Jeep may have a secret to unlock even more capability with its upcoming electric off-roader. A new patent suggests that Jeep’s new Recon might just be the Wrangler of EVs, as the brand has been promising.

Will Jeep’s new Recon be the Wrangler of EVs?

Built from the ground up with its signature 4×4 off-road system, Jeep says the Recon EV will be its first true off-road electric SUV.

When it was first unveiled as a concept in 2022, Jeep said the Recon was “inspired by the legendary Wrangler” with features like removable doors and windows.

A newly discovered patent suggests that the Recon will borrow more than just its looks from the Wrangler, including its legendary off-road capabilities. The patent, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), is for a three speed gearbox for EVs. It was published on May 1, 2025.

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Most current electric vehicles use a single-speed gearbox, which is perfect for everyday travel. Rather than sacrificing range or performance, Stellantis has a better idea for added on and off-road capability.

The new unit features two planetary gear sets and three clutches, allowing for three distinct gear ratios. The first gear limits output speed with more torque for off-roading, rock crawling, and towing. It also improves control on sand, snow, mud, and more.

The second gear is more useful during typical everyday driving, while the third is designed to improve efficiency on highways.

Although Stellantis has yet to officially reveal the new EV tech, Jeep’s new Recon would be the perfect fit as the brand’s first true off-road EV. It could be used in Ram’s upcoming electric pickup or an electric Dodge muscle car.

Based on the STLA Large platform, the same one underpinning the Jeep’s first EV, the Wagoneer S, the Recon is expected to have a driving range of around 300 miles.

After the Recon EV was spotted in Michigan last year by a user on Jeep Recon Forum, we caught a glimpse of the interior, featuring Jeep’s signature Selec-Terrain system, which includes Rock, Mud, and several other modes.

A display screen showed a range of 147 miles with 66% battery remaining. That would suggest a range of around 223 miles, but the production model is expected to be closer to 300 miles.

You can expect it to include standard four-wheel drive, packing around 400 to 600 horsepower. At least three trims are expected to be available, including Willys, Overland, and a Moab edition.

Prices and final specs will be revealed closer to launch, but Jeep’s Recon EV is expected to start at around $60,000. More expensive trims, like the Moab, will likely cost upwards of $80,000.

We should learn more soon, with Stellantis planning to launch the Wrangler-like Recon EV later this year.

Groups of US city mayors and representatives from state governments announced a delegation of officials who will attend climate talks for the US today, as the lack of a real US federal government with any interest in solving problems for Americans has led to lower, subnational representatives having to step up and do their job for them.

The delegation was announced today by multiple subnational climate coalitions: America Is All In, the U.S. Climate Alliance, C40 Cities and Climate Mayors.

These groups all have different focuses and membership, but share the common thread that all of them consist of subnational US representatives who want to solve the problem of climate change. They include representatives from governments of all sizes – as small as, say, McCall, Idaho (population 3,686); to as large as California, the 4th largest economy in the world.

The groups announced a delegation that will attend several global climate events in the coming weeks, including the the UNFCCC June Climate Meetings in Bonn (June 16-26), London Climate Action Week (June 21-29), and a Paris Agreement 10-year anniversary event on June 23. Delegation members include:

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• Laura Tierney, Vice President of International Programs, Business Council for Sustainable Energy
• Mayor Kate Gallego, Climate Mayors Chair, C40 Steering Committee and Phoenix Mayor
• Secretary Yana Garcia, California Environmental Protection Agency
• Secretary Serena McIlwain, Maryland Department of the Environment
• Elizabeth Lien, Program Director for America Is All In
• Kate Wright, Executive Director, Climate Mayors
• Nathan Hultman, Director of the Center for Global Sustainability 

The delegation will work to showcase that, despite the backpedaling we see regarding US federal climate action, states and cities are ready to pick up the slack until US leadership returns.

Today’s move became necessary only due to the lack of a real US federal government that wants to work on solving the largest problem in human history.

Climate change is the biggest problem that humanity has ever caused for itself, and will take a concerted effort of people all over the globe to solve. Over the last century (and particularly over the last 30 years, where humanity emitted more than half of all-time global emissions), humans have collectively put significant effort into ignoring the environmental destruction we are causing, and so will need to reverse that damage with a global effort.

Currently, the atmosphere is at 430ppm CO2, while the safe historical level is around 350ppm. In order to get us back to a reasonable level, humanity needs to not only stop polluting, but also remove about a trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. The more we pollute now, the more we’ll have to remove later, at much greater cost – so nothing is “too fast” as far as pollution reductions are concerned. Implementing drastic pollution reductions today will only save effort and misery for humanity in the long term.

This is a tall order, so cooperation from the world’s largest governments is necessary. To this end, the UN and other intergovernmental organizations host regular climate talks for countries to negotiate how we’re going to fix this problem in an equitable and efficient manner.

Nevermind that these talks often end up ineffective – with groups either making proclamations that countries aren’t making enough progress following, or those agreements getting watered down by fossil lobbying.

However, the country most responsible for climate change, the US, has currently abdicated its responsibility to clean up after itself.

Like the last time a former reality TV host squatted in the White House (after receiving 3 million fewer votes than his opponent), it’s expected that the US federal government won’t be engaging in much climate diplomacy during the next 4 years, which are crucial to solving this immediate problem. In fact, that stint is what led to the formation of some of today’s groups in the first place.

That same former reality TV host (now also a convicted felon who further attempted an insurrection to overthrow a legitimate election, thus disqualifying him from holding office per the US Constitution) unfortunately stumbled into the White House again, after receiving more votes than his opponent for the first time, despite that US law barring him from running in the first place.

It’s expected that his current coalition of reality TV characters and other incompetents cosplaying as a federal government will once again purposefully fail to engage in effective diplomacy to solve the biggest problem humanity has ever faced. In fact, they’re actually trying to make the problem worse by polluting your air, raising your costs, sending your money to elites, and ensuring US manufacturing will lose competitiveness and surrender to China.

So, in their absence, states and mayors are having to step up.

Besides, in many parts of the world, climate action has been driven by cities. For example, several European cities have instituted low-emissions zones or congestion charges to reduce car dependency and pollution in the places most populated by people. These moves have worked to reduce pollution, and the US has seen success with a similar idea in NYC too.

However, despite that the majority of the world’s population now lives in cities, the problem of climate change is global and doesn’t just affect people where population density is the highest, but everywhere around the globe. For this reason, we need cooperation at the highest level – and a competent delegation from the federal government of the world’s largest historical emitter would be a nice thing to have, instead of relying on the mayor of the aforementioned McCall, Idaho to shoulder the burden (thank you, Mr. Giles, for your service).

Another thing the US government might destroy is the rooftop solar credit. That means you could have only until the end of this year to install rooftop solar on your home, before republicans raise the cost of doing so by an average of ~$10,000. So if you want to go solar, get started now, because these things take time and the system needs to be active before you file for the credit.

To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.