Opinion

For years, Tesla Powerwall has been the go-to recommendation for “normals” looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first home solar and battery backup solutions. Its CEO’s recent involvement in controversial politics, however, means that people are now distancing themselves from the once-trailblazing company. It begs the question: what other home solar battery solutions are there?

UPDATE 18OCT2025: added a new, American brand choice.

Utilities, state governments, and private developers are racing to roll out faster, more powerful EV chargers. At the same time, automakers and tech giants across the globe are pouring billions into R&D to develop batteries that can take ever-higher levels of power. But what if there’s a better, easier, cheaper, and more effective way to cut emissions?

What if, instead of faster chargers, we pushed for SLOWER gas pumps?

Yesterday, we attended a special owners event for the Chevy Bolt, unveiling all the changes for the new iteration of one of our favorite EVs out there.

And almost everything we heard there was good news. Almost.

This fall marks the 25th anniversary of the US launch of the first-gen Toyota Prius — a car that, arguably, has done more to more to shift the market away from fossil fuels than any other single vehicle (more on that in a minute). That means that, in many states, you can now get “antique” or “historic” plates for a modern hybrid.

If that sounds appealing to you, here’s what it might cost to keep that OG Prius on the road for many more years to come.

Daimler Truck AG CEO Karin Rådström hopped on LinkedIn today and dropped some absolutely wild pro-hydrogen talking points, using words like “emotional” and “inspiring” while making some pretty heady claims about the viability and economics of hydrogen. The rant is doubly embarrassing for another reason: the company’s hydrogen trucks are more than 100 million miles behind Volvo’s electric semis.

It’s a simple fact that SUVs and crossovers have out-Darwined the station wagon. And, sure – the taller driving position offers road presence, but when it comes to real-world utility, a proper long-roof wagon can hang with the best of them while offering Teutonic driving dynamics no SUV can match. All it would take to spark a wagon revival in the US is one sleek, solidly built, and affordable entry from a mainstream brand. And VW already has the perfect candidate waiting in the wings. Meet the Škoda Vision O (Passat badges not included).

In the past few weeks, Stellantis has shelved its self-driving program, dialed back its EV targets, and pulled the plug on hydrogen. At the same time, it’s dusted off its old-school V8 in a bid to generate some easy headlines. The Hemi’s done that, but with no clear bet on the technologies shaping the industry’s future, the question is unavoidable: does Stellantis still have one?

Chrysler parent company Stellantis is sinking billions on electric Jeeps and Chargers that no one wants, but the they’ve developed market-leading EVs in Europe, and this latest, £36,995 DS Automobiles No4 is exactly the sort of electric crossover that could rejuvenate the brand’s American prospects. The only question now is: why won’t they bring it here?

There you are, motoring along in your Volvo XC90 PHEV with the Pilot Assist engaged alongside a big 18-wheeler at a comfortable 70 mph cruise when the interstate starts to slowly sweep left. From the drivers’ seat, that semi on your right looks awfully close. As the steering wheel turns itself in your hand, you start to wonder if that truck’s a bit too close. The car isn’t doing anything wrong, but it’s too close for your comfort and you give the wheel a little nudge to hug the inside of the lane just a bit more.

These deeply personal preferences are tough to quantify, and highlight a simple fact about Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that the industry at-large hasn’t yet to come to terms with: when it comes to self-driving cars, one size does not fit all.

Tesla stock dropped over 50 points today, primarily in response to a very public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and convicted felon Donald Trump.

But, as we pointed out in November, this doesn’t have anything to do with company performance, and rather only reflects a change in the market’s expectation of potential benefit to Tesla from government corruption.

If our recent post about Tesla alternatives taught us anything, it’s that there aren’t enough mainstream electric sedan options in North America. It doesn’t have to be this way. GM has a proper, five-passenger electric sedan on sale today – and maybe it really should be a new electric Chevy Impala.

For years, Tesla has been the go-to EV recommendation for “normals” looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first electric cars. In light of questionable recalls and its CEO’s recent involvement in controversial politics, however, people are starting to distance themselves from the trailblazing company.

All that begs the question: what should we recommend to EV noobs now?

Republicans launched multiple attacks against EVs, clean air and American jobs this week, at the behest of the oil industry that funds them. These attacks won’t be successful, and EVs will continue to grow regardless, and inevitably take over for outdated gasoline vehicles.

However, these republican attacks on EVs will still have some effect: they will diminish the US auto industry globally, leading to job losses and surrendering one of the jewels in the crown of American industry to China, where there is no similar effort to destroy its own rapidly growing domestic EV industry.

After canceling the upcoming Airflow electric crossover and killing its popular 300 sedan, Chrysler only has one nameplate left in its lineup – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Stellantis already builds a full-size electric sedan that could prove to be a badge-engineered winner.

And, yes – it really should have been the new Chrysler 300. Meet the DS No. 8.

Big changes are hitting the US car market this week – but uncertainty bring opportunity, and few companies have less to lose and more to gain from 2025’s automotive turmoil than Nissan. With a new, enthusiastic CEO, interest from Foxconn and Honda, and a number of American manufacturing sites already in operation, Nissan has a chance – but the new LEAF is a snoozer, and they’ll have to do better if they want to survive.

The SGMW Wuling Hongguang EV offers Chinese car buyers five or seven-seat configurations, 300 km of range (that’s about 185 miles to you and me), and a $9,600 price tag – but it’s the 1000 km EREV version that would take the US by storm in 2025.

Context: this is an opinion/satire piece, so get that out of the way and have some fun.

In the past week, TSLA stock has increased by about one-third of its previous value. But this increase has had nothing to do with company performance, or even due to external factors like consumer tastes or beneficial changes in EV policy. Rather, the week’s speculation has come out of a simple desire to see Tesla become the benefit of government corruption.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who said he would stay on the sidelines during this election, will spend $45 million per month to elect Donald Trump, a presidential candidate who has repeatedly targeted EVs during his campaign and who has promised to end EV incentives in exchange for a billion dollars in bribes from the oil industry.

The US “Supreme” Court has just issued an opinion that would overturn Chevron v Natural Resources Defense Council, ensuring more government gridlock and casting activist judges in the place of career scientists to decide specific answers to some of the most crucial questions of the day, such as those related to climate emissions and other environmental issues.

Among many incredibly stupid opinions the court has issued recently, this is among the stupidest, and we’re going to go into why.

News came out on Friday that President Biden is set to quadruple tariffs on Chinese EVs to protect the US auto industry from the rapid growth of Chinese EV manufacturing.

But instead of just de facto banning the competition from giving Americans access to affordable hot new EVs, the US should instead try making affordable hot new EVs itself.

Republicans have introduced a bill to eliminate the US EV tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act, with the effect of slowing US progress on EV manufacturing, thus handing the lead in EV manufacturing to China.