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SAE has voted unanimously to form a task force to expedite its NACS standardization process, and thinks that this process could finish by the end of the year – much earlier than we expected. We spoke with the chair of the task force for some insight on what the process might look like.

Tesla released specifications of its charging connector in November 2022. It called it the “North American Charging Standard,” which was somewhat of an absurd name at the time, given that Tesla was the only company using it.

However, Tesla’s argument was that most of the cars and most of the DC charging stations in America already used Tesla’s connector, so it should be considered a de facto standard anyway.

For a few months not many people took this seriously, until Ford shook up the industry by announcing it would adopt the NACS plug on upcoming vehicles. Soon after, GM made the same move, and now basically everyone else has.

So now that we have what looks like a standard, the professional engineering organization which develops industry standards has taken up the flag of creating a real, independent standard that is no longer in the hands of Tesla.

This is an important move because many governments and companies would understandably have an issue with a single company having control over a standard that, at this point, it seems like everyone is planning to use.

NACS standard could come this year, named “J3400”

We talked to Rodney McGee, Ph.D., of the University of Delaware, who is chairing SAE’s NACS task force.

The most important thing he told us is that the SAE Task Force aims to publish its work by the end of this year, only around six months after the start of the standards process. This is significantly faster than we thought it would take to complete the process.

McGee said that SAE is the only standards-setting organization that would be able to publish NACS this quickly, because the timelines for meetings and consensus in the ISO and IEC, two other standards organizations, are much longer due to the complex document processes used by these international organizations.

Another reason for this quicker timeline is because the NACS connector already exists on millions of vehicles, and makes up the majority of the installed base in the US. Since their stations are listed to UL standards and have been proven in the real world, many questions are already answered.

The standard will likely take the official name “J3400,” similar to the name of the current J1772 plug used in SAE CCS chargers. Though it could colloquially be known as J3400, NACS, or even “the Tesla plug,” depending on which name the EV-owning public seizes on.

But McGee told us that this his interest in NACS isn’t just on the DC side of charging, where most of the public’s imagination has focused, but on AC charging where the vast majority of actual charge sessions occur. It turns out that NACS is superior to J1772 for AC charging in one significant way – it can use an input voltage of up to 277 volts, whereas J1772 uses 208-240V.

This not only enables faster AC charging due to higher voltages, but more importantly makes for easier setup on commercial electricity supplies, which is often supplied as 480-volt three-phase power, of which a 277-volt single-phase circuit can be used for charging. This could make public AC charging – in parking garages for apartment buildings or workplaces, for example – cheaper and easier to install since commercial customers won’t need to install their own transformers.

McGee said that Tesla has been very helpful with the process in the last two weeks since SAE proposed making NACS a real standard, and is leaving the future of NACS up to a consensus-based standards process.

This has helped to allay some concerns across the industry, especially in Europe, which was skeptical that NACS could be a protectionist move. Europe has mandated non-proprietary charging connectors before and recently wasn’t happy about EV protectionism in the US Inflation Reduction Act, so this recent groundswell of support for a standard controlled by one American company was met with some skepticism. Having a standards-setting organization in control of the future of NACS makes it much more palatable (and might have led to Mercedes’ announcement to adopt it last week).

Why Plug & Charge is broken and how to fix it

Plug & Charge, a colloquial name for the ISO 15118 standard which allows simple “plug in & walk away” operation of public charging stations, has had a long and difficult implementation process. For years charging station providers have promised it’s just around the corner, but it seems to never materialize.

This is part of why Tesla leads in charging experience satisfaction, because plugging into a Supercharger is a simple process that takes seconds, whereas other chargers might require a subscription, a payment app, swiping a credit card, or at the very least waiting the better part of a minute for authentication to occur before charging initiates.

Besides these user experience issues, McGee pointed out one of the lesser-discussed reasons the standard has been hard to implement in the US, and how the SAE has been working on that problem since before NACS, and sees NACS as a opportunity to further its effort.

Plug & Charge requires a Public Key Infrastructure on the back-end to authenticate vehicles and payments. Public keys are a cryptographic mechanism that allow for secure authentication – one example is website certificates, so your computer can know that it is looking at a legitimate website.

In Europe, this PKI is provided by a company called Hubject, which verifies charging sessions on European public chargers.

But in the US, nobody has coalesced around a single company or organization to provide these certificate services yet. McGee said this is a major obstacle to Plug & Charge in the ISO 15118 standard, first published in 2014, since it is a technical standard did not initially prescribe solutions that were practical for the market.

SAE participants see the wider efforts around the NACS process as an opportunity to solve this problem going forward. Since the industry is shifting to NACS, this disruption could serve as the right time to solve this problem. It is engaging with industry (through SAE-ITC) to create a PKI for NACS which will hopefully solve this problem going forward.

Electrek’s Take

We were surprised to hear that NACS could be certified as a standard by the end of this year.

In the past, standards have taken much longer to develop – in fact, that’s why we even have the Tesla plug in the first place.

When Tesla was building the Model S, there wasn’t a standard that could do both AC and fast DC charging in the same plug. The rest of the industry – and the SAE – was slowly working out the CCS standard, but Tesla couldn’t wait any longer and went its own way, building the Tesla plug and later revealing the Supercharger network.

Now, more than a decade later, that Tesla connector looks likely to become the main charging standard in North America.

So the idea that this could be approved by the end of the year definitely raised our eyebrows, given the history of charging standards implementation and sometimes-long timelines involved.

And we’ve had a lot of questions about Plug & Charge and how long it has taken to implement in the past, so the conversation with McGee was enlightening on that front. It’s good to hear that a solution might finally be around the corner.

But this is a bit of a double-edged sword – while the NACS disruption gives an opportunity to solve the Plug & Charge problem for NACS, increased focus on the new charging standard might mean that nobody bothers to fix it for CCS, as it rapidly becomes considered a “legacy standard” the likes of CHAdeMO.

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Ford won’t give 2026 Mustang Mach-E buyers a frunk for free

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December 11, 2025

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Ford won't give 2026 Mustang Mach-E buyers a frunk for free

Ford-Mustang-Mach-E-2026

The 2026 Mustang Mach-E will not come with a standard frunk, but Ford says you can pay for it.

Ford drops free frunk from 2026 Mustang Mach-E

Because electric vehicles don’t require a massive internal combustion engine, the frunk, or front trunk, is an added bonus.

Nearly every EV has a frunk, but Ford reportedly won’t offer one for the 2026 Mustang Mach-E, at least not for free.

Speaking with The Electric Duo on YouTube recently, Teddy Ankeny, Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E brand manager, said drivers were not using it as much as the company expected.

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To save buyers a little money, Ford made it optional. Ankeny explained that Ford revised pricing across the Mach-E lineup to better align with what buyers were looking for. As a result, the 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT is about $1,000 cheaper than the outgoing model, starting at $53,395.

The 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E Select starts at $37,795, the same as the outgoing model. A new California Edition joins the Mach-E lineup for the first time, starting at $55,890.

Ford-Mustang-Mach-E-free-frunk
The 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT California Special (Source: Ford)

To give it its own identity, separate from the two-door Mustang, Ford gave the Mach-E California Edition a distinct Rave Blue color scheme.

The special edition model is built on the Mach-E GT with 280 miles of EPA-estimated driving range, 480 horsepower, and 700 lb-ft of torque.

Ford-Mustang-Mach-E-frunk-2026
Ford-Mustang-Mach-E-California-Special

The 2026 Mustang Mach-E is available to pre-order online and will begin arriving at dealerships in early 2026. Just how much the frunk will cost has yet to be announced.

In terms of specs, the 2026 model year is about the same as the 2025 Mustang Mach-E, but Ford is looking to cut costs anywhere it can, hence the optional Frunk.

Ford-Mustang-Mach-E-California-Special-interior
The interior of the 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT California Special (Source: Ford)

Ford is offering other ways to save for those looking to go electric, including through its Ford Power Promise initiative.

The offer includes a free Level 2 home charger (plus standard installation), 24/7 live electric vehicle support, roadside assistance, and an 8-year, 100,000-battery warranty. If you already have a home charger, you can opt for a $2,000 cash bonus.

Interested in a test drive? With the 2026 models coming, Ford is heavily discounting 2025 Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning models with leases starting as low as $219 per month. You can use the links below to find the 2025 and 2026 models in your area.


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Jackery Christmas Sale takes up to 57% off power stations, Rad Power e-bikes up to $500 off, Exclusive refurbished Anker SOLIX, more

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December 11, 2025

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Jackery Christmas Sale takes up to 57% off power stations, Rad Power e-bikes up to 0 off, Exclusive refurbished Anker SOLIX, more


This week’s Thursday edition of Green Deals is following the trend of being headlined by another power station brand, as Jackery has launched its Christmas Holiday Sale with up to 57% discounts on units, complete with two extra savings codes starting from $79. Right behind it, we also have Rad Power Bikes’ Christmas e-bike sale with up to $500 discounts and new low prices starting from $1,399, as well as $1,280 exclusive savings on a refurbished Anker SOLIX F3800 Portable Power Station at a new $1,399 low, several Mammotion robot lawn mower deals, Goal Zero’s multi-purpose Torch 500 Light low, two unique cordless electric pressure washer deals from Fanttik, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals collected together at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Bluetti power station Christmas sale with up to 55% initial discounts and up to 8% exclusive bonus savings, Anker’s SOLIX 72-hour flash deals that end tonight, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Jackery Christmas Holiday power station sale banner

Save up to 57% on Jackery power stations + bonus savings during its Christmas Holiday Sale – deals start from $79

Jackery has officially launched its Christmas Holiday Sale with up to 57% discounts, and two different thresholds to receive extra savings, as we saw during Black Friday. The brand’s newest HomePower 3600 Plus Portable Power Station can be scored during this event at $1,614.05 shipped, after using the code OFFER5 at checkout for an additional 5% off, which beats out Amazon’s pricing by $85. Only on the market since September, we’ve been getting plenty of deals bringing costs down from its $2,799 full price, with today’s rate matching its Black Friday pricing and only being beaten out by the $1,599, $1,519, and $1,499 rates that all popped up in various stages of Prime Day savings over one week in October. You’re getting the next-best price outside of those Prime Day deals here, with $1,185 total savings. Head below to learn more about it and browse the full lineup of Christmas Holiday savings.

As we saw during Jackery’s Black Friday events, we’re seeing the continuance of the two bonus savings codes that turn on once your cart reaches certain pricing thresholds. The code OFFER5 provides an extra 5% savings on orders of $1,500 to $2,499, while orders over $2,500 can use the code OFFER7 to score 7% extra savings.

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Jackery’s newest HomePower 3600 Plus station came along to fill the gap between the previously released HomePower 3000 station and the brand’s Explorer 5000 Plus station, which boasts the most expansive capabilities amongst the bunch. It does so with a 3,584Wh LiFePO4 starting battery capacity that can climb up to 21kWh with expansion accessories added on, and delivers up to 3,600W of power (surging as high as 7,200W) through its 10 output ports.

Like its predecessor, this new model has also been given an expanded tally of recharging options, with a standard AC outlet putting it back to full capacity in around 2.5 hours. You can also use both AC and DC charging simultaneously, connect a gas generator to take advantage of its bypass charging feature, plug into your car’s auxiliary port, or connect up to 1,000W of solar input.

***Note: None of the prices below have had any extra savings factored into their costs, so be sure to use one of the two above codes when your cart becomes eligible to get the absolute best deals during Jackery’s Christmas Holiday Sale!

Jackery’s Christmas Sale HomePower 3600 Plus offers:

Jackery’s other Christmas Sale critical load offers:

Jackery’s Christmas Sale appliance backup offers:

Jackery’s Christmas Sale outdoor adventure offers:

Jackery solar panel/expansion battery offers:

Jackery’s other device deals:

man and woman riding Rad Power e-bikes through forest

Rad Power’s Christmas Holiday Radness sale drops Radster Trail & Road e-bikes to new $1,599 lows (Save $400), more

Rad Power Bikes has officially launched its Christmas Holiday Radness Sale with up to $500 savings across multiple e-bikes – plus, a shipping deadline of December 16 to receive your order ahead of Christmas. Among the bunch, we spotted the latest Radster Trail Off-Road e-bike at $1,599 shipped, with its counterpart Radster Road Commuter e-bike also down at $1,599 shipped. Part of Rad’s new wave of e-mobility solutions, these e-bikes saw a permanent price cut from their original $2,199 MSRPs to $1,999 back in August, with discounts since having taken costs as low as $1,699 during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now, you’re looking at an even greater $400 markdown while supplies last, landing these models down at new all-time lows.

If you want to learn more about these particular e-bikes, or browse the full lineup of deals, be sure to check out our original coverage of this Christmas sale here.

family walking towards RV with Anker SOLIX F3800 power station

Get a refurbished Anker SOLIX F3800 power station with $1,280 exclusive savings at a new $1,399 low

We have secured an exclusive deal from Wellbots on a refurbished Anker SOLIX F3800 Portable Power Station for $1,399 shipped, after using the exclusive code 9TO5XMAS100 at checkout for an additional $100 savings. This deal already starts off lower than ever, as the usual $2,679 price tag has been cut down to $1,499, but the exclusive savings our readers are getting take things even further. In our previous early Black Friday exclusive deal on this unit, the cost was taken down to $1,597, but today’s deal goes lower by $98 ($1,280 total savings) and marks a new all-time low for this renewed backup power solution.

If you want to learn more about this power station, be sure to check out our original coverage of this exclusive deal here.

father and dauther planting tree in yard with Mammotion robot lawn mower tending to grass

Gift autonomous lawn care support with up to 35% off Mammotion robot mowers – all starting from a $649 low

By way of its official Amazon storefront, Mammotion is offering up to 35% discounts across a collection of its robot lawn mowers, with most down at their next-best rates since Black Friday, while the YUKA Mini 500H Robotic Lawn Mower has returned to its best price of $649 shipped. Coming down from its $999 price tag here, we saw costs taken down to this same low rate back during the brand’s Black Friday sale event two weeks ago. For those who didn’t jump on the deal then, you’re getting another chance here today, thanks to the 35% markdown cutting $350 from the going rate to land back at the all-time lowest tracked price.

If you want to learn more about this robot lawn mower’s capabilities, or browse the full lineup of discounts on other models, be sure to check out our original coverage of these deals here.

man using Goal Zero Torch 500 multi-purpose light while working on car

Pick up Goal Zero’s solar-charging 500-lumen Torch Light and 5,200mAh power bank at $36 annual low

Through its official Amazon storefront, Goal Zero is offering the best price of the year on its Torch 500 Multi-Purpose Light at $35.89 shipped. It goes for $50 at full price, which we’ve been seeing regularly drop down to $38 over 2025, even during both Prime Day events. While it did go lower in 2024, you’re looking at the best price that we have tracked this year, giving you a multi-functional tool with $14 savings.

You can learn more about this handy tool by checking out our original coverage of this deal here.

man using Fanttik cordless electric pressure washer to clean patio furniture

Save up to 50% on Fanttik’s unique NB8 Fold and Ultra cordless electric pressure washers starting from a $130 low

Through the official Fanttik Amazon storefront, you can pick up the unique NB8 Fold Cordless Electric Pressure Washer for $129.99 shipped. It’s dropping down from its $210 full price, which we saw go as low as $150 in the first half of 2025, while the latter half has seen drops to $140, as well as the one-time previous fall to this same rate during Black Friday events two weeks ago. It’s coming back around for the second time here today, giving you $80 in savings to the best price that we have tracked. If you’re looking for something with a little more power, but still providing unique portability, the brand’s NB8 Ultra 4-gallon Cordless Pressure Washer is down at its second-lowest price of $199.99 shipped, too.

If you want to learn more about this unique electric pressure washers, be sure to check out our original coverage of these deals here.

Best Winter EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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Trump willing to seize more oil tankers off Venezuela coast, White House official says

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5 hours ago

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December 11, 2025

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Trump willing to seize more oil tankers off Venezuela coast, White House official says

U.S. preparing to seize more ships transporting Venezuelan oil: Reuters

President Donald Trump is willing to seize more oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, a White House official told CNBC on Thursday.

The U.S. seized a tanker on Wednesday that had allegedly transported oil from Venezuela to Iran. The action comes as Trump escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.

The White House official told CNBC that the Trump administration is always looking to enforce the law.

The oil market has been focused on Ukraine peace talks and so far is not indicating a risk of a major supply disruption. U.S. crude oil fell 86 cents, or 1.47%, to close at $57.60 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent settled at $61.28, down 93 cents, or 1.49%.

Sources told Reuters earlier that U.S. is expected to target more ships transporting Venezuelan crude in the coming weeks. The Treasury Department updated its Venezuela sanctions list on Thursday to include more than a dozen additional people, companies and tankers.

The tanker seized on Wednesday was a Very Large Crude Carrier, or VLCC, identified as the Skipper, Matt Smith, head U.S. analyst at energy consulting firm Kpler, told CNBC. It was loaded covertly with 1.1 million barrels in mid-November and appeared on course for Cuba, Smith said.

The tanker will be taken to a U.S. port and the oil will be seized, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. “However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed,” Leavitt said.

The tanker seizure comes amid a major U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean. The Trump administration has launched a series of deadly strikes in recent months on boats that it says were trafficking drugs to the U.S. Those strikes have been the subject of intense scrutiny in Congress over their legality.

Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC and has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. It is exporting about 749,000 barrels per day this year, with at least half that oil going to China, according to data from Kpler.

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