Automotive

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 Tesla Roadster delay, EV deliveries in the US, battery swap coming back, and more. The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

The world’s tallest wind turbine has reached its full height in Germany, and its developer says the extra altitude could roughly double its electricity output. GICON‘s pilot turbine in Schipkau, eastern Germany, stands 365 meters (1,197 feet) tall, including its blades. That makes it Germany’s second-tallest structure, behind Berlin’s TV tower. Its rotor hub sits 300 meters (984 feet) above the ground.

We’re closing out this week with another jam-packed early fall Prime Day deals edition, starting with the Yozma IN 10 Pro Electric Dirt Bike back at its exclusive $1,699 low, while the IN 10 Electric Mini Dirt Bike is down at $999. Right behind that are EcoFlow’s 192Wh and 288Wh TRAIL 200 and 300 Power Station deals starting from $109, as well as Bluetti’s 288Wh Elite 30 V2 Power Station at an exclusive $237.50. We also have Worx’s 13A Electric Leaf Mulcher back at a $125 2026 low, as well as a 40V Greenworks mower and blower combo annual low, solar pathway lights, a collection of permanent outdoor smart lighting deals, a portable projector that pairs well with power stations, and much more waiting for you below. You can also find the hangover deals from across this week down at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s up to $905 Tenways e-bike savings, the 2,048Wh Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 power station at $900, 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.

UK EV sales hit a new all-time record in September. The country registered 99,199 battery-electric cars last month, up 36.3% from a year ago and good for 28.3% of the market, according to preliminary data released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Tesla’s Model 3 was the best-selling EV and the second best-selling car overall. And yet the auto industry’s own lobby group is using the record month to argue that the UK’s EV targets are too hard.

Mercedes-Benz is revamping its electric vehicle lineup. The new CLA and GLB are now on sale, while a few EVs are on the way out in 2027. Out with the old, in with the new. Mercedes is discontinuing two electric vehicles and another plug-in hybrid from its US lineup in 2027.

A coalition of environmental groups has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Transportation’s moves to lower fuel economy standards, which the Department of Energy says will increase gas prices by 76 cents a gallon. Since the 1970s, the US government has had various rules that guide auto manufacturers to make and sell more efficient vehicles.

Tesla sold 486,532 electric vehicles during the third quarter of 2026. That’s a 2.1 percent decrease on the same quarter in 2025, when the company found homes for 497,099 EVs, and one might think that would be bad news for a company valued on the premise of near-constant growth. But Tesla stock is up this morning; the year-over-year numbers might look bad, but the company still exceeded analysts’ expectations of 456,600 cars, which would have been a larger 8 percent year-on-year decline

The Ford Fathom is set to go on sale in early 2027, starting at about $30,000. Meanwhile, Ford’s US EV sales dropped 80% in the third quarter. Ford’s EV sales fall 80% as Fathom launch nears

Tesla says its new “Emergency Drive Away” feature can do up to $25,000 in damage to a Supercharger every time someone uses it, and the car needs a mandatory service visit too. Tesla has since released more details about the feature in response to owner questions. But Tesla hasn’t said who gets that bill.

Kia is crushing it in Europe with a full lineup of electric vehicles, ranging from entry-level models to the three-row flagship SUV. Thanks to its new EVs, Kia is now Europe’s fastest-growing top 10 passenger car brand this year. Europe’s fastest-growing legacy auto brand is… Kia?

Tesla (TSLA) delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, down 2.1% from the record 497,099 it delivered in the same quarter last year. That’s still about 25,000 more than Wall Street expected, with the consensus at 461,974 deliveries. Tesla also delivered about 22,000 more vehicles than it built.

Rivian posted its third-quarter production and delivery numbers this morning and, with the R2, remains on track to meet its annual targets despite some headwinds across the US electric vehicle sector. Rivian’s 2026 production and delivery output has accelerated steadily through the year as it now ramps up R2 production:

There are cheap e-bikes, and there are good mid-drive e-bikes. Those two circles on the Venn diagram don’t overlap nearly as often as we’d like. But Ride1Up’s newly launched Prodigy V2 Eco is doing its best to smash them together with a surprisingly low $1,295 price tag. And this isn’t a $1,300 bike with some no-name mid-drive motor you’ve never heard of. At the heart of the Prodigy V2 Eco is a German-made Brose TF Sprinter mid-drive motor pumping out 90 Nm of torque, paired with a 504 Wh battery using Samsung cells.

Tesla is now putting its larger 16-inch center touchscreen in every Model 3 sold in the US, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, a day after it rolled out the same upgrade in China. The Model 3 Performance also gets a black headliner, 316 miles of range, and 528 hp, while the Premium AWD now does 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. But there’s still no word on the US Model 3 getting vehicle-to-load.

Tesla launched a new feature called “Emergency Drive Away” that lets drivers shift into Drive and leave while still plugged into a Supercharger. The update comes two months after a gunman shot three people in Teslas at a Supercharger station in Twin Falls, Idaho. And Tesla is limiting it to the US.

Californians who can’t install rooftop solar are getting another way to tap into the sunshine. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill opening the door to small plug-in solar, also known as balcony solar, alongside two laws designed to get more out of home energy devices and the grid California already has. All three were signed on September 30. For renters, apartment dwellers, and homeowners with unsuitable roofs, the most immediately relatable change is SB 868, state Senator Scott Wiener’s Plug and Play Solar Act.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is still one of the EVs Americans are buying the most, with more than 31,000 sold through September. Hyundai IONIQ 5 ranks among America’s top-selling EVs

“You may be driving by yourself, but that’s not your classic private environment,” Rouchitsas said. Rouchitsas said there are two prevalent use cases. The first is the content creator. “So you have OnlyFans, you have Pornhub, you have a very mature adult industry in the US. So opportunistic content creators that might perceive this Waymo or public shuttles as studios: very cheap, providing good lighting, soundproof—kind of,” Rouchitsas said. The other is tourists, who might not know local customs. “I come from Greece, and I also come from an island, so I know what tourist debauchery looks like, what young people tend to do when they’re given context-wise the chance to do so,” Rouchitsas said.