Quick Charge

On today's momentous episode of Quick Charge, we are all about momentum, with solid-state EV batteries gaining ground in China as wind and solar continuing to grow in the US while Tesla's self-driving Robotaxi fleet, well – doesn't. After some promising numbers in April, it looks like Tesla's Robotaxi fleet is shrinking in May, with the overall fleet apparently plummeting into the single digit range if the data is to be believed. We've also got a low-cost Chinese EV packing semi solid-state batteries that's in production TODAY, along with some good news from the wind and solar contingent. Today's episode is sponsored by GM Energy. If you want to experience more resilience and control over your home energy, the GM Energy Home System adds stationary battery power for always-ready backup energy for your home, and the GM Energy PowerBank takes in energy from the grid and stores it for when you need it most. Learn more at gmenergy.gm.com. Source Links Tesla ‘Robotaxi’ fleet is actually shrinking, not growing, new data shows This electric SUV with a semi-solid-state EV battery costs less than $15,000 in China Renewables’ installed capacity to beat natural gas by 2027 – EIA data Pine Point Schools cuts the ribbon on new, 2.7 MWh microgrid project 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 tips@electrek.co. 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 prancing episode of Quick Charge, the prancing horse people at Ferrari have released a world of firsts: the first-ever electric Ferrari, the brand's first 5 passenger sedan, AND the first car designed by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive. We also draw some parallels between the launch of the first-ever electric four-door Ferrari with the launch of the first-ever electric four-door Ford Mustang a few years ago, and a lot of the same hysterics are upset (for a lot of the same reasons). Plus: Cadillac is going south! Today’s episode is sponsored by GM Energy. If you want to experience more resilience and control over your home energy, the GM Energy Home System adds stationary battery power for always-ready backup energy for your home, and the GM Energy PowerBank takes in energy from the grid and stores it for when you need it most. Learn more at gmenergy.gm.com. Source Links Ferrari Luce first look: going where combustion can’t follow Ferrari Luce first look: let's take it in together Ferrari (RACE) stock plunges 6% on Luce EV backlash — don’t panic! The Mustang Mach-E Really is A Mustang, and Let's Not Pretend It Isn't Cadillac expands into Brazil as GM’s global ambitions and F1 plans converge Cadillac admits that after buying an EV, you don’t go back to gas as sales surpass 100K 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 tips@electrek.co. 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.

It's a question of who is actually delivering product and who is just delivering promises on today's delivery-heavy episode of Quick Charge! Is the tenth time a charm for Elon's FSD, or will Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli steal his self-driving thunder? We've also got some concerning news about Tesla's Actually Smart Summon app getting faster, a sneak peek at some upcoming affordable EVs from BMW, Stellantis, and Volvo, and a full interview discussing Amazon's multimillion dollar middle mile deal with Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli. Today's episode is sponsored by GM Energy. If you want to experience more resilience and control over your home energy, the GM Energy Home System adds stationary battery power for always-ready backup energy for your home, and the GM Energy PowerBank takes in energy from the grid and stores it for when you need it most. Learn more here. Source Links Musk says Tesla unsupervised FSD will be ‘widespread’ in the US by year-end — again Tesla increases Actually Smart Summon speed by 33% in new FSD update BMW has a plan to ‘keep the brand young’ — A cheaper EV Jeep maker reveals plans for a new ‘groundbreaking’ EV that will start at under $18,000 The Dodge Neon deserves a comeback – and Stellantis could do it tomorrow $10,000 Leapmotor A10 is the new-age Neon Stellantis needs in the US Amazon is deploying these massive cargo e-bikes for deliveries Amazon taps Einride to scale electric semi truck fleet capacity, NOW Forget Tesla hype — Einride begins public L4 autonomous electric semi operations Costco has a new stackable discount on the 2027 Chevy Bolt Yes, an EV really CAN power your home – if it’s one of these [update] 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 tips@electrek.co. 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.

Electric logistics firm Zeem Solutions celebrated some good reliability news at ACT Expo last week, after its commercial charging depot at LAX hit a huge milestone, surpassing 350,000 successful charging sessions as one of the highest-throughput charging facilities in the US. "What the 350,000-session milestone really measures is reliability at scale," says Rick Eckert, Vice President of Operations at Zeem Solutions. "Every one of those sessions represents a fleet vehicle that needed to get back on the road on time. The fact that we have been able to deliver that consistently, across an increasingly diverse set of vehicles and duty cycles, is what gives our customers the confidence to expand their electric fleets and gives us the confidence to invest in the next generation of depots." Zeem's message has consistently been that that reliability isn't just about making sure EV chargers work when you plug your car into them (and, for the record, Zeem's do, with the first 4 months of 2026 delivering more than 75,000 charging sessions and dispensing a whopping 3.2 million kWhs of electricity). To Zeem, reliability includes knowing the industries your customers work in and understanding what your partners need. To that end, Zeem is bringing an unprecedented level of operational expertise, with contracted and pre-scheduled charging sessions allowing Zeem to maintain a 98% charger uptime to accommodate a mix of light-duty, medium-duty, and class 8 vehicles on one site, while also providing 24/7/365 valets to rotate out charged units, perform visual inspections on fleet vehicles, and provide regular maintenance and as-needed repairs. Parking, security, and cleaning services are also included. "You learn a tremendous amount from 350,000 commercial charging sessions, and those lessons have shaped Zeem 2.0 as we bring our proven model directly to customer fleet sites," explains Paul Gioupis, Founder and CEO of Zeem Solutions. "Five years of operating commercial EV charging at scale has taught us what drives uptime, where execution matters most, and why reliability is non-negotiable. The future of transportation depends on infrastructure that performs every day in real-world fleet operations, and Zeem is delivering that today at scale." All of this charging has also shown a huge environmental impact, with the 350,000 EV charging session milestone avoiding an estimated 5.6 million kg of CO2 emissions – equivalent to burning 634,831 gallons of gasoline or powering more than 1,100 average US homes for a full year. Zeem plans to open charging depots to serve the SeaTac and Long Beach commercial fleet markets next, and is actively developing additional facilities nationwide to meet the needs of the growing electric vehicle fleet. We had a chance to sit down with Paul at last week's ACT Expo in Las Vegas, where we talked charging, maintenance, incentives, Tesla Semi, and a whole lot more as Zeem's Eastward expansion rolls on. Check it out, at top, then let us know what you think of Paul's plans in the comments. Or, if you prefer listening to interviews, check out the audio-only version, below. SOURCE | IMAGES: Zeem. 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.

As the average transaction price of a new car creeps towards $55,000, a coming wave of low mile, off-lease EVs with massive depreciation could help car dealers solve the affordability crisis, combat sticker shock, and move more units. CDK's David Thomas talks us through it on today's surprisingly affordable episode of Quick Charge. A tidal wave of EVs leased in the early-2020s is about to come back to dealers, with over 300,000 electric lease returns expected in 2026 alone, and many hundreds of thousands more every year thereafter just as used values fall and fuel prices climb. For dealers and buyers alike, that volatility could turn what looks like a resale disaster on paper into one of the biggest affordability opportunities the car market has seen in years. Source Links US average new car price tops $50k for the first time – here’s why Used Tesla prices rise 4% while rest of EV market drops after tax credit ends Forget what you’ve heard – leasing your car is almost ALWAYS the right move 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 tips@electrek.co. 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.