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General Motors (GM) released Q1 sales results Monday, showing a promising kickoff to 2023, with EV sales reaching over 20,000 for the first time in a quarter. The automaker says it expects the progress to continue this year as it’s on track to build another 50,000 EVs in North America through June, with plans to double that in the second half of 2023.

GM releases Q1 2023 EV sales totals

At a tech conference in February, GM’s CEO Mary Barra claimed the company was off to a solid start to the year, saying:

We are different from the rest of the traditional OEMs, and this is our really going to be our year to demonstrate it.

GM’s Q1 sales results, released Monday, show the company is trending in the right direction, selling over 20,000 electric vehicles for the first time in a single quarter as it ramps production.

According to the release, Q1 was the third consecutive record quarter for the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, selling 19,700 alone, up from 358 in Q1 2022 while the Bolt was recalled. Bolt production resumed in April 2022 and has since become a top-selling EV model for its affordability and functionality.

GM has two other fully electric models in the premium segment, the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV. Lyriq sales reached 968, while two Hummer EV pickups were sold in the first quarter.

The automaker expects the growth to continue this year, with Cadillac Lyriq deliveries rapidly accelerating and the Hummer EV pickup and SUV models being built and shipped from GM’s Factory ZERO.

In the first quarter, GM built over 500 BrightDrop Zevo 600s at its assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, as it works to develop its position in the commercial EV segment.

According to GM, Chevy Bolt EV and EUV production will reach 70,000 units in 2023 to meet the growing demand for affordable EV options.

The new Chevrolet Silverado EV WT edition will begin deliveries in late spring, with over 340 fleet customer orders already.

Electrek’s Take

After struggling in 2021 and early 2022 due to the Chevy Bolt recall, it’s good to see GM getting back on track with its third consecutive record quarter in EV sales.

At the same time, 20,000 EV in sales is a fraction of GM’s over 600,000 total sales, representing just over 3%, while many automakers are achieving double-digit and even 100% EV sales.

Rivian produced just over 1,000 EVs by the end of 2021 and plans to sell 50,000 units in 2023 after manufacturing 9,395 in the first quarter.

Compared to Tesla’s 422,000 EV deliveries in the first quarter, GM’s EV sales numbers look even more minuscule.

The automaker continues falling further behind as it announced plans to invest nearly $1 billion in V-8 engines earlier this year. V8 engines will not help GM build more EVs and surely won’t help close the gap with Tesla and other EV makers.

Hopefully, GM’s upcoming EVs launching within the next few years, including the Chevy Blazer EV, Chevy Silverado EV, and Chevy Equinox EV, will help the automaker accelerate its focus on zero-emission, fully electric vehicles.

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ChargePoint just launched EV charger checkups – before they break

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ChargePoint just launched EV charger checkups – before they break

ChargePoint is rolling out a new program called “Safeguard Care” to ensure its EV chargers stay online. The service proactively sends trained technicians into the field to routinely check ChargePoint stations – before things go wrong.

These technicians inspect the chargers, clean them, repair what they can on-site, and run a test charge to ensure everything works before they leave. If they come across something they can’t fix, the issue gets escalated to ChargePoint’s support team for follow-up.

“As the original manufacturer of the chargers, we are able to ensure the highest standards of service and support,” said JD Singh, ChargePoint’s chief customer experience officer. “With Safeguard Care, ChargePoint is giving station owners and EV drivers peace of mind knowing that chargers will be in pristine working order.”

The service, which is starting in five launch markets across the US (ChargePoint hasn’t said which ones, and I’ll update if it answers me), is in addition to ChargePoint Assure, its existing hardware and software monitoring system. It benefits high-traffic charging sites like parking garages, office buildings, and public charging hubs, especially ones that don’t have a dedicated on-site maintenance crew.

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This move is part of ChargePoint’s broader effort to make public EV charging more reliable. In recent months, the company has introduced anti-vandalism upgrades and more proactive monitoring tools. But Safeguard Care marks an interesting shift toward proactive, rather than reactive, boots-on-the-ground support. Technicians usually aren’t dispatched until the EV charger software sends a notification to support that something’s gone wrong. I’ll be curious to see if this new in-person approach makes a difference with EV charger reliability.

Read more: The US added 4,200 new DC fast charging ports, and that’s just Q2


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PayPal beats on earnings, raises full-year outlook as Venmo growth accelerates

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PayPal beats on earnings, raises full-year outlook as Venmo growth accelerates

Stellar's Denelle Dixon on PayPal launching its stablecoin on the foundation's blockchain

PayPal reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter and raised its full-year guidance for transaction margin dollars and earnings per share. The stock slipped more than 4% following the report.

Here’s how the company did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.40 adjusted vs. $1.30 expected
  • Revenue: $8.29 billion vs. $8.08 billion expected

Sales increased 5% from $7.89 billion a year earlier, as CEO Alex Chriss worked to roll off lower-margin revenue streams.

Transaction margin dollars, a key measure of profitability, rose 7% to $3.84 billion, marking the company’s sixth straight quarter of growth.

Growth in that metric slowed sequentially, down from 8% in the first quarter when excluding a one-time benefit that boosted results earlier this year. Branded checkout volumes also slowed to 5%, compared with 6% in the first quarter when adjusted for Leap Day.

Total payment volume, an indication of how digital payments are faring in the broader economy, beat estimates, coming in at $443.6 billion, compared with the $433.6 billion analysts had projected, according to StreetAccount. The number of active accounts rose 2% to 438 million, versus expectations of 437.8 million.

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PayPal shares are nearly 10% lower so far this year.

PayPal shares have fallen 8.4% for the year, as of Monday’s close, while the Nasdaq is up about 10% in 2025.

Venmo revenue grew more than 20% from a year earlier, following a 20% jump in the first quarter, though the company didn’t provide a dollar figure. Total payment volume for Venmo increased 12%, its highest growth rate in three years.

Chriss has focused on better monetizing key acquisitions such as Braintree and Venmo. DoorDash, Starbucks and Ticketmaster are among businesses now accepting Venmo as one way consumers can pay.

GENIUS Act stablecoin rules are great for PayPal, says Mizuho's Dan Dolev

“We delivered another quarter of profitable growth, driven by continued strength across many of our strategic initiatives ranging from PayPal and Venmo branded experiences” to acting as payment service provider and other services, Chriss said in the statement.

For the third quarter, PayPal forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.18 to $1.22, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.20. Transaction margin dollars are expected to increase 4% to between $3.76 billion and $3.82 billion, the company said.

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Ahead of PayPal’s earnings, some analysts had struck a cautiously optimistic tone. Goldman Sachs noted that branded checkout growth was likely to improve sequentially to around 6%, up from 4% in the first quarter. 

Morgan Stanley pointed to stronger e-commerce data and progress on PayPal’s checkout initiatives. Advanced integrations are now live at 45% of U.S. merchants, up from 30% in December, and are expected to help branded checkout volumes reaccelerate. The bank also flagged ongoing momentum in Braintree volumes.

PayPal now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $5.15 to $5.30, up from its prior forecast of $4.95 to $5.10. While third-quarter guidance is roughly inline with expectations, the updated outlook implies a stronger fourth quarter. The company also projects free cash flow of $6 billion to $7 billion for the year.

WATCH: PayPal’s crypto lead on allowing merchants to buy and sell virtual assets

PayPal's crypto lead on allowing merchants to buy and sell virtual assets

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’70 MPH e-bikes’ prompt one US state to change its laws

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'70 MPH e-bikes' prompt one US state to change its laws

Electric bikes are booming in popularity in just about every demographic in the US. From teens riding to school all the way to elderly folks getting back on a bicycle for the first time in years, electric bikes are becoming ubiquitous. But as speeds and power levels have increased, Connecticut is responding with new laws.

Westport Police Lt. Serenity Dobson recently spoke to CTInsider about the phenomenon of more teens riding their e-bikes to school instead of being driven by their parents. “The whole entire bike rack is filled with these bikes that look like electric dirt bikes.”

Moped-style e-bikes have become increasingly popular with teens, with companies like Super73 ushering in a new wave of electric bikes with design cues borrowed from classic mopeds of decades past.

But Dobson says that these e-bikes are too easily modifiable, increasing speed and motor power past acceptable limits.

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“These bikes come stock at 30 mph, but you can cut the controller, and so then they can go 60, 70 mph, and the kids know how to do this,” Dobson said, adding that there has been a “huge increase in middle school-aged kids” riding e-bikes, particularly in the summer when school is out. “There are a lot of YouTube videos where it can show you how easy it is for someone to modify it.”

It’s not clear that such speeds are actually capable on stock parts from nearly any electric bicycle, and legal electric bikes are not capable of exceeding either 20 or 28 mph, depending on their classification, but Dobson may be referring to Sur Ron-style electric motorbikes, which are off-road electric motorcycles that look like small dirt bikes.

Connecticut already uses the common three-class system that codifies legal e-bikes as up to 20 mph (32 km/h) and 750W (one horsepower) for Class 1 and 2, or up to 28 mph (45 km/h) for Class 3 e-bikes.

But now the state is updating its e-bike laws, adding that any e-bike with over 750W of power will be considered a “motor-driven cycle” and require a driver’s license. Over 3,500W? That will be considered a motorcycle and require a motorcycle endorsement to legally ride, as well as registration and insurance like a motorcycle.

The new laws are expected to come into effect in October.

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