President Trump says electric car drivers have a disease, Full Self Driving won't stop earning Tesla drivers tickets, and Waymo's CEO spends over forty minutes explaining why Tesla's tech won't ever beat a human driver.

Despite being riddled with factual inaccuracies about fake gas bans, nonexistent EV mandates, and claims that Elon was against the very thing that he spent $250 million lobbying for, President Trump's Red Rock rally speech absolutely nailed a very real truth about America's electric vehicle chrging infrastructure: it's pretty much invisible.

You can check out what that means, and why I think it matters for America's mainstream dream of electric vehicle adoption by pressing play, then let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

On today's episode of Quick Charge, the audio is sketchy but the math is absolutely rock solid with 94% of current EV owners saying they'll NEVER go back to driving an antiquated gas guzzler. CDK's David Thomas walks us through the findings.

From dealership interactions to daily driving habits, CDK's research taps real EV drivers to uncover how behavior, expectations, and satisfaction vary across different ownership scenarios. With access to thousands of auto deals and an in-depth view of what drives today’s EV buyers, this study can help all EV stakeholders get more insight into what EV buyers value most, and how the auto industry must improve to meet their needs.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

Full autonomy, big delivery numbers, and a push towards electrification that's moving global markets? We must be talking about electric forklifts! On today's uplifting episode of Quick Charge, we've got Big Joe CMO Martin Boyd here to walk us through some of the ways these battery powered equipment assets are making all our lives better.

Forklifts might not be the first vehicles that come to mind when you think about EVs, but they may be one of the industry's biggest success stories. Electric forklifts are quieter, smoother, and produce zero tailpipe emissions, making them ideal for warehouses, factories, and other indoor spaces where diesel or propane exhaust simply isn't an option.

One of the leading voices in that space is Big Joe, who specialize in both electric forklifts and trainable, autonomous material handling solutions that promise lower costs, more efficient operations, and increased safety.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage podcast series.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at [email protected]. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.