TEN 587 | DOJ Sides With Musk Over Pollution, Telo’s Big Update, Record Year For EVs

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Today’s show is sponsored by the Electric Vehicle Association. Join up to support the electrification of transport today. And by CCAN Action Fund’s electric vehicle raffle for the planet. Buy your ticket today to support their mission to fight for cleaner air and a healthier environment, and get three chances to win a brand-new EV with every ticket. And by EnergySage — plan your own energy independence and insulate yourself from rising energy costs. And by you. Stick around to find out how to keep us 100% independent.

Welcome back to another episode of TEN — Transport Evolved News. Thanks for joining me. I hope you are safe, well, and with someone you care about, who also cares for you.

The automotive world is full of oversized, overpriced pickups, so our first story is a welcome update on one of the two trucks challenging the idea that bigger is better: the Mini-Cooper-sized Telo MT1. This week, the firm exited an unusually quiet period spent completing impact and crash testing. With that done, Telo confirmed a partnership with Michigan’s Schwab Industries, which will produce the MT1’s body-in-white. CEO Jason Marks says more news is coming soon, but didn’t confirm final assembly or a build date. Telo did confirm the MT1 comes standard with a split 400-volt battery pack, letting it charge at both 400- and 800-volt stations. While Telo’s site still promises a 20-80% charge in 20 minutes, the new announcement floated sustained rates of up to 400 kilowatts, so if that holds in the real world, charging will be blisteringly quick.

One of the last bastions of the performance sedan, BMW has been working on its electric M3 for a while, and this week debuted the BMW M Concept Neue Klasse, revealed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s among the most powerful BMWs yet, and previews the production electric M3, due shortly. BMW is vague on some specs, but confirmed a quad-motor setup — one per wheel — and an 800-volt battery pack with over 100 kilowatt-hours capacity, built using specially tweaked, M-specific cylindrical cells for high power density and repeated high charge rates. Also new for BMW, the structural battery pack is integrated with both the front and rear axle, aiding chassis stiffness while cutting weight. We know from previous videos that BMW engineers and board members have been blown away, so let’s hope they let us drive it soon.

New Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data suggests May’s EV sales kept growing year-over-year around the globe, with 1.8 million new EVs registered. While the overall picture is good — global growth is 3% year-over-year and 7% month-over-month — North America’s market is down 26% year-over-year, while China’s fell 9%, though it still made up over one-half of all EVs sold. Happily, Europe and the rest of the world offset both declines, with year-to-date figures now at 7.5 million EVs. That optimism carries into Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s latest Electric Vehicle Outlook, which expects over 23 million new EVs sold by year’s end, up 11% on 2025, with over one-quarter of new cars all electric. That said, it is less rosy than before, caused — in my words, and not theirs — by the US federal government’s war on EVs.

I drive a lot of different vehicles for this job, and when it comes to performance cars, the Porsche Taycan is one of the best prestige performance EVs out there. And if you’re curious, the Kia EV6 GT is my all-time favorite performance EV. Part of what makes the Taycan so good is its devotion to road manners, power delivery, and seemingly never-ending grip. But this week, we learned Porsche is updating the 2027 Taycan in a way that eliminates some of that smoothness: E-Shift with virtual gears, a simulated rev counter, and faux engine noises. As other outlets noted, it’ll likely make the car slower and less refined to drive quickly, but happily, it’s user-configurable. More important to note, though, is the fact that NACS now comes as standard for DC fast charging in North America, though the driver’s-side AC port stays at J1772 — and the larger Performance Battery Plus pack is now standard across all models.

Regulars will know that we are vocal right-to-repair advocates who think everyone deserves to fix their own things, and we do everything we can to encourage you to learn, so keep your eyes peeled for a DIY video early next week. But as the Detroit Free Press reported this week, Ford and GM might disagree. Executives from Ford, GM, and Penske met at the White House earlier this month, and according to President Trump, the talks touched on a bill that would stop people from fixing their cars. The details stay vague, though Ford confirmed that Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model e, attended. Then Ford CEO Jim Farley made things worse. Speaking to the Free Press at an auto-technician training event, of all places, he argued that modern cars are too complex for enthusiasts to repair safely, even as he backs wrenching on older ones. He said DIY was fine except for warranty work, which is odd, since warranty repairs are free at the dealer anyway.

Sending things through the mail is one of the most traditional ways to get messages from one person to another, and in the digital age, it is often overlooked. But that doesn’t mean the world’s postal services are stuck in the past, and as regulars will know, we regularly cover delivery fleets transitioning to electric, from two-wheelers in Australia to HGVs in the UK, and more recently, An Post’s massive reduction in CO2 from its EV shift. This week, Austria’s national postal service, Österreichische Post AG, celebrated switching its Vienna fleet to all-electric, becoming Europe’s largest metropolitan area with a completely CO2-free postal service. To mark the milestone, an official event took place with Austrian native and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The transition is the result of a 32-million-euro investment by the company, and will serve as a model for future electric postal services across the nation.

BMW posted more teasers this week for its upcoming X5 SUV, a vehicle that will be available in multiple drivetrains, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell. In addition to detailing its new SAE Level 2 driver assistance system, BMW confirmed that the BMW iX5 60 xDrive, the range-topping electric variant of the X5, will come with a truly massive 800-volt battery pack with a usable capacity of 141 kWh in Europe and 144 kWh in North America. That’s larger than the 131 kWh of the now-discontinued Ford F-150 Lightning, and larger than most other EVs on the market today. BMW hasn’t given a range figure, but Electrek predicted this week it could top 500 miles — 805 kilometers — with careful driving, well beyond the normal bladder limit of a standard-issue human. And while that might convince skeptics to go electric, it does nothing to curb the pandemic of oversized, overweight EVs on our roads.

For some time, the UK, despite some of its other challenges and poor decision-making of late, has been making meaningful progress towards a transition to electric vehicles. But this week, we learned it’s reportedly about to abandon its plan requiring 80% of new cars sold to be electric by 2030, replacing it with a target that could be as low as 50%. The history is messy. Boris Johnson originally set a 2030 petrol and diesel ban, then Rishi Sunak pushed it to 2035, then Labour restored it, with the mandate topping out at 80% EV by 2030. But now embattled Prime Minister Starmer — facing backbench pressure and calls to resign, and amid heavy auto industry lobbying — looks about to cave. Last year, UK EV sales hit nearly a quarter of all new cars, so shifting the goalposts yet again is a poor choice. But then, the UK seems hell-bent on letting industry pressure push it into poor decisions that affect everyone.

I’m afraid the last two stories of this segment aren’t great if you are a fan of clean energy, because they do show the enshittification of the energy industry clearly. First, the US Department of the Interior announced a new deal with Invenergy that will see it terminate four of its offshore wind leases in exchange for a refund from the federal government totaling US$765 million. In its place, it will commit to new gas-powered plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, plus geothermal plants in western states. A bunch of misinformation accompanied the official press release, but it’s stuff we can see through: wind doesn’t work, isn’t reliable, etc., etc., etc. And if that wasn’t enough, Reuters reported last week that Shell is reportedly looking to sell off its wind farm assets in the US in a deal worth more than US$1 billion. We can all guess who’s calling the shots there.

Which brings me to the story most likely to get me death threats, because whenever I discuss this guy, the hate comes rolling in. As Elon Musk — often held up as the savior of the human race by his fans, and for years by EV drivers in general — has drifted ever further right, so has his approach to emissions. Add in environmental violations at Tesla and SpaceX facilities, plus his rockets and his private jet use, and it’s pretty grim. And this week he hit a new low. The US Department of Justice went into federal court on Musk’s behalf to get a Clean Air Act case against xAI, brought by the NAACP, thrown out. The facts are fairly simple. xAI is running 27 gas turbines without permits or pollution controls just over the Tennessee state line in Southaven, Mississippi, to power its Colossus data centers in Memphis, Tennessee. And they are likely now the single largest source of smog-forming pollution in a region with some of the worst asthma rates in the nation. The DOJ’s argument for throwing out the case against xAI? That making xAI follow the rules would threaten national, economic, and energy security. Yeah — the same argument used to kill wind farms is now defending heavy pollution. And worth sitting with is the fact that Musk spent over 250 million dollars getting the President re-elected, and the DOJ is now in court shielding his data center from environmental protection law. If you are watching this and are still making excuses for him, you’re probably someone pointing at your hat and asking, “Are we the baddies?”

Our recall reminders are next, but first, for several weeks now I’ve been telling you about the amazing EV raffle organized by our non-profit friends at the CCAN Action Fund. And not only is it an opportunity to get three chances to win a brand-new electric vehicle with every ticket, it’s a great opportunity to support a non-profit working to hold major fossil fuel polluters accountable for the climate crisis. We are now more than halfway through the raffle period, and there are still thousands of tickets left unsold. And as I just hinted, each ticket gets you not one, not two, but three chances to win a really great selection of some of the best EVs on the market today. The math is pretty simple: with fewer people buying tickets, your individual chances of winning are increased, especially with three potential chances to win per ticket. The first prize winner will build their own luxury Rivian, Lucid, or Porsche EV of up to 115 thousand dollars in value. Second prize will choose between the Rivian R2, Volkswagen ID. Buzz, or Hyundai Ioniq. And the third prize winner will win a Chevrolet Bolt. Tickets — every dollar supports the CCAN Action Fund’s work to shift the rising cost of climate-related disasters, like increased intensity of floods and wildfires, away from everyday people like you and I, and onto the largest, dirtiest energy polluters. And given some of the stories we’ve covered this week, I think you’ll agree we need amazing non-profits like the CCAN Action Fund. There are still plenty of tickets left, but time is running out, so to grab your tickets and support this amazing non-profit, head over to www.evraffle.org — that’s EV raffle dot org — or find the link in our show notes, or point your smart device at the on-screen QR code right here. Good luck.

And now it’s time for our recall reminders. This week, we’ve got multiple emails from NHTSA, some with week-old recalls in them. Oh joy. The Honda CR-V fuel cell plug-in hybrid is among several Honda models being recalled for a tire repair bottle cap that can become a projectile while being used. And apparently, FCV recalls are like buses, because the Toyota Mirai is among a number of Toyota vehicles recalled this week for an instrument panel display fault. Owners will be notified. International Motors is recalling some eVSB models for the second week in a row, this time to address a drive motor bolt that could come loose, causing a loss of power. And finally for the recalls, Waymo is recalling 3,800 robo-taxis after discovering its cars were failing to identify construction zones, leading them to behave like every other freaking driver and ignore posted speed limits, putting road workers at risk. And those are our recall reminders.

Now it’s time for our news shorts. As usual, you’ll find full links on our website at transportevolved.com.

Genesis has confirmed it’ll expand EV sales into four new countries next year — Austria, Denmark, Poland, and Portugal — after its Spanish launch late this year, reaching 11 European markets in total.

VinFast has signed a new deal in its home market of Vietnam, bringing up to 2,000 of its EVs to the Green SM ride-hail and taxi service via operator Huy Long.

A Reuters investigation accuses Tesla of giving European regulators misleading FSD safety data, including a comparison error inflating its safety claims threefold, though Dutch authorities say it didn’t affect approval.

BMW surprised many by opening the order books on Thursday for the new BMW i3, months ahead of planned schedule. BMW’s UK press portal published the First Edition from £57,905.

Rivian and ChargeScape have signed a partnership deal that will give Rivian owners the ability to enroll in smart charging programs, saving money and encouraging a greener grid.

UK-based firm Zenobē has secured £980 million in financing to help it accelerate the rollout of electric buses in both the UK and Ireland, funding 1,200 new electric buses.

Less than a week after launching the Rivian R2, Rivian has confirmed it’s laying off hundreds as it aims to narrow its losses. Less than 2% of its workforce are affected.

Renault Brazil has officially started production of the Geely EX2 EV for the domestic market. It’s the second model to be made by Renault Brazil for the Chinese automaker.

IAV and Nexperia have introduced the “ONE Inverter” concept. This concept is capable of bidirectional power transfer and utilizes gallium nitride and silicon carbide components to extract more power and energy from a given capacity battery pack.

Mercedes-Benz has officially begun production of its luxury VLE minivan. Marketed as having the luxury of an S-Class with the practicality of a minivan, its primary customers will be limousine fleets.

Stellantis has officially priced the e-208 GTi in several markets in Europe, including the UK. It will start in the UK from a highly competitive £34,995 in the hot-hatch segment.

Charging network Galp has successfully completed a new corridor of fast charging, connecting Porto to the Algarve in Portugal. In total, 20 megawatts of installed power exists on the network.

Škoda has published details of more than 1.5 million kilometers of road testing carried out on its soon-to-launch Škoda Peaq. The car’s premiere will take place next week.

Transport for London now has more than 3,000 electric buses in its fleet. According to the operator, the buses have saved an estimated 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Edenred will be purchasing The Mobility House’s fleet charging business. The sale, due in the third quarter, allows The Mobility House to focus on V2G as its core business.

CATL’s CEO stated this week that pure solid-state batteries in EVs are still several years away from mass adoption, with mass-market commercialization by 2030 unlikely.

Kyiv, Ukraine, is installing 6,500 new EV charging stations despite ongoing Russian aggression. EVs can be charged from various power sources, making them very versatile for war zones.

Fastned, in partnership with Places for London, has launched a 12-bay ultra-rapid EV charging station at Hatton Cross. It’s the first of 25 planned sites to open under the partnership.

XPeng has officially launched its X9 MPV in select European markets. Customers can now order one in Germany, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Croatia, Slovenia, and Hungary.

Renault and Continental have unveiled a new jointly developed EV tire with a 35% lower rolling resistance than the EU “A” rating. It’s claimed to offer significant range boosts per charge.

BYD has scaled up its battery production in Brazil as part of a significant investment into the region. BYD aims to reach 50% local content in its Brazilian-made EVs by next year.

German parts company Autohelden plans to start importing various Chinese EVs, including Xiaomi, Zeekr, and XPeng, directly into the EU. Other firms are also planning similar import services.

Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, India, has introduced its first five electric buses thanks to the Indian government’s nationwide PM e-Bus Sewa scheme.

Researchers at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg in Germany have used recycled tire particles to reduce noise and vibration in EV power electronics, making EV travel even quieter.

Nissan is rebranding its Chinese-market N7 EV for the Philippines, where it will be known as the Primera EV. It will be sold alongside the new Nissan Navara plug-in hybrid.

Microlino is going to court in Switzerland to argue for equal treatment with full-size EVs under CO2 fleet rules, since its bubble cars currently don’t classify as fully-fledged EVs.

California’s transportation department, Caltrans, has ordered another 524 Rivian vehicles for its fleet. Once delivered, it will operate nearly 1,000 Rivian-made vehicles in its maintenance fleet.

Chinese firm Bontu is bringing three all-electric quadricycles to Europe: the BTE05 and BTE09 microcars, and the BTE03 electric truck — which is heccing cute.

Norwegian maritime investment group Eitzen is building two new all-electric container vessels with a Chinese shipbuilder. They’re due to arrive in the region in the next three years.

BP Pulse has announced a loyalty program with IAG Loyalty, letting UK customers collect points while charging. And as the late Bruce Forsyth used to say, points mean prizes!

Xiaomi has unveiled a home robotic arm for plugging in your EV, more than a decade after Tesla promised such a product but never commercialized it.

Swedish company ElonRoad — no relation to Elon Musk — has added a second electric terminal tractor to its conductive charging-rail program at the Kalmar Innovation Centre. It works like a giant slot car.

Nio has officially updated the Champion Edition versions of its ET5, ET5 Touring, and EC6, adding 100 kilowatt-hour batteries and some notable performance tweaks.

Scania has signed a deal with transport firm Wibax to supply 105 all-electric trucks for haulage duties across Europe. The two firms have worked together on EVs since 2022.

The Swiss government has approved a Level 4 autonomous driving permit for AmiGo, a service run by Baidu’s Apollo Go and Swiss PostBus.

A US District Court judge has overturned the IRS’s attempt to scrap the 5% safe-harbor rule, which let solar projects that started construction before the tax credit expiry still claim some credits, even if completed afterwards.

A cottage industry is growing on Chinese e-commerce platforms selling fake heads designed to trick Tesla’s FSD system into thinking drivers are paying attention when they’re not.

New S&P Global Mobility data shows Toyota’s US EV registrations soared 225% in April, outselling BMW, Kia, Honda, Nissan, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Volvo for that month.

Ford has begun producing low-cost LFP battery cells for its future universal EV platform, including the yet-to-launch US$30,000 pickup currently in testing.

BYD has officially opened orders for its Great Tang SUV in China, already hitting 150,000 pre-orders, helped by a starting price equivalent to around US$35,500.

Lucid has registered the design of its Cosmos crossover with the EU’s IP office, giving the first proper look at its next EV. It targets 300 miles of range from a 69 kWh battery.

The Port of Vancouver in Canada has launched an electric semi-truck pilot using Peterbilt 579 EV Class 8 trucks for drayage duties.

Honda and QuantumScape have announced a partnership to accelerate development of QuantumScape’s solid-state battery for future EVs.

Austrian battery diagnostics specialist Aviloo has announced a new warranty pledge. If a tested vehicle’s battery falls below its calculated limit, the owner gets up to €3,000 in compensation.

And finally for the news shorts, Candela has launched its most luxurious vehicle yet, the P-12 hydrofoil. Aimed at luxury resorts and the hyper-wealthy, the P-12 Voyager is built bespoke to customer specs.

And those are your news shorts — there will be more next week.

Our final two stories are coming right up, but first, a word on how we do what we do. Transport Evolved has been around for 15 years, and we’ve always believed that good information should be free — not paywalled, not driven by advertorials, and not beholden to anyone with a checkbook. That hasn’t changed, but what has changed is the financial landscape around us. YouTube ad revenue no longer covers our costs, and like a lot of indie creators, we’re feeling the squeeze. This month, that squeeze got a little tighter, as my partner, Kate, was laid off as part of a “corporate restructuring,” and as a small team where every dollar counts, that has a very real impact on what we’re able to do here. Kate’s income paid our household bills, and with that gone, I need to start pulling a salary from TE, but we can’t do that without a substantial increase in income. I hope, if able, you’ll consider helping us on that path — from $1.50 a month, making a one-off donation, or by visiting our swag store. Or perhaps, if you’re in the US, you’d consider using one of our long-time channel sponsors, EnergySage. They’re a great way to get trustworthy, verified solar experts helping you navigate the often complex process of getting solar panels for your own home — I personally used them for my own home, so I can vouch for their awesomeness. And if you choose them — whether for solar panels, a heat pump, or just to join a local community solar program, which is perfect for renters — we’ll receive a small referral fee. Supporting us would really mean a lot, and you could also be weaning off big energy bills at the same time. However you do it, thanks for your continued support.

And now it’s time for our final two stories.

We’ve covered the plethora of e-bike rules, and in the US alone, things are equally complex between different states. This week, New Jersey — due to implement new rules on July 19th, requiring all e-bikes be registered and riders licensed — is seeing a rising backlash. In just a few weeks, several thousand letters have been sent to the state opposing the rule, with advocates saying it’s created confusion and fear among riders, and even the state is unsure about enforcement. Meanwhile, in neighboring Washington, just down the road from me, reporting on tweaked e-bike rules is causing panic, with local outlets claiming they make Class 3 e-bikes legally motorcycles. But that’s not the case. The change simply clarified ambiguity over throttle use. If a bike with a throttle alone can hit 20 miles per hour, it’s not allowed. But an e-bicycle with pedal assist is still legal to that very same speed.

And finally, as one of the world’s quickest-charging vehicles, the new Denza Z9 GT from BYD is already proving popular in its launch market thanks to its range, recharging speed, and onboard tech. But to show just how versatile it is, BYD has waved off a brand-new Z9 GT on a 43-day, 9,300-mile road trip from Rome to Hong Kong. Called the Marco Polo Drive, it’ll be driven by Patrick Zhong, founding managing partner of M31 Capital, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development. The Z9 GT can manage more than 600 miles on the CLTC cycle, so some back-of-the-napkin maths suggests it should only need to charge around 16 times to reach its destination. But as with all long-distance travel, plenty of unknowns lie ahead. I hope the car and its occupants arrive in one piece, and good luck to all involved.

And on that note, we’re done for today’s show. But first, a massive thank you to the Electric Vehicle Association for sponsoring us. The EVA has been around since 1967 and is firmly committed to a cleaner, greener future for everyone. Join the EVA today, become an EV educator, and find ways to accelerate electric. If you haven’t made the switch yet, head over to myeva.org for more info. And thanks go to CCAN Action Fund. Tickets are just two hundred dollars, only ten thousand are being sold, and each ticket gets you three chances to win a brand-new EV. So don’t hang about. Grab your ticket today at EVRaffle.org. And thanks as well go to EnergySage. Follow the link below to start planning your energy-independent future today.

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Finally, you matter. You’re important. And while you might not always feel it, your voice and actions are important. I know it’s hard in a world filled with hate to feel like you have a place, but I want you to know that you do have one. The fact that you are here watching this means a lot to both myself and the team, and we are so very grateful that you are here, and that you are you. The world is scary right now. The news headlines are almost too much to bear at times. But remember that even the strongest people need time to reset — so do not be afraid to do that. Don’t be afraid to speak your truth. Take your time, listen to your own heart, and progress the world. And that world that we can build together is much stronger when we all have a voice, when we all listen, and when everyone is welcome. A cleaner, greener, safer, smarter, and more equitable world must be one rooted in justice, fairness, and a shared goal. So until next time, be your authentic self — whoever you are, wherever you are, and whoever you love. You are all part of this wonderful journey we are on together. As always, keep evolving.