When it was unveiled last year, the CSC RX1E joined a select group of electric motorcycles that could reach highway-capable speeds yet at an affordable price. Now the bike is joining an even more limited category: those bikes that are actually shipping.
There are plenty of low-cost electric motorcycles and scooters out there, but most are designed for city use and thus can’t reach highway speeds. Then there are high-performance, high-speed electric motorcycles designed for racing or sport riding yet that cost well over $20,000. The RX1E became one of only a few electric motorcycles debuted in the US that could reach highway speeds while maintaining a budget price.
Reservation holders that got in line late last year for the sub-$8,000 motorcycle are finally seeing their motorcycles ship this week. Even after the promotional pre-order price ended, the bike’s new $8,495 price tag puts it well below the cost of most other highway-capable electric motorcycles in the US.
CSC Motorcycles, the Azusa, California-based motorcycle dealer that brought the bike to the US, launched the CSC RX1E as a similar-looking bike to the company’s gas-powered RX4 and RX3 adventure bikes. The RX1E may look adventure ready, but it’s really more of an urban bike with adventure flavoring.
That means the bike gets a tall riding stance, long travel suspension, included cargo boxes, and crash bars from the off-road world, but comes with street-ready tires designed to turn your car commute into a fun, more adventurous ride to work.
With multiple power levels and a maximum speed of 80 mph (130 km/h), the CSC RX1E is equal parts peppy and comfortable, helping it live with one wheel in the commuter space and the other wheel in the Sunday riding world.
The max range of over 100 miles (160 km) certainly won’t allow anyone to go touring on a cross country ride, but it should be plenty for navigating any city with some highway riding thrown in as well.
The bike gets its power from a mid-mounted electric motor that puts out 8 kW of continuous-rated power and 18 kW at its peak. That’s a max of 24 horsepower but with a torque profile that will likely have you thinking it is significantly higher. The liquid-cooled motor is able to run at higher power levels for longer than air-cooled motors.
The CSC RX1E can hit a maximum speed of around 80 mph (130 km/h) with a 0-60 mph acceleration time of under nine seconds. Again, that’s not going to leave a rubber tire snake on the road, but it will still feel like plenty of power for recreational rides or slicing through traffic on the way to work.
Supplying that motor is a 6.16 kWh lithium-ion battery that is rated for 112 miles (180 km) on the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle), though faster riding with more time spent on the highway will drain the battery more quickly.
Charging is performed from a typical 110V home wall outlet. A full recharge is said to take six hours, but it will usually be faster in real-world conditions when you’re starting from a partially charged battery.
A Continental belt drive connects the motor to the 17″ rear wheel, which wears a 120/80-17 tire to match the front’s 100/80-17 tire.
The CSC RX1E sports Bosch’s dual ABS brakes and a combined braking system for safety. While many bikes in this new wave of mid-power electric motorcycles use the left-hand lever for the rear brake, the RX1E sticks with convention by activating the rear brake with the right foot pedal.
Another nod to convention is the speedometer, which has an actual physical needle. I haven’t seen needle gauges on an electric motorcycle in years, but I much prefer them. They’re easier to read at a quick glance because the physical location of a bright orange needle will always be more legible than small digital numbers.
There’s still a digital readout on the display as well for the rest of the important information, but lovers of tradition will surely enjoy the return of a needle gauge speedometer.
The CSC RX1E’s inverted front fork offers 4.7 inches of suspension travel, while the rear mono-shock with adjustable preload and rebound damping is nearly there at 4.3 inches of travel.
The RX1E has a curb weight of 436.5 pounds (198 kg), though the included crash bars and luggage cases add another 32 pounds (14.5 kg) to the bike.
The bike’s trio of luggage cases increases the storage already found in the faux tank, which looks like a gas tank but is actually a glove box.
The 30.9-inch seat height is fairly low and easy to manage, though throwing your leg over that top box may take some practice.
The SONDORS Metacycle became the first highway-capable budget e-moto to begin shipping when deliveries began late last year. But the promised 80 mph (130 km/h) top speed turned out to be more like a sustained 60 mph (96 km/h), with a turbo button that allowed brief sprints up to 80 mph. The range of the Metacycle also turned out to be significantly less than the promised 80 miles (130 km).
The CSC RX1E, on the other hand, can sustain its 80 mph top speed and offers over 50% more range than the Metacycle thanks to an over 50% larger battery.
The RX1E will have to compete against similarly priced models like those from Kollter, and other rivals like the Ryvid Anthem and SUPER73 C1X are expected to hit the market in the next year.
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More than 3 years later, the vehicle never went into volume production. Instead, Tesla only ran a very low volume pilot production at a factory in Nevada and only delivered a few dozen trucks to customers as part of test programs.
But Tesla promised that things would finally happen for the Tesla Semi this year.
The goal was to start production in 2025, start customer deliveries, and ramp up to 50,000 trucks yearly.
Now, Ryder, a large transportation company and early customer-partner in Tesla’s semi truck program, is talking about further delays. The company also refers to a significant price increase.
California’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) awarded Ryder funding for a project to deploy Tesla Semi trucks and Megachargers at two of its facilities in the state.
Ryder had previously asked for extensions amid the delays in the Tesla Semi program.
In a new letter sent to MSRC last week and obtained by Electrek, Ryder asked the agency for another 28-month delay. The letter references delays in “Tesla product design, vehicle production” and it mentions “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics”:
This extension is needed due to delays in Tesla product design, vehicle production and dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics. These delays have caused us to reevaluate the current Ryder fleet in the area.
The logistics company now says it plans to “deploy 18 Tesla Semi vehicles by June 2026.”
The reference to “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics” points to a significant price increase for the Tesla Semi, which further communication with MSRC confirms.
In the agenda of a meeting to discuss the extension and changes to the project yesterday, MSRC confirms that the project went from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks while the project commitment is not changing:
Ryder has indicated that their electric tractor manufacturer partner, Tesla, has experienced continued delays in product design and production. There have also been dramatic changes to the product economics. Ryder requests to reduce the number of vehicles from 42 to 18, stating that this would maintain their $7.5 million private match commitment.
In addition to the electric trucks, the project originally involved installing two integrated power centers and four Tesla Megachargers, split between two locations. Ryder is also looking to now install 3 Megachargers per location for a total of 6 instead of 4.
The project changes also mention that “Ryder states that Tesla now requires 600kW chargers rather than the 750kW units originally engineered.”
Tesla Semi Price
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2023. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
New diesel-powered Class 8 semi trucks in the US today often range between $150,000 and $220,000.
The combination of a reasonable purchase price and low operation costs, thanks to cheaper electric rates than diesel, made the Tesla Semi a potentially revolutionary product to reduce the overall costs of operation in trucking while reducing emissions.
However, Ryder now points to a “dramatic” price increase for the Tesla Semi.
What is the cost of a Tesla Semi electric truck now?
Electrek’s Take
As I have often stated, Tesla Semi is the vehicle program I am most excited about at Tesla right now.
If Tesla can produce class 8 trucks capable of moving cargo of similar weight as diesel trucks over 500 miles on a single charge in high volume at a reasonable price point, they have a revolutionary product on their hands.
But the reasonable price part is now being questioned.
After reading the communications between Ryder and MSRC, while not clear, it looks like the program could be interpreted as MSRC covering the costs of installing the charging stations while Ryder committed $7.5 million to buying the trucks.
The math makes sense for the original funding request since $7.5 million divided by 42 trucks results in around $180,000 per truck — what Tesla first quoted for the 500-mile Tesla Semi truck.
Now, with just 18 trucks, it would point to a price of $415,000 per Tesla Semi truck. It’s possible that some of Ryder’s commitment could also go to an increase in Megacharger prices – either per charger or due to the two additional chargers. MSRC said that they don’t give more money when prices go up after an extension.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the 500-mile Tesla Semi ends up costing $350,000 to $400,000.
If that’s the case, Tesla Semi is impressive, but it won’t be the revolutionary product that will change the trucking industry.
It will need to be closer to $250,000-$300,000 to have a significant impact, which is not impossible with higher-volume production but would be difficult.
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British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
British oil major BP on Friday said its chair Helge Lund will soon step down, kickstarting a succession process shortly after the company launched a fundamental strategic reset.
“Having fundamentally reset our strategy, bp’s focus now is on delivering the strategy at pace, improving performance and growing shareholder value,” Lund said in a statement.
“Now is the right time to start the process to find my successor and enable an orderly and seamless handover,” he added.
Lund is expected to step down in 2026. BP said the succession process will be led by Amanda Blanc in her capacity as senior independent director.
Shares of BP traded 2.2% lower on Friday morning. The London-listed firm has lagged its industry rivals in recent years.
BP announced in February that it plans to ramp up annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 and slash spending on renewables as part of its new strategic direction.
Analysts have broadly welcomed BP’s renewed focus on hydrocarbons, although the beleaguered energy giant remains under significant pressure from activist investors.
U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has built a stake of around 5% to become one of BP’s largest shareholders, according to Reuters.
Activist investor Follow This, meanwhile, recently pushed for investors to vote against Lund’s reappointment as chair at BP’s April 17 shareholder meeting in protest over the firm’s recent strategy U-turn.
Lund had previously backed BP’s 2020 strategy, when Bernard Looney was CEO, to boost investment in renewables and cut production of oil and gas by 40% by 2030.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss, who took the helm on a permanent basis in January last year, is under significant pressure to reassure investors that the company is on the right track to improve its financial performance.
‘A more clearly defined break’
“Elliott continues to press BP for a sharper, more clearly defined break with the strategy to pivot more quickly toward renewables, that was outlined by Bernard Looney when he was CEO,” Russ Mould, AJ Bell’s investment director, told CNBC via email on Friday.
“Mr Lund was chair then and so he is firmly associated with that plan, which current boss Murray Auchincloss is refining,” he added.
Mould said activist campaigns tend to have “fairly classic thrusts,” such as a change in management or governance, higher shareholder distributions, an overhaul of corporate structure and operational improvements.
“In BP’s case, we now have a shift in capital allocation and a change in management, so it will be interesting to see if this appeases Elliott, though it would be no surprise if it feels more can and should be done,” Mould said.
On today’s hyped up hydrogen episode of Quick Charge, we look at some of the fuel’s recent failures and billion dollar bungles as the fuel cell crowd continues to lose the credibility race against a rapidly evolving battery electric market.
We’re taking a look at some of the recent hydrogen failures of 2025 – including nine-figure product cancellations in the US and Korea, a series of simultaneous bus failures in Poland, and European executives, experts, and economists calling for EU governments to ditch hydrogen and focus on the deployment of a more widespread electric trucking infrastructure.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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