Iowa is about to adopt an additional “electric fuel excise tax” on July 1, meaning EVs in the state will now pay “fuel” taxes two different ways, whereas gas cars only pay one – and both of these taxes are higher than what a gas car pays.
Iowa double-taxes EVs, and each one is higher than taxes on gas
Iowa’s new EV fuel excise tax, in effect starting July 1, will apply a 2.6 cent tax per kilowatt-hour of electricity dispensed into an EV battery.
Thankfully, the new tax doesn’t apply to residences. But anyone charging at a public or commercial station will now have to pay two taxes where a gas car driver only pays one when they go to a gas station. The other tax is the state’s $130/year registration fee for EVs, which was explicitly intended to replace gas taxes for EVs.
Not only do EVs have to pay twice as many taxes as gas cars do, but each of these taxes is higher than the tax for an equivalent gas car.
At $130/year, an EV is taxed at about the rate of the average 35mpg car, given Iowa’s average 15k miles driven per year. While 35mpg is more than the average gas vehicle, it’s far less than the average efficiency of an EV – most of which are rated at over 100 mpge.
So this one tax is already more than what an EV would pay if it used gas. But on top of that, the 2.6c/kWh is also more than the taxes on gasoline usage. At current average Iowa gas prices of $3.70/gal, the state tax of 30c/gal represents a tax of about 8%. But at average Iowa electricity prices of 14c/kWh, 2.6 cents is an 18% tax, more than double the percentage tax on gasoline.
Per mile, these taxes come out to about .8 cents for EVs and 1.2 cents for gas cars, but remember both that gas cars are taxed based on fuel use not miles (and EVs are much more efficient, so thus should pay much less tax), and that EVs are already paying a tax just for existing.
Finally, there’s even a third source of taxes that some EV drivers pay. Iowa has a “local option” sales tax for utility costs, which means in some parts of the state, electricity is already taxed by an additional 1%. This is a small tax, but it means that EV drivers are instead paying three taxes to the state of Iowa, whereas gasoline users only pay one.
This has nothing to do with road damage
Governments have attempted to justify these abusive taxes by claiming that EVs are causing road funding shortfalls that need to be filled. But Iowa’s EVs cause virtually none of the road damage in the state.
Iowa has 4,596,501 gas vehicles registered as of 2022, and as of April of 2022, had 9,400 EVs registered.
If these EVs drive the same amount as the average Iowa driver, that means they’ll pay about $1.1 million in EV fuel excise tax per year collectively. But Iowa’s Department of Transportation has a $4 billion budget, meaning this new tax will represent ~.027% of its total. At Iowa average road construction costs, this would pay for somewhere around 30 lane-miles of road construction. Iowa currently has a total 235,460 lane-miles of road.
Meanwhile, a fully-loaded semi truck does roughly 10,000 times more damage than an average passenger vehicle. These trucks are driven more miles, too, with an average of around 45k miles per year. So if a $130 tax is reasonable for an average 15k-mile/yr EV, then a $3,900,000 yearly tax should be reasonable for a truck that does 30,000 times as much damage. If one of those numbers seems high, then both of them should.
Besides, less than 40% of Iowa’s roads are paid for by gas taxes, with the majority coming from other tax sources – which EV owners already pay their fair share for.
If we want to argue that “fairness” in paying for road damage is what’s important, then all vehicles should pay an equivalent tax based on weight and mileage regardless of motive power (and additional taxes for the amount of pollution their operation causes as well).
Until then, this is not an issue of fairness – it’s an issue of wealthy fossil lobbyists trying to disadvantage a superior powertrain choice while its numbers are still small and there are few people to complain, with the goal of continuing to choke you to death with the effects of their product.
What’s actually costing Iowans more? Pollution
What actually does have drastic costs for Iowans is pollution. The IMF has estimated that fossil fuels cost the US $649 billion in health and environmental costs per year, and if we assume those costs are distributed evenly across the US population, that would mean Iowa loses about $6 billion due to fossil fuel pollution per year.
And that doesn’t even account for the benefits of avoiding climate change, which will disproportionately affect the agriculture industry (Iowa’s most important industry) and where quick action could save the world tens of trillions of dollars.
But putting a dollar amount on those costs abstracts them and makes them feel less harmful. Those health costs aren’t being paid by your pocketbook, but by your lungs. It’s a shockingly big number, but it’s a number representing an even more shocking amount of misery foisted on you by the fossil fuel industry which has lobbied for these punitive taxes on its better competition.
The number obscures the misery of thousands or millions of Iowans with reduced quality of life, children whose possibilities will be limited by lifetime lung problems before they even get started with their lives, retirees who can’t enjoy their well-earned leisure due to visits to the doctor or being leashed to cumbersome medical devices, or the thousands per year whose lives are cut short from the poison we continue pumping into their lungs.
And with this law, Iowa is throwing its lot in with increasing the misery of its residents. Placing an abusive tax on a small number of those residents who’ve made a better choice and are being punished for it, making better choices less attractive, and harming its residents and its main industry in the process.
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Following on the heel’s of last month’s major leak of the design of Rivian’s secretive ALSO e-bike, now we’ve just gotten a much better look at the upcoming entry to the US micromobility market. And it’s a doozy.
Our previously best look came in the form of blurrier images that were mistakenly left in a marketing video prepared by the company’s social media team.
But thanks to an eagle-eyed reader who spotted the yet-to-be-released e-bike on the Caltrain yesterday morning (hat tip to Adem Rudin), now we’ve got a great view from the expensive seats, barely two days ahead of the anticipated official reveal.
The bike looks to be a test mule based on the extra engineering hardware and the missing shroud covering the wiring run on the front of the battery case. There appear to be several sensors mounted to the bike, including an expensive triaxial accelerometer on the side of the battery and some piece of diagnostic hardware strapped to the downtube.
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But otherwise, it looks like the real deal and matches the several different angles we saw in blurrier form in my previous leak.
Now we have a great view of the front fork, which is confirmed to be an inverted fork. Fascinatingly, it has structural bosses for mounting a front rack, and we can see the orange cargo box employed on that rack for gear hauling duty. That’s likely a custom-designed fork, as I’m not aware of any other cargo forks of this style currently on the market. It’s also a bit of a strange choice. It certainly adds to the utility of the bike, but most e-bike manufacturers have moved to headtube-mounted racks for better stability. A fork-mounted rack swings with the handlebars, meaning heavier loads will change the dynamics of the ride, reduce the front-end handling, and can even lead to dangerous oscillations under the right (or wrong) conditions.
Moving further down, we can clearly see a tone ring built into the front disc brake rotor, which is a giveaway that the bike will feature anti-lock braking (ABS), or at least front wheel ABS. Front-wheel ABS would be a major safety upgrade and is rarely found on bicycles. Between the inverted front fork and the ABS tone ring, the front end of the bike looks more like light motorcycle gear.
The front and rear racks point towards fairly obvious utility intentions for the bike, though the full-suspension and Kenda El Capo tires seem like they belong more on the dirt trails than the bike lanes. It’s a strange mix, but perhaps the tires were just temporary replacements on the test mule. Full-suspension, while more common on off-road bikes, can still be a major upgrade for an urban commuter. We’ve seen it on premium models from companies like Riese & Müller, though also with incredibly premium price tags.
We’re also getting our best look yet at the battery, which seems to be a removable unit that slides in from the side of the bike. It takes up a big portion of the central frame area, whose panels also likely cover a mid-drive motor and the bike’s speed controller, among other critical electronics. We can also see now that the belt drive is a Gates center-drive system, one of the most premium belt drives out there for bicycles (not to mention that Gates is the belt drive maker of choice for high-power electric motorcycles like those from LiveWire and Zero).
The rear suspension is still shrouded and we don’t get a great look at it. However, we can see some linkage and it may be a four-bar setup – again pointing to the sophisticated engineering that went into designing this frame.
The handlebars appear to support button clusters on each side, though we can’t see what functions they might offer. It’s not clear if there are any shifters or if the bike is a single-speed, and we also don’t see a throttle, though it could be a thumb throttle that is obscured from view. The grips appear to be single lock-ons, so I don’t think we’re looking at a full-width twist throttle like you’d find on a motorcycle.
The mirror and the sumo wrestler bike horn are presumably the test engineer’s add-ons, though we can’t rule out for certain that ALSO riders will get their own mostly naked audio warning device.
What else can you see on the bike that I missed? Let me know in the comments below!
Electrek’s Take
I guess the unveiling was only two days away when this photo was snapped yesterday, and I had already spoiled a blurrier look at the bike last month, but I’m surprised they’re just parading around the yet-to-be-officially-unveiled bike in public like this. Back when Mike Radenbaugh was running the show at Rad Power Bikes, he used to personally ride upcoming bikes and camouflage them with cardboard or other concealers to make them look like any other beater city bike. So I’m surprised more effort wasn’t put into obscuring what is obviously a very unique-looking bike.
I’m glad to see more details here and it’s interesting how much investment was put into the bike’s hardware. Other than a few catalog parts like the tires, wheels, brake levers, etc, nearly the entirety of the bike appears to be custom-designed and produced for ALSO. Even for off-the-shelf parts, they went with a lot of high-end stuff. The tires and the water bottle holder are the only cheaper things I can see (mirror and sumo horn excluded). Features like ABS aren’t cheap. And it’s not clear if there is a gearbox in the mid-drive motor, but I would assume so since a single-speed would be unmarketable at this premium level. All of these features point to a bike that probably has very high performance – perhaps almost as high as its invetiable price tag.
And therein lies the rub. It’s shaping up to be a great bike, but also one that very few people will be able to afford. Or even for those who could afford it, it may be difficult to justify all the extra features and tech when, at the end of the day, it still goes just as fast and as far as all the $999 e-bikes out there. I’m not saying that’s the right way to compare it, but I am saying that’s how it WILL be compared. The simple fact of the matter is that there are few e-bike markets that are more price sensitive than in the US. Americans have become used to getting more affordable Chinese manufacturing for years, and lately they’ve seen how good that cheap manufacturing has become on pretty darn decent budget-priced electric bikes.
So will Americans pony up what will probably be 3-4x the price of a budget e-bike for one that has full-suspension, ABS, and very likely some cool connectivity-based features? Time will reveal the answer.
But let’s just say, I’m not yet convinced.
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Spiro, the fast-growing electric mobility company based in Africa, has just secured a historic US $100 million funding round – marking the continent’s largest-ever investment in two-wheel electric transport. And if you haven’t been paying attention to the battery-swapping boom across Africa, now might be a good time to start.
We’ve seen battery-swapping take off around the world, with leaders like Gogoro in Asia, Swobbee in Europe, and Vammo in South America, all demonstrating the effectiveness of swappable battery networks for major two-wheeler markets. But don’t count Africa out, either. Spiro has spent the last few years building up its own homegrown battery swapping network for its locally-built electric motorcycles, and is now set to jump-start that impressive growth with a mega funding round.
The impressive fundraising round was led by The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the impact investment arm of Afreximbank, which contributed US $75 million. The funding will allow Spiro to dramatically scale its fleet of electric motorcycles and expand its already impressive network of battery-swapping stations across the continent.
Swapping gas for watts
Spiro’s model is simple but powerful: affordable electric motorcycles backed by a vast battery-swapping network that eliminates the wait time and charging infrastructure hurdles that typically slow down EV adoption. With over 60,000 electric motorcycles already on the road, more than 1,200 battery swap stations, and 800 million kilometers of low-carbon travel already under its belt, Spiro is building what it claims is Africa’s largest clean two-wheeler ecosystem – and it’s growing fast.
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In fact, the company expects to deploy over 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2025, representing a 400% increase year over year. It’s a lofty goal, but Spiro’s rapid growth over the last few years demonstrates that it’s still attainable.
“Africa is at an inflection point in personal mobility. Riders are rapidly shifting from internal combustion motorcycles to Spiro’s more affordable and accessible battery-swapping ecosystem and motorcycles. For the first time, riders are embracing sustainable transportation because it performs better, costs less to operate, and offers greater profitability than traditional gas-powered vehicles,” said Kaushik Burman, Spiro’s CEO. “This is just the beginning – we’re just getting started.”
I had the chance to speak with Kaushik last month, where he explained to me how a big part of Spiro’s success is helping motorcycle taxi riders – the majority of its customers – achieve a higher standard of living by becoming more profitable with electric motorcycles over gasoline-powered motorcycles. The bikes aren’t just cheaper to purchase, but significantly cheaper to operate, meaning riders can as much as double their daily take-home pay. With that kind of economics, it makes sense why Spiro is seeing such high demand for its motorcycles and battery-swapping network.
More than motorcycles
While Spiro’s bikes are the vehicle – literally – for this transition, the real secret sauce is the swapping network. Riders don’t need to charge at home or wait around for a plug. They just pull into a station, swap out a depleted battery for a fresh one, and get back on the road. It’s a system that’s already proven effective in other regions around the world, and Spiro is now proving it can work at scale in Africa too.
The investment here is also about more than just clean transportation. According to Professor Benedict Oramah, president of Afreximbank, it’s part of a broader push to boost intra-African trade, create local manufacturing jobs, and reduce dependence on imported, second-hand gas-powered vehicles.
“We are delighted to partner with Spiro on this transformative initiative,” said Oramah. “Together, we are laying the groundwork for a new era of intra-African trade and industrialization by stimulating local vehicle manufacturing, strengthening regional integration, and enhancing trade flows.”
Made in Africa, for Africa
Founded in 2022, Spiro is leaning into local production as part of its growth strategy. The company has assembly facilities operating in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda, with new pilot programs now underway in Tanzania and Cameroon.
This latest funding builds on more than $180 million already raised from backers like Equitane and Société Générale, further underscoring investors’ confidence in Spiro’s model.
“Spiro’s rapid expansion into new markets demonstrates the immense appetite for clean, affordable, and efficient transport across the continent,” said Gagan Gupta, Chairman of Equitane. “With FEDA’s support, Spiro is exceptionally well positioned to scale even faster.”
Electrek’s Take
While most electric motorcycle battery swapping headlines are dominated by Europe, the US, or China, this is a powerful reminder that Africa is carving out its own lane – and it’s doing it with a smarter, scalable approach that solves local problems in local ways. Battery swapping may not be the answer everywhere, but it’s proving to be a perfect solution in dense urban areas where fuel is expensive and charging access is limited.
And if Spiro hits that 100,000-vehicle goal next year? Well, don’t be surprised if Africa ends up leading the world in practical, everyday e-mobility adoption. After all, doesn’t a 100 kg electric vehicle make a lot more sense for a quick taxi trip than a 2,500 kg one?
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FILE PHOTO: Workers transporting soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, Oct. 31, 2010.
Stringer | Reuters
China on Tuesday responded to the U.S.-Australia critical minerals deal by saying resource-rich rare earth countries should take “a proactive role” in stabilizing their critical minerals supply chains.
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked about the U.S. and Australia critical minerals deal which has been framed as an effort to counter Beijing’s dominance.
“The formation of global production and supply chains is the result of market and corporate choices,” Guo Jiakun said, according to NBC.
“Resource-rich nations with critical minerals should play a proactive role in safeguarding the security and stability of the industrial and supply chains, and ensure normal economic and trade cooperation,” he added.
Rare earths are a category of minerals that are critical for a swath of products from cars to semiconductors.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday signed an agreement at the White House intended to boost the supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals.
The framework agreement, which was described as an $8.5 billion deal between the allies, comes shortly after China imposed more stringent export controls on rare earths.
China’s Commerce Ministry earlier this month announced expanded curbs on the export of rare earths and related technologies, seeking to prevent the “misuse” of minerals in the military and other sensitive sectors.
Western automotive industry groups have been among those to raise the alarm over the new export controls, saying the measures could pave the way to a period of supply chain chaos.
Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands after signing a $8.5 billion rare earth minerals agreement during a bilateral meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Oct. 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
China is the undisputed leader of the critical minerals supply chain, accounting for roughly 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials. U.S. officials have previously warned that this poses a strategic challenge amid the pivot to more sustainable energy sources.
Rare earth stocks
George Cheveley, natural resources portfolio manager at Ninety One, described the U.S. and Australia agreement as a long time coming, but “a good deal” designed to boost the supply of critical minerals outside of China.
“From an investment point of view, it is not so obvious. This is a very small sector,” Cheveley told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.
“And clearly when you’re dealing with a sector so politicized and where government money is being put in essentially as a subsidy, it is telling you that it is difficult to make it work economically,” he added.
Shares of some of Australia’s largest critical metals and rare earths companies jumped on Tuesday, while others lost ground after an early rally.
Lynas Rare Earths, Australia’s largest rare earths producer by market capitalization, fell 7.6% after posting gains earlier in the session. Mineral sand miner Iluka Resources slipped 0.1%, while lithium producer Pilbara Minerals added around 2.6%.
Latrobe Magnesium, Australia’s primary producer of the critical metal magnesium, notched gains of more than 15%.
Stateside, rare earth stocks were last seen slightly lower in premarket. Critical Metals slipped 3.8%, USA Rare Earth fell 2.4%, and MP Materials lost 1.8%.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng & Dylan Butts contributed to this report.