A mere few months after announcing a move to a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Nairobi, electric mobility company ROAM inaugurated the new space in a ceremony attended by the president of Kenya, William Ruto. As operations officially kick off, ROAM now occupies the largest electric motorcycle assembly plant in East Africa.
ROAM was founded in 2017 under its original monicker, Opibus, before receiving a fresh rebranding to ROAM in April 2022. Although ROAM has Swedish roots, it has always been identified as a proud Kenyan company in Africa, developing, designing, and manufacturing all-electric motorcycles and buses in addition to clever fast charging technologies to support them.
Last summer, ROAM launched its flagship Air electric motorcycle, complete with two swappable battery packs that combine 180 km (112 miles) of all-electric range and class-leading carrying capacity. ROAM’s bikes play a tremendous role in its goal of easing mass adoption of zero-emission transport across Africa – particularly in the boda boda segment of motorcycle taxis in East Africa.
This past March, ROAM shared plans to expand to a new 10,000-square-meter (approximately 107,650-square-foot) facility in Nairobi, Kenya, to keep up with demand and improve production efficiencies. At the time, we learned the new facility would be called ROAM Park and would eventually become home to the company’s new headquarters in East Africa in addition to housing electric motorcycle production plus development and battery labs.
Today, ROAM Park officially opened in East Africa following an exclusive visit from the president of Kenya, William Ruto, who not only toured the production floors but also climbed atop an Air.
Kenya president, William Ruto, speaks to the crowd at ROAM Park / Credit: ROAM
ROAM continues to expand into EV powerhouse in Africa
In speaking with the team at ROAM, today’s presidential visit was a momentous occasion for the relatively young company, whose assembly line is now humming as the largest electric motorcycle plant in East Africa. Per ROAM:
Roam Park’s inauguration by His Excellency William Ruto represents a significant milestone not only for the company but also for the nation as a whole. It exemplifies Kenya’s determination to embrace a more sustainable future while fostering technological advancement through investment in the local production of electric mobility solutions and hence economic prosperity of Kenyans.
President Ruto toured ROAM Park and got an up-close look at an Air motorcycle – the first all-electric designed and manufactured in Kenya. The president’s visit coincided with a new initiative he introduced called Boda Boda Care to enhance the welfare of motorcycle taxi drivers. ROAM’s all-electric Air bikes provide a viable solution to East Africa in lowering exposure to carbon emissions and noise pollution.
After touring the assembly line and battery lab as well as observing worker safety, President Ruto expressed confidence in ROAM during a ceremonial speech:
I am proud to inaugurate Roam’s electric motorcycle assembly plant today. This facility showcases Kenya’s potential as a leader in clean transportation solutions in Africa. This initiative aligns perfectly with our national goals to reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy alternatives. The assembly plant will not only contribute to our environmental goals but also foster economic growth by creating job opportunities and nurturing local talent in the automotive industry.
Looking ahead, ROAM looks to get more and more of its electric motorcycles out to operators in East Africa and beyond. Now that ROAM Park is officially open for business, the company will work to optimize and expand motorcycle production to reach an annual output of 50,000 units in the next “few years.”
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Tesla reported three more crashes involving its Robotaxis in Austin, Texas – now bringing the total to 7 incidents despite low mileage and in-car supervisors preventing more accidents.
Since the launch of the ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin, Texas, where Tesla moved the supervisor from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, it now has to report crashes to NHTSA.
The automaker reported one more Robotaxi crash last month, and this one was interesting because it coincided with Tesla announcing that the Robotaxi fleet had traveled 250,000 miles from its launch in late June to early November.
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It revealed Tesla’s current Robotaxi crash rate, which is about 2x higher than Waymo’s, despite in-car supervisors that prevent an unknown number of crashes.
Now, Tesla has reported to NHTSA three more incidents that happened with the Robotaxi fleet in Austin in September:
Report ID
Incident Date
IncidentTime(24:00)
City State
CrashWith
Highest Injury
Severity
Alleged SV
Pre-Crash Movement
CPPre-CrashMovement
Narrative
13781-1178
7 SEP-2025
13:08
Austin TX
Animal
No Injured
Reported
Stopped
NM Crossing Roadway
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1178
6 SEP-2025
03:43
Austin TX
Non-Motorist: Cyclist
Property Damage.
No Injured
Reported
Stopped
Moving Alongside Roadway
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1178
4 SEP-2025
20:42
Austin TX
Passenger Car
Property Damage.
No Injured
Reported
Proceeding Straight
Backing
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1168
7 SEP-2025
01:25
Austin TX
Other Fixed Object
Property Damage.
No Injured
Reported
Making Left Turn
NaN
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1150
7 JUL-2025
03:45
Austin TX
SUV
Property Damage.
No Injured
Reported
Stopped
Proceeding Straight
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1145
9 JUL-2025
12:20
Austin TX
Other Fixed Object
Minor
W/O Hospit
alization
Other, see Narrative
NaN
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1137
5 JUL-2025
15:15
Austin TX
SUV
Property Damage.
No Injured
Reported
Making Right Turn
Making Right Turn
[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
Unlike other companies reporting to NHTSA, Tesla abuses the right to redact data reported through the system. The automaker redacts the “narrative” for each reported crash, preventing the public from knowing how the crashes happened and who is responsible.
Based on the limited information in Tesla’s reports, we know that one of the new crashes involved a Robotaxi driving into a car backing up, another involved a cyclist, and the last one involved an unknown animal.
Electrek’s Take
My favorite thing about reporting on those is the messages from Tesla fans who say: You don’t know how many of those Robotaxi are responsible for?
It’s funny because I agree, but whose fault is that? Tesla could do like every other company and report the narratives.
Waymo does, and it’s clear that it isn’t responsible for many of the crashes they are involved in. I am sure that’s the case with some of those Tesla Robotaxi crashes.
However, Waymo has hundreds of millions of rider-only autonomous miles, and Tesla has a few hundred thousand, all with a supervisor on board, a finger on a killswitch, ready to prevent further crashes. Who knows how many more crashes Tesla would have had without them?
I expect a few because humans generally have a crash, whether they are at fault or not, every 700,000 miles. Tesla has 7 in probably ~300,000 miles, which should be worrying to anyone, whether the Robotaxis were responsible or not.
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Hyundai is bringing “something big” to the LA Auto Show this week, and the teaser points to a slick new off-road electric SUV. Here’s our first look.
What is this off-road Hyundai SUV?
The LA Auto Show is just days away, and Hyundai is gearing up to steal the spotlight once again. Last year, it was the IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV. What will it be this year?
Hyundai gave us a sneak peek of a new “extreme off-road show vehicle,” the Crater Concept, ahead of its upcoming debut.
Although details are still pretty slim at this point, the sketch shows a high-riding, rugged SUV, clearly designed for off-roading with massive tires and aggressive wheel arches.
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Hyundai didn’t say what powertrain the off-road SUV will use, but given the closed-off grille and no visible tailpipes, all signs point to it being electric in some way. It could be a battery-electric (EV) or even a fuel-cell-electric vehicle (FCEV).
Hyundai Crater off-road SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)
The Crater Concept looks a bit like the new Nexo, Hyundai’s dedicated hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The updated Nexo introduces Hyundai’s new “Art of Steel” design language, which was first shown on the Concept THREE electric hot hatch in September.
Hyundai said the design theme “combines resilience with artistic form,” which exudes strength and sophistication.
Hyundai Crater off-road SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)
The dour dot lamps on the Crater Concept look about the same as Hyundai’s new “HTWO” lamps, exclusive to its FCEVs.
Hyundai said the Crater Concept has been “crafted to amplify the same spirit and robustness found in Hyundai’s XRT production vehicles,” like the IONIQ 5 XRT, Santa Cruz XRT, and new Pallisade XRT Pro.
Hyundai Crater off-road SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)
The design team at Hyundai Design North America also introduced its new design and ideation studio on Monday, codenamed “The Sandbox” internally.
Hyundai’s new creative hub is exclusively dedicated to creating new outdoor adventure vehicles and rugged Xtreme Rugged Terrain (XRT) gear.
Will the Nexo be next? It sure looks like it. Hyundai will reveal the Crater Concept during a livestream press conference at the LA Auto Show on November 20 at 9:45 am PT. Check back for updates.
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Terawatt Infrastructure has switched on its newest commercial EV charging hub in Rialto, California, giving electric truck fleets a new high-speed charging stop along one of the US’s busiest freight routes.
The hub is situated on the eastbound side of I-10 and is designed for heavy-duty fleet use, particularly for trucks traveling from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through Southern California’s industrial centers.
Neha Palmer, Terawatt CEO and cofounder, said, “Our network enables companies to reduce emissions and run a variety of routes across a number of vehicle classes with the confidence of a dependable charging solution. EV fleets can now travel further, more cleanly, without slowing down their operations.”
The Rialto site is built with high‑speed charging, security, and amenities that support daily freight operations. Here’s what it offers:
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18 pull‑through 350 kW DC fast‑charging stalls
55 bobtail parking stalls for overnight or shift‑based parking
A driver lounge with wifi, climate control, and restrooms
License plate recognition for quick entry
Solar canopies and 100% renewable‑powered charging
24/7 security with cameras and gated access
Terawatt’s first medium- and heavy-duty electric truck charging stop in California, Rancho Dominguez, opened in April.
In September 2024, Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, described as the first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor. As part of that effort, Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support, at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
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