Tesla (TSLA) has started offering reduced interest rates on the new Model Y in the US — this equates to a direct discount on the brand new vehicle that was supposed to spark Tesla’s demand back.

The automaker has announced “1.99% APR or $0 Due at Signing available for well-qualified buyers” on the new Model Y in the US for the first time:

This amounts to a direct discount worth a few thousand dollars. It is the first widely available discount on the new Model Y coming just weeks after the cheaper non-Launch Edition launched in the US.

It follows a $2,000 direct discount that Tesla offered to early Model Y owners last week.

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These discounts and subsidized financing point to soft demand for the updated best-selling vehicle in the US. Tesla just delivered a disastrous first quarter, which it mostly blamed on the Model Y changeover, resulting in lower inventory.

However, industry watchers, including Electrek, noted many signs that the Model Y changeover was not the only issue. Tesla added significantly to its inventory in the first quarter, and the wait times for the new Model Y were extremely short.

Now, the discount weeks after launching the new Model Y confirm the soft demand in the US.

It’s not as bad as Europe and China, where Tesla has already been offering 0% financing on the new Model Y for weeks.

Electrek’s Take

I think it’s clear by now: the new Model Y is not coming to save Tesla.

Let’s be honest: It will still be a significant vehicle program by volume. It just won’t help Tesla return to growth this year.

The RWD Model Y is still coming and has a chance to help in the US. It is already available in China, and it’s not helping Tesla much there, but that’s in a hyper-competitive market, especially at lower prices where the RWD Model Y operates.

Tesla’s performance in Q2 in China will be interesting since it is basically back to its regular lineup for the whole quarter.

The US appears to have been Tesla’s least affected market, but Q3 will be the real test with the full lineup and no backlog of demand for new Model Y.

One of the largest electric bike brands in the US, Aventon, has recently shared several details about the company’s response to US tariffs on imported goods. The details reveal insight into how large e-bike makers are coping with the major disruption caused by the trade war launched by the Trump administration.

In a comprehensive post, Aventon covered the company’s response to several issues, from supply chain disruptions to manufacturing shifts to pricing policy.

Shift in manufacturing away from China

Like many e-bike brands, as Trump’s threats to cripple US imports from China grew, the company began focusing on alternative manufacturing locations. Despite being based in China and enjoying something of a home field advantage, the impact of potentially heavy tariffs threatened to offset the benefits of China’s lower-cost manufacturing and close proximity to the e-bike component supply chain.

Other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand are seen as prime locations to shift e-bike manufacturing outside of China. Ironically, many of the new bicycle factories opened in these countries are actually Chinese-owned, built as investments by the very factory owners who anticipated a manufacturing shift brought on by tariffs initiated during the first Trump administration and increasingly hostile American rhetoric towards China.

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However, moving manufacturing outside of China comes with increasing costs and complexities beyond mere labor and investment in local manufacturing expertise. “The lack of localized suppliers means critical parts (e.g., motors, batteries) still often come from China,” explained Aventon. “This creates a logistical puzzle: components are shipped to Southeast Asia for assembly, then transported to the U.S. This multi-step process adds 50+ days to shipment times compared to direct manufacturing in China.”

Pricing could still take a hit

While the tariffs on other countries pale in comparison to the current 170% tariffs on Chinese e-bikes (145% retaliatory tariffs on top of 25% Section 301 tariffs), there’s no guarantee that tariffs on e-bikes from countries like Vietnam and Thailand will remain comparatively low. The current tariff on e-bikes from countries other than China sits at a minimum of 10%, but those could rise this summer after a 90-day pause granted by the Trump administration ends without a new negotiated deal or backtrack from the administration.

Those tariffs, Aventon made clear, are not paid by the countries who produce the goods, but rather by the companies who import them, and then ultimately by American consumers. “Tariffs are paid by importers during customs clearance before products reach the U.S. soil. These costs typically trickle down to consumers through price adjustments,” Aventon explained.

For now, Aventon has committed to keeping costs as low as possible by absorbing the increase in costs. “In early 2025, we proactively shifted 100% of our production to Thailand, investing in factory partnerships by sending Aventon key stakeholders from the production, quality control, and industrial engineering teams. While this transition increased our manufacturing and logistics costs by 10-15%, we’ve chosen to absorb many of these expenses.”

The brand cited sensitivity to inflation in the US causing an increase in living costs as one of the key reasons it intends to absorb the current price increases, which Aventon says aligns with its long-term vision of “keeping electric bikes accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford premium pricing.”

Can e-bikes be produced in the US?

For its part, Aventon won’t be bringing production of its electric bikes to the US anytime soon, citing a lack of domestic supply for critical components and the heavy tariffs applied to those components.

However, the company doesn’t rule out the possibility for e-bike assembly to occur on a smaller scale if tariffs are lifted, potentially as a precursor to true manufacturing in the future.

“Unfortunately, there is no supply chain of e-bike components here in the US and all key components are imposed with significant tariffs coming from China. Having e-bikes made in the US is not practical unless the parts tariffs are lifted. Then assembly first, followed by key components manufacturing in the long run, is possible.”

Electrek’s Take

There are a few things to unpack here. First of all, Aventon is right. Electric bike manufacturing isn’t coming to the US. While the company correctly cited the lack of a domestic supply chain as a key issue, what they perhaps wisely left unsaid is that the world experts on building bicycles currently live in China. Unless someone is going to invest millions in infrastructure to build factories and then pay the millions more it will take to train and payroll a new bicycle-building workforce, then it just isn’t going to happen.

Yes, small-scale bicycle building is happening in the US. Electric Bike Company in Newport Beach, California, is a prime example. They deserve all the respect in the world for building e-bikes in the US for years, long before tariffs were an issue. However, the most important components for their e-bikes come from China, and I don’t see how they can survive without raising prices substantially to cover the near-tripling cost of the most important components. And if they raise prices, then that’s another threat to their future.

Next, there’s something ironic about a Chinese-owned e-bike company telling Americans that it will keep prices lower because it knows Americans are already hurting financially. If the Murica crowd were ever to do some reflecting, this might be the time. There’s nothing wrong with being patriotic and wanting your country to succeed, but if the other country you’re trying to spite feels sympathy for you and thinks you need help, perhaps the “America First” policies aren’t working the way it was hoped.

And lastly, keep in mind that this is all extremely volatile and fluid. There is absolutely no stability in the e-bike market right now, nor larger global trade. This entire global financial tailspin was sent into action by the whims of one geriatric firebrand, and it can change just as quickly. Trump could decide to reduce tariffs on China tomorrow to prevent supply crises in the US, or he could double down and put similar embargo-level tariffs on countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. It could literally go either way in a single day, or it could stagnate for months, with recent events showing us that both possibilities could be just as likely. The point being, this is the situation today, but no one knows what could come tomorrow.

Ooof – I need to go for a bike ride.

Capable of delivering up to 1,200 kW of power to get electric commercial trucks back on the road in minutes, the new ABB MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System is part of an ecosystem of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) that ABB’s bringing to this year’s ACT Expo.

UPDATE 03MAY2025: ABB reads Electrek (see above).

So, in fun news, the team at ABB reads Electrek (as they should), and were eager to talk to us about that “Goldilocks” post about matching charge time to the preferred customer experience. That idea isn’t just something ABB can get on board with – it’s at the core of their new, modular EV charging infrastructure.

“With our new interface, we make it easy to customize the charging experience for the CPO and the customer,” explained an ABB engineer, who walked me through the new EVSE’s backend on the show floor (paraphrased). “The users can pay with a card, with an app, or an RFID – and you can program what that experience is like, even prioritizing certain members or giving others free or discounted charging.”

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There’s a lot to unpack there, including the ability to provide priority charging to certain vehicles (like police or emergency service EVs) to get them back on the road faster. In the next few days, we’ll have ABB President, Brandt Hastings, on Quick Charge to walk us through more of those features and how they come together to deliver a better charging experience.

Stay tuned for that, and check out the original article, below.

ABB E-mobility is using the annual clean trucking conference to showcase the expansion of its EVSE portfolio with three all-new charger families: the field-upgradable A200/300 All-in-One chargers, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System for heavy-duty vehicles shown (above), and the ChargeDock Dispenser for flexible depot charging.

The company said its new product platform was built by applying a computer system-style domain separation to charger design, fundamentally improving subsystem development and creating a clear path forward for site and system expansion. In other words, ABB is selling a system with both future-proofing and enhanced dependability baked in.

“We have built a system by logically separating a charger into four distinct subsystems … each functioning as an independent subsystem,” explains Michael Halbherr, CEO of ABB E-mobility. “Unlike conventional chargers, where a user interface failure can disable the entire system, our architecture ensures charging continues even if the screen or payment system encounters issues. Moreover, we can improve each subsystem at its own pace without having to change the entire system.”

The parts of ABB’s new EVSE portfolio that have been made public so far have already been recognized for design excellence, with the A400 winning the iF Gold Award and both the A400 and C50 receiving Red Dot Design Awards.

New ABB chargers seem pretty, good

ABB says the systemic separation of its EVSE enhances both reliability and quality, while making deployed chargers easier to diagnose and repair, in less time. Each of the chargers’ subsystems can be tested, diagnosed, and replaced independently, allowing for quick on-site repairs and update cycles tailored to the speed of each systems’ innovation. The result is 99% uptime and a more future-proof product.

“The EV charging landscape is evolving beyond point products for specific use cases,” continued Halbherr. “By implementing this modular approach with the majority of our R&D focused on modular platforms rather than one-off products … it reduces supply chain risks, while accelerating development cycles and enabling deeper collaboration with critical suppliers.”

Key markets ABB is chasing

• PUBLIC CHARGING – with the award winning A400 being the optimal fit for high power charging from highway corridors to urban locations, the latest additions to the A-Series All-in-One chargers offer a field-upgradable architecture allowing operators to start with the A200 (200kW) with the option to upgrade to 300kW or 400kW as demand grows. This approach offers scalability and protects customer investment, leading to Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings over 10 years.
• PUBLIC TRANSIT AND FLEET – the new Charge Dock Dispenser – in combination with the already in market available HVC 360 – simplifies depot charging with a versatile solution that supports pantograph-, roof-, and pedestal charging options with up to 360kW of shared power and 150m/490 ft installation flexibility between cabinet and dispensers. The dispenser maintains up to 500A output.
• HEAVY TRUCKS – building the matching charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles and fleets represents a critical innovation frontier on our journey to electrify transportation. Following extensive collaboration with industry-leading truck OEMs, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System delivers up to 1,200kW of continuous power — 20% more energy transfer than 1MW systems — providing heavy-duty vehicles with purpose-built single-outlet design for the energy they need during mandatory driver breaks. To support other use cases, such as CCS truck charging, a dual CCS and MCS option will also be available.
• RETAIL – the award winning C50 Compact Charger complements the family as the slimmest charger in its category at just 9.3 inches depth, optimized for convenient charging during typical one-hour retail experiences. With its large touch display, the C50 takes the award-winning A400 experience even further — setting a new standard for consumer experience and very neatly echoing our own take on that “Goldilocks” timing zone for commercial charging.

ABB says that the result of its new approach are chargers that offer 99% plus uptime — a crucial statistic for commercial charging operations and a key factor to ensuring customer satisfaction. The new ABB E-mobility EVSE product family will be on display for the first time at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo) in Anaheim, California next week, then again at Power2Drive in Munich, Germany, from May 7-9.

Electrek’s Take

The ACT Expo is one of – if not the most important sustainable trucking event in North America, featuring all the big names in heavy trucks, construction equipment, material handling, infrastructure – even Tier 1 suppliers. Mostly, though, it’s many fleet buyers’ only chance to test drive these zero emission trucks before writing a big PO (which just makes it even more important).

Electrek will be there again this year, and we’ll be bringing you all the latest news from press events and product reveals as it happens.

SOURCE | IMAGES: ABB E-mobility.

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