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Redwood Materials just got a $2 billion conditional loan from the US Department of Energy to expand its factory near Reno, Nevada, where it will manufacture EV batteries from an increasing amount of recycled content.

In a US first, Redwood will produce 100 GWh annually of ultra-thin battery-grade copper foil and cathode-active materials from both new and recycled feedstocks at gigafactory scale.

Tesla cofounder JB Straubel founded Redwood Materials in 2017. It has partnerships with Ford Motor, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, and also with Panasonic, which is at the Tesla Gigafactory nearby.

Straubel said in an interview, according to Reuters, that the initial loan draw, assuming it’s approved, “will help accelerate [production] and compress the time for us to get to full scale” at the Nevada battery factory.

Redwood says it expects to create 3,400 good-paying construction jobs and employ around 1,600 full-time employees. 

Redwood’s announcement summarizes what components are needed to manufacture batteries:

The two most essential and valuable components in a battery are the anode and cathode. The cathode contains all the critical metals in a battery – lithium, nickel, and cobalt – and requires a complex manufacturing process and functional specification integral to the performance and safety of an electric vehicle battery. The anode contains copper and graphite and is primarily responsible for a battery’s charging performance. Together, these components amount to nearly 80% of the materials cost of a lithium-ion battery.

But today, these components are manufactured entirely overseas, predominantly in Asia. 

So Redwood’s plan is to make anode and cathode components and produce them from an increasing amount of recycled content domestically, at scale. And that would reduce the need to import battery components from overseas.

Redwood recycles from consumer electronics such as cell phone batteries, laptops, power tools, and other electronic waste.

The US Department of Energy asserts:

On average, Redwood can recover greater than 95% of the critical battery elements in an end-of-life battery (including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper), and then use those metals to manufacture anode and cathode components domestically for US battery cell manufacturers.

That’s enough battery materials to produce more than 1 million EVs annually. It also allows battery and auto makers to meet the Inflation Reduction Act’s mineral and battery component requirements so that consumers qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said:

It’s going to be a slam dunk for our domestic burgeoning electric vehicle industry.

[Redwood will play an] outsized role in bringing the battery supply chain home – because you are focused on the pieces that we don’t have in the United States.

Redwood is building another factory in Kansas that will source the company’s cathode and anode materials for battery cell production, and it’s also building a factory similar to the Nevada facility near Charleston, South Carolina. The South Carolina factory is around two years behind the Nevada factory, according to Straubel.

The Biden administration is working to create a US EV supply chain, thus reducing dependence on components made in China. It also has a target to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel cell electric vehicles.

Read more: Redwood and Audi want to turn your old electronic devices into EV batteries

Photo: Redwood Materials


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Tesla Robotaxi had 3 more crashes, now 7 total

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Tesla Robotaxi had 3 more crashes, now 7 total

Tesla reported three more crashes involving its Robotaxis in Austin, Texas – now bringing the total to 7 incidents despite low mileage and in-car supervisors preventing more accidents.

Since the launch of the ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin, Texas, where Tesla moved the supervisor from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, it now has to report crashes to NHTSA.

In the first month of operation in July, Tesla reported three crashes with its Robotaxi service.

The automaker reported one more Robotaxi crash last month, and this one was interesting because it coincided with Tesla announcing that the Robotaxi fleet had traveled 250,000 miles from its launch in late June to early November.

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It revealed Tesla’s current Robotaxi crash rate, which is about 2x higher than Waymo’s, despite in-car supervisors that prevent an unknown number of crashes.

Now, Tesla has reported to NHTSA three more incidents that happened with the Robotaxi fleet in Austin in September:

Report ID  Incident Date  Incident Time (24:00) City State    Crash With    Highest Injury  Severity  Alleged SV  Pre-Crash Movement  CP Pre-Crash Movement     Narrative       
13781-1178 7 SEP-2025 13:08 Austin   TX               Animal                     No Injured  Reported            Stopped      NM Crossing Roadway  [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1178 6 SEP-2025 03:43 Austin   TX   Non-Motorist: Cyclist  Property Damage.  No Injured  Reported         Stopped     Moving Alongside Roadway [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1178 4 SEP-2025 20:42 Austin   TX           Passenger Car Property Damage.  No Injured  Reported    Proceeding Straight     Backing [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1168 7 SEP-2025 01:25 Austin    TX     Other Fixed Object Property Damage.  No Injured  Reported       Making Left Turn     NaN [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1150 7 JUL-2025 03:45 Austin    TX          SUV       Property Damage.  No Injured  Reported            Stopped      Proceeding Straight [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1145 9 JUL-2025 12:20 Austin    TX     Other Fixed Object            Minor  W/O Hospit alization   Other, see Narrative     NaN [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1137 5 JUL-2025 15:15 Austin    TX       SUV          Property Damage.  No Injured  Reported      Making Right Turn     Making Right Turn  [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]

Unlike other companies reporting to NHTSA, Tesla abuses the right to redact data reported through the system. The automaker redacts the “narrative” for each reported crash, preventing the public from knowing how the crashes happened and who is responsible.

Based on the limited information in Tesla’s reports, we know that one of the new crashes involved a Robotaxi driving into a car backing up, another involved a cyclist, and the last one involved an unknown animal.

Electrek’s Take

My favorite thing about reporting on those is the messages from Tesla fans who say: You don’t know how many of those Robotaxi are responsible for?

It’s funny because I agree, but whose fault is that? Tesla could do like every other company and report the narratives.

Waymo does, and it’s clear that it isn’t responsible for many of the crashes they are involved in. I am sure that’s the case with some of those Tesla Robotaxi crashes.

However, Waymo has hundreds of millions of rider-only autonomous miles, and Tesla has a few hundred thousand, all with a supervisor on board, a finger on a killswitch, ready to prevent further crashes. Who knows how many more crashes Tesla would have had without them?

I expect a few because humans generally have a crash, whether they are at fault or not, every 700,000 miles. Tesla has 7 in probably ~300,000 miles, which should be worrying to anyone, whether the Robotaxis were responsible or not.

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Hyundai is cooking up a new off-road SUV, and it sure looks electric

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Hyundai is cooking up a new off-road SUV, and it sure looks electric

Hyundai is bringing “something big” to the LA Auto Show this week, and the teaser points to a slick new off-road electric SUV. Here’s our first look.

What is this off-road Hyundai SUV?

The LA Auto Show is just days away, and Hyundai is gearing up to steal the spotlight once again. Last year, it was the IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV. What will it be this year?

Hyundai gave us a sneak peek of a new “extreme off-road show vehicle,” the Crater Concept, ahead of its upcoming debut.

Although details are still pretty slim at this point, the sketch shows a high-riding, rugged SUV, clearly designed for off-roading with massive tires and aggressive wheel arches.

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Hyundai didn’t say what powertrain the off-road SUV will use, but given the closed-off grille and no visible tailpipes, all signs point to it being electric in some way. It could be a battery-electric (EV) or even a fuel-cell-electric vehicle (FCEV).

Hyundai-off-road-SUV-electric
Hyundai Crater off-road SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)

The Crater Concept looks a bit like the new Nexo, Hyundai’s dedicated hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The updated Nexo introduces Hyundai’s new “Art of Steel” design language, which was first shown on the Concept THREE electric hot hatch in September.

Hyundai said the design theme “combines resilience with artistic form,” which exudes strength and sophistication.

Hyundai-off-road-SUV-electric
Hyundai Crater off-road SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)

The dour dot lamps on the Crater Concept look about the same as Hyundai’s new “HTWO” lamps, exclusive to its FCEVs.

Hyundai said the Crater Concept has been “crafted to amplify the same spirit and robustness found in Hyundai’s XRT production vehicles,” like the IONIQ 5 XRT, Santa Cruz XRT, and new Pallisade XRT Pro.

Hyundai-off-road-SUV-electric
Hyundai Crater off-road SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)

The design team at Hyundai Design North America also introduced its new design and ideation studio on Monday, codenamed “The Sandbox” internally.

Hyundai’s new creative hub is exclusively dedicated to creating new outdoor adventure vehicles and rugged Xtreme Rugged Terrain (XRT) gear.

Will the Nexo be next? It sure looks like it. Hyundai will reveal the Crater Concept during a livestream press conference at the LA Auto Show on November 20 at 9:45 am PT. Check back for updates.

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Electric big rigs get a new fast-charge pit stop in California

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Electric big rigs get a new fast-charge pit stop in California

Terawatt Infrastructure has switched on its newest commercial EV charging hub in Rialto, California, giving electric truck fleets a new high-speed charging stop along one of the US’s busiest freight routes.

The hub is situated on the eastbound side of I-10 and is designed for heavy-duty fleet use, particularly for trucks traveling from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through Southern California’s industrial centers.

Neha Palmer, Terawatt CEO and cofounder, said, “Our network enables companies to reduce emissions and run a variety of routes across a number of vehicle classes with the confidence of a dependable charging solution. EV fleets can now travel further, more cleanly, without slowing down their operations.”

The Rialto site is built with high‑speed charging, security, and amenities that support daily freight operations. Here’s what it offers:

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  • 18 pull‑through 350 kW DC fast‑charging stalls
  • 55 bobtail parking stalls for overnight or shift‑based parking
  • A driver lounge with wifi, climate control, and restrooms
  • License plate recognition for quick entry
  • Solar canopies and 100% renewable‑powered charging
  • 24/7 security with cameras and gated access

Terawatt’s first medium- and heavy-duty electric truck charging stop in California, Rancho Dominguez, opened in April.

In September 2024, Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, described as the first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor. As part of that effort, Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support, at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.

Read more: Maersk, PepsiCo, others to pilot a heavy-duty EV charging corridor between LA and El Paso


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