Electrek

Code buried in Tesla’s latest iOS app update points to a new feature that would use the in-car cabin camera to verify a driver’s identity before allowing “Full Self-Driving” to activate.

If the system can’t confirm the person behind the wheel matches an authorized profile, it would block FSD and surface a failure message in the app.

Kia is trading in its flagship sedan after 14 years to focus on smaller, more affordable electric vehicles.

Tesla is ramping up production of the Cybercab at Giga Texas, with more than 100 of the steering-wheel-less two-seaters already spotted in the factory’s outbound lots.

The problem is that Tesla can’t sell it to you, and it can’t yet drive itself without a human watching — which raises the obvious question of why Tesla is building the car at all right now.

Today’s 9to5Toys Green Deals is headlined by the 1/4-acre Worx Landroid robot lawn mower at more than $410 off, the new Anker SOLIX S2000 at nearly 50% off, as well as Autel’s MaxiCharger AC Pro level 2 charger down at $909. That’s just a few of the things you’ll find below, so keep on reading to fully catch up.

Head below for other Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek‘s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

GM halted shipments and issued a recall for nearly 15,000 Cadillac Vistiq SUVs. The recall is due to faulty third-row seats that could trap passengers, similar to the issue with the Hyundai Palisade.

For some companies, the budget e-bike market has become a race to cram as many headline-worthy specs as possible into a bike without crossing the psychologically important $1,000 mark. Bigger motors, bigger batteries, higher speeds, full suspension – they’re all showing up on bikes that would have sounded impossible at this price just a few years ago.

The new Jasion Hunter Pro is the latest entrant into that category, promising an 1,800W peak motor, a 720 Wh battery, hydraulic brakes, full suspension, folding frame, and Class 3 speeds, all for just $999.

The IONIQ 5 is one of the most popular EVs right now outside of Tesla, and now Hyundai’s three-row electric SUV is finding its niche.

The Seal 08 boasts “the power of a million-dollar vehicle,” but can be bought for under $30,000 in China. After it went on sale last week, locked-in orders for BYD’s new flagship electric sedan reached around 65,000 in its first 30 hours.

A Tesla driver was filmed apparently fast asleep behind the wheel at about 100 km/h on British Columbia’s Trans-Canada Highway on Sunday, with two sleeping children in the car.

The obvious question is how Tesla’s driver monitoring — the very system meant to catch this — let it happen. The answer is that the driver was wearing large sunglasses, and that one detail exposes a real gap in how Tesla watches its drivers.

Boeing-backed eVTOL startup Wisk Aero is being sued by a former employee who claims they were fired for reporting that the software behind the autonomous air taxi service had failed to meet basic aviation software testing requirements.

I’ve spent countless hours here at Electrek doing detailed hands-on testing of hundreds of electric bikes. Through thousands of miles of riding, I’ve been fortunate to learn these e-bikes inside and out, top to bottom and front to back. That long-term experience with real-world e-bike testing has helped me find the best electric bicycles on the market for just about any budget.

Below are some of the top e-bikes I’ve hand-tested for every price range, current as of July 2026. With summer already on us, it’s a great time to be in the saddle and out there riding! Check out the awesome e-bikes below, any one of which could become your next electric bike.

As last week’s relentless heat wave strained power grids, critics feared that the record number of electric vehicles on the push them over the edge. Instead, the opposite happened: EVs helped utilities keep the lights on and the AC running by feeding the electricity stored in their batteries back into the grid.

It’s been a year since this piece on home batteries becoming one of the most important tools we have for keeping the lights on during hurricanes, heat waves, and other extreme weather events was published. Since then, the case for VPPs has only gotten stronger, with more utilities than ever putting big money behind distributed batteries and virtual power plants to keep the grid stable during periods of record energy demands.

Kalmar began building its 45-ton ERG450 electric reach stackers at a Shanghai manufacturing plant back in 2023, aiming to bring heavy-duty cargo handler closer to potential customers across the Asian market. That investment appears to be paying off, with the company announcing four new orders from to close out Q2.

The CATL-backed Choco-SEB battery swap network deployed its 2,000th swapping station June 30th, wrapping up another month of incredibly rapid growth that’s seen the company average more than 200 deployments in each and every month of 2026. (!)

GM raised plenty of eyebrows when it announced that its resurrected 2027 Chevrolet Bolt – one of the lowest-priced, most capable new EVs in North America – would only be built for a single model year. Despite the limited-time offer and solid sales, dealers are still sitting on 118 days’ of inventory, far more than the 60-day supply the industry considers healthy. That begs the question: did GM overestimate demand, or is this all part of the plan?

The Washington, DC, metro area is getting its first en-route overhead pantograph electric bus chargers.

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the launch of the Tesla Model YL, BMW iX5, and EV sales results for the second quarter.

The IONIQ 5 is steadily carving out a spot among the most popular EVs in the US. Hyundai moved over 20,000 IONIQ 5s in the first half of 2026, putting it ahead of much of the pack.

The Volkswagen ID. Tiguan is expected to debut later this year, bringing much more than just a new look and name.

It’s now July, which means schools from around the world are making final preparations for the Electrek American Solar Challenge 2026, and this year is going to be an especially notable one! A record 42 teams from colleges in the US, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands are registered to compete in the Formula Sun Grand Prix pre-qualifier track event in less than two weeks.

This is a big deal for teams. Apart from FSGP being a competition in its own right, it’s the opportunity for students to prove their hand-built solar car has what it takes to hit the open road and trek 1,500+ miles across the United States for the renowned American Solar Challenge.

Here’s everything you need to know about both competitions, the teams, and the schedule.

British battery-electric vehicle registrations jumped 38% in June to 64,440 units, pushing EVs to nearly 30% of the new car market — their strongest monthly performance outside seasonal peaks, according to New AutoMotive data released Friday.

The overall market grew 15% year-over-year to 215,921 units, but EVs did the heavy lifting, and Tesla posted a 42% rebound that signals it may finally be climbing off the floor in Europe.

We’re ending this week with a special 4th of July Green Deals edition, led by the Bluetti Summer Power Sale on power stations that benefits from two of our exclusive bonus savings codes, including the ongoing low price for the new FridgePower Station + bundles starting from $807, among others. Right behind it we have Hiboy’s July 4th EV Sale with up to 58% discounts on e-scooters and e-bikes, including the restocked EX11 Full Suspension Electric Bike at its $1,300 low, as well as the final EcoFlow extended Prime Day flash sale lineup from $1,149, and a bunch of our favorite ongoing holiday promotional savings, too! Of course, there are also all the hangover deals we’ve collected at the bottom of the page for you, like yesterday’s Velotric and Heybike 4th of July e-bike sales, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

The PV5 is proving again why it’s the ultimate people mover. Kia converted its electric van into an off-grid racing simulator rig with a massive 55″ screen.