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Protected bike lanes — or cycling paths that are physically separated from roadways to keep cars away from more vulnerable micromobility vehicles — are becoming increasingly demanded by a growing population of bike commuters in the US. And in one case, they’re finally being enabled by a surprising source: a cute little electric mini-street sweeper.

The pint-sized electric maintenance vehicle, known as a Westvac LS125, was the last piece of the puzzle missing for Ann Arbor, Michigan’s protected bike lane plan.

The city has hoped to create more protected bike lanes along its roadways by installing bollards or vertical separators. But the narrow lanes would have been too small for the city’s maintenance vehicles to navigate.

Bike lanes, like roadways, require frequent street sweeping to rid them of dangerous debris and obstacles. In fact, such maintenance is perhaps even more critical on paths used by two-wheeled vehicles.

The City Council voted unanimously this week to buy an approximately $250,000 electric mini-sweeper that would enable the city to finally install separators along bike lanes while still maintaining the road surface.

As Council Member Dharma Akmon explained to Michigan Live:

“The purchase is going to allow us to maintain the single-track bike lanes, and that has been an impediment to the installation of bollards. So, very quickly we’re going to be able to put bollards where there aren’t any.”

The 48″ wide (122 cm) mini-sweeper might not be fast at just 15 mph (25 km/h), but it’s built for work — not for speed.

The 62 kWh battery gives it a 9-hour operating time. That means it can work all day, then recharge at night with a standard J1772 connector for Level 2 EV chargers.

The city’s public works manager Molly Maciejewski described how the city’s recently installed bike lanes have suffered from constant encroachment by cars and trucks:

“Since installation, there have been issues with illegal access by vehicles in the bikeways. To combat this issue, the Downtown Development Authority wishes to install centerline delineators along the bikeways. Additionally, the city desires to install bikeways outside of the downtown that are narrower than 10 feet in width.”

As Akmon continued, the new mini-street sweeper is all that was preventing the city from moving forward with its current plan to create the separated bike lines that would keep cars away from bikes, scooters and other micromobility vehicles and their operators:

“In fact, the city has already laid out many of these dedicated lanes, but hasn’t been able to install the delineators because we don’t have the equipment to properly maintain the narrower lanes. The purchase of a new small sweeper will mean we can, in pretty short order, upgrade buffered bike lanes into protected bike lanes by installing the several hundred vertical delineators we already have in inventory and ready for deployment.”

Electric full-size street sweepers exist, but despite their more environmentally friendly design, they are still too wide to fit in most bike lanes.

That’s why miniature versions are critical for being able to carve off sections of roadways for bikes while still leaving access to maintain the quality of the road.

mini-street sweeper

Electrek’s Take

I know it’s a fairly specific niche, but I’m already quite a fan of miniature electric maintenance equipment.

And so if my two passions of biking and mini e-machines can somehow be intertwined into a solution that benefits everyone, well that sounds like a perfect day to me.

When Ann Arbor gets their cute new mini-sweeper in, I’d love to have a go on it!

In all seriousness though, it’s great to see cities finding creative solutions for embracing safer cycling infrastructure. The fact that those solutions themselves are zero-emissions simply makes the whole thing even sweeter.

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Costco Executive members get MASSIVE $31,500 off Chevy Brightdrop van

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Costco Executive members get MASSIVE ,500 off Chevy Brightdrop van

With 272 miles of range and more room inside its walls than your first apartment, GM’s Chevy Brightdrop electric van is one of the best commercial EVs you can buy. And if you’re a Costco Executive member, you can get one for yourself or your business with an absolutely incredible $31,500 discount. (!)

Fleet electrification expert Tony Nisam took to LinkedIn yesterday to post a deal that he ran across at a Washington State Costco that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in “regular” Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in “LIMITED-TIME” Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.

Do a bit of math (add up 25,500 + 3,000 + $2,750 + 250), and you’ll calculate an almost unheard of $31,500 discount on one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market – ICE or electric. And that’s before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised at Blade Chevrolet, the Mount Vernon, Washington, where VIN 2G58J2TY6S9104313 (the exact van shown, below) is shown as stock number 16757.

If you’re not a Costco member yet and you’re looking for a new truck for your business or even a unique #vanlife ride with zero emissions, modern tech, and a nationwide dealer network, GM makes that $130 Executive membership seem like a no-brainer.

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Kind of a big deal

“But wait,” says the floating, disembodied ghost of the great Billy Mays. “There’s more!” In addition to the $31,500 worth of discounts Costco Executive members get, there are deals to be had on chargers AND a number of other state and local utility incentives your business might qualify for, bringing the cost of adding a new Chevy Brightdrop to your fleet even lower. In northern Illinois, for example, ComEd commercial customers can get up to $7,500 in rebates for a new Brightdrop Zevo van.

Is a $39,000 price cut enough to get you to take a look at a new Brightdrop? At $45,235 (from a starting price of $84,235), can you afford not to? Head down to the comments and let us know.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Tony Nisam.

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Tesla quietly removes range extender battery option on Cybertruck

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Tesla quietly removes range extender battery option on Cybertruck

Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruck’s range extender from the options in its online configurator.

Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?

When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.

The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.

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Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.

As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.

However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.

Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.

Initially, Tesla said that it would come “early 2025”, but we reported that it was pushed to “mid-2025” late last year.

At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.

Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit”, as seen on the image above, but now it’s not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.

It’s unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.

In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:

Electrek’s Take

I’m curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?

At first, I was curious about the product even though I didn’t think it would make up for Tesla’s significant miss on Cybertruck specs.

However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think it’s pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.

It’s going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now that’s if it makes it to market.

With the option being removed from the configurator, there’s no production timeline available. Again, the last one was “mid-2025”, which is soon.

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EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival

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EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member's Festival

Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.

EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:

Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.

To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.

EcoFlow Member
Source: EcoFlow

EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”

Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.

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This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:

In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.

In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.

To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.

Source: EcoFlow

Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival

As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.

As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.

Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!

Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.

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