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The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has a plan to replace a narrow, winding highway leading to a popular ski area with an 8-mile-long (13 km) electric gondola ride. The move would make the site accessible via public transportation, removing the need to clog the highway with cars, cut down on traffic accidents, and decrease emissions in the canyon.

The planned route for the gondola passes through Little Cottonwood Canyon, where State Route 210 connects Salt Lake City with four major ski resorts in an area with world-class skiing.

The electric gondola has been proposed as a solution to the major traffic concerns along the highway, which has been described as having traffic that “has gotten so bad, particularly on snowy ‘powder’ days, that the canyon becomes more or less undriveable after 8 a.m. if there is any significant snowfall.”

Avalanches and traffic accidents can also lead to miles-long traffic jams along the highway. SR 210 is known as the most avalanche prone highway in North America, as it sits in the way of 64 active avalanche paths.

UDOT proposed three potential solutions: widening the highway as well as increasing bus routes along the road, laying down a rail network next to the highway, or constructing a gondola to fly passengers above the highway. The gondola plan was ultimately chosen as the most effective, and is currently in discussion stages before seeking final approval.

The proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola Project is a far cry from an oversized ski lift or cable car. UDOT project manager Josh Van Jura explained that the project would use large climate-controlled gondolas that carry up to 35 passengers and feature heated seats with built-in USB charging, offering just as comfortable of a journey as a car ride. The gondolas would arrive every two minutes, resulting in a maximum theoretical throughput of over 1,000 passengers per hour. The highway currently sees around 7,000 vehicles per day.

The proposal includes building the La Caille base station as the starting point for the zero-emission gondola. Located on the edge of Salt Lake City, the multi-modal hub would include several thousand parking spots and feature rental lockers for ski gear, eateries, and shopping.

A 31-minute gondola ride from the La Caille station would whisk passengers through the canyon, flying above the highway towards the Snowbird station. Passengers remaining on would have another six-minute journey on the gondola to reach the final point at the Alta Station.

The estimated cost is said to be between $391 million to more than $1 billion. As a Utah Department of Transportation project, the gondola would be funded by state capital similarly to other transportation or road projects.

The project is currently open for comment from Utah residents until February 26, after which a decision will be made whether or not to move forward with the project.

Electrek’s Take

I think this is an incredible demonstration of how zero-emission alternatives can be an improvement not just for the environment, but also for daily quality of life.

The current situation is awful, with people frequently stuck in hours-long traffic jams or just being unable to use the road at all — which is itself a safety concern when evacuations are necessary. Adding more buses or lanes would add more noise and pollution to the canyon.

I understand that there are objections to the project, largely based on the money it would take to build or the potential “ruining the view” of the canyon. My response to the NIMBYs is that this is why you have taxes, and that the view would be much worse if they build a bigger highway or put hundreds more buses on it. And if you don’t like seeing cables or gondolas on your mountain, then perhaps you would have preferred stairs instead of a chairlift at your local ski resort? Yeah, I didn’t think so. A few thin cables aren’t going to destroy the view, nor are the support towers that are likely to be nicely camouflaged along the way, just like how cell-phone towers are often built to look like trees in many cities.

Admittedly, the 37-minute trip is longer than a car drive, which takes around 20 minutes without traffic. But when the road is impassible due to traffic jams, accidents or inclement weather, 37 minutes sounds a lot better than canceling a trip or spending hours stuck in an idling car halfway up a mountainside. Plus it’s a beautiful, 37-minute scenic trip through the mountains. Sign me up!

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Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What’s going on with the EV pickup?

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Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What's going on with the EV pickup?

Is Ford’s electric pickup in trouble? Sales have been down for months, and February showed no relief. What’s going on with the Ford F-150 Lightning?

Ford F-150 Lightning sales drop again in February 2025

Ford’s US sales dropped by 9% last month. Although electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, both notched double-digit growth, sales of Ford’s gas-powered (ICE) models, which accounted for over 85% of deliveries, fell nearly 13%.

Hybrids saw higher demand with sales up 27.5% to 15,357, while EV sales increased 15% to 7,326. The Mustang Mach-E was a bright spot with 3,312 models sold in February, up 13% from the prior year.

With 6,841 Mach-Es sold through the first three months of 2025, Ford’s electric crossover SUV remains a top-selling EV in the US.

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Ford’s electric pickup didn’t fare as well. F-150 Lightning Sales were down nearly 15% last month with only 2,199 units sold. Through March, Ford has sold 15% fewer Lightning models than it did at this time last year.

Ford-Lightning-sales
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum Black (Source: Ford)

Sales of the electric pickup have been slipping for months now. In the final three months of 2024, F-150 Lightning sales were down 10%.

The Lightning, alongside Rivian’s R1T, are no longer the only electric pickups on the market. Ford is facing new competition with the Tesla Cybertruck, Chevy Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV, arriving.

Ford-Lightning-sales
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash (Source: Ford)

According to Cox Automotive, the Tesla Cybertruck slipped past the Lightning to become the fifth best-selling EV in the US last year with nearly 39,000 units sold. Ford’s Lightning was sixth with just over 33,500 models sold.

Ford extended its “Power Promise” promo earlier this year to boost demand, giving EV buyers a Level 2 home charger and other benefits, but Lightning sales are still down.

Ford-lightning-sales
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

The American automaker cut Lightning production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center last year, citing slower-than-expected demand. A new report from Automotive News claims Ford is now ending a pilot program to stock and distribute EVs through regional hubs after it failed to catch on. It was designed to speed up deliveries.

Although Ford plans to launch a smaller midsize electric pickup, it won’t arrive until at least two more years. With new competition, like the Ram 1500 REV and Volkswagen Scout pickup, hitting the market over the next few years, Ford may find it even harder to attract buyers.

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Costco members can get up to $10,000 off the 2025 Volvo EX90

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Costco members can get up to ,000 off the 2025 Volvo EX90

Costco’s Auto Program recently introduced some new member-only incentives, and the 2025 Volvo EX90 BEV is now on its list.

Volvo is offering Costco Executive Members $2,000 off the 2025 EX90. Costco Gold Star and Business members are eligible for $1,500 off. The incentives are available on all versions of the Volvo EX90 for members who purchase or lease from February 24 to April 30, 2025. It’s the only non-GM EV that’s that’s eligible for an incentive through the EV program.

The offer is compatible with A-Plan pricing for employees, as well as Affinity Pricing for teachers and first responders. Costco members will have had to have been members as of February 23 and be the primary members on the Costco account to qualify.

Volvo-EX90-interior
Volvo EX90 interior (Source: Volvo)

However, CarsDirect gave the heads up on how buyers can get up to $10,000 off the EX90’s MSRP. As we stated, if you’re a Costco Executive Member, that’s $2,000 off. Then, add the $7,500 EV Lease Allowance and a $500 loyalty discount on leases if you currently own or lease a Volvo or have owned or leased a Volvo within the past six months.

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With the destination fee included, the base EX90 MSRP starts at $81,290, so that brings it down to $71,290, a more than 12% discount, a pretty good deal.

The 2025 AWD Volvo EX90, which can seat seven passengers comfortably, has a range of up to 310 miles and is NACS-compatible. It has a 510 hp engine, 110 kWh battery capacity, and can go from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

Click here to find a local dealer that may have the 2025 Volvo EX90 in stock. – trusted affiliate partner

Read more: Review: Volvo EX90 is a smooth AWD 7-seat luxury kid-hauler


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Tesla chairwoman sells $33 million worth of TSLA as she lets Elon Musk destroy the brand

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Tesla chairwoman sells  million worth of TSLA as she lets Elon Musk destroy the brand

Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm has sold another $33 million worth of Tesla stocks (TSLA) as she lets Elon Musk destroy the company’s brand.

As the head of Tesla’s board of directors, Denholm is amongst the few people who actually have oversight over Elon Musk at Tesla.

While Musk is CEO, he owns only about 13% of Tesla’s shares. Still, he is seen as having complete control over the company and the board, which is actually what led to a judge rescinding his compensation package last year.

That’s partly because when he “negotiated” himself a $55 billion compensation package with the board, the board also gave itself exorbitant compensation, which it eventually had to partly give back to the company after shareholders sued it for excessive compensation.

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Despite Musk making threats to shareholders to get more control over Tesla and resorting to resource tunneling, the board, including Denholm, has remained silent.

Meanwhile, Denholm has been pocketing generational wealth through Tesla.

The chairwoman has received hundreds of thousands of Tesla shares at a discount through stock options as part of the previously mentioned “excessive board compensation,” and she has been selling them as son as she is allowed.

Last month, she sold $43 million worth of Tesla stocks, and today, Tesla revealed through a required SEC filing that Denholm is another 112,390 Tesla shares worth over $33 million through Merill Lynch:

With this sale, she has now sold over $100 million worth of Tesla stocks over the last 3 months.

Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav also recently sold ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.

Electrek’s Take

Over $100 million in the last three months—that’s apparently the going rate for a chairperson to let Elon Musk destroy years of work building the Tesla brand.

That’s a hard deal to pass on, especially if you have low morals, which is Tesla’s main problem right now. Musk has surrounded himself with yes people with low morals.

He has distanced Tesla from its mission and no one is saying anything because they are let go or getting compensated to shut up about it.

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