This Tesla caused quite a buzz when it bummed a charge in a small town
An “Unidentified Electric Vehicle” (UEV) made front-page news in a small town paper in Montana when it charged from a public outlet on Main Street.
EV charging has gotten pretty easy these days, even when driving through less-populated areas.
But those of us who have been driving EVs for a long time, or who have driven them in places where routes are underdeveloped, remember having to bum charges in strange places from time to time.
Well, that happened to a couple, Chad Lauterbach and Allis Markham, as they stopped to grab some electrons from a public outlet in the town of Ekalaka, Montana, population 404. The, uh, “drama” was reported by the local paper, the Ekalaka Eagle, and then picked up by the Montana Free Press.
On the very front page, right beside stories about the upcoming pet parade and weekly cribbage meetup at the senior center, a large photo of a Tesla Model Y plugged into a public outlet appears with the caption “BORROWED VOLTS.” The caption refers to the Model Y as a “UEV (unidentified electric vehicle)” and states that this may be the first electric vehicle charger in town, but also muses about whether the UEV had paid for its illicit gains.
The couple, who are from Los Angeles, were actually in town for several days, volunteering at the annual Dino Shindig at the Carter County Museum. Markham is a museum taxidermist who was working on paleo-recreations for the museum. Montana has a rich paleontological history, with one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur fossils of any state in the US. They drove the Model Y instead of Markham’s ’89 Land Cruiser FJ62, since the latter gets ten miles per gallon.
On the way into town, the Model Y repeatedly warned that there wouldn’t be enough Supercharger availability to continue the trip. These are standard warnings when using Tesla’s in-car navigation, which automatically routes trips through the most convenient Supercharger locations.
They were staying at a farmhouse 20 miles outside of town, but were charging off a 120V outlet there, which meant a quick trip in and out of town would take a good ten hours or more of charging to compensate. Plus, moving the car along the dirt easement in the pasture that led to the farmhouse proved difficult – not because of the terrain, but because the cows weren’t interested in moving out of the way for a silent car.
The couple were offered an F-150 to get around, and thought they’d leave the Tesla at the farmhouse. But while in town, Lauterbach noticed a spare 14-50 outlet on Main Street, and decided to give charging from it a try, and use the Tesla to get around instead.
This outlet can deliver electricity about 5-6x faster than a normal US wall outlet, which means a recharge for a 40-mile roundtrip takes closer to one or two hours, instead of ten. And Lauterbach, who owns an IT company and has been driving a Tesla for two and a half years now, travels with a charging adapter kit which is, frankly, kind of overkill (and even includes a level 1 grounding adapter of his own design):
But when Lauterbach wanted to charge on Main Street, Markham warned that the locals might not take kindly to that, and might think that he’s “just some jerk from California, doing what jerks from California do.”
After a successful charge, Lauterbach went back the next day to charge again, but found the outlet had been shut off. A local in a Subaru noticed him and said he might want to check out the local paper, so he went across the street to find himself on the front page, being accused of the crime of electricity theft (he bought three copies).
Markham, feeling vindicated for her prophetic warning, walked over to the Southeast Electric Cooperative headquarters just a block away, and said she was “here to pay for the crimes of the UEV.” After everyone had a good laugh, the couple insisted on paying $60 for a few days of electricity use. They even got a receipt for it, which SECO said was their first-ever EV charging receipt:
It turns out that the outlet hadn’t been shut off as a response to Lauterbach’s “crimes,” but rather that it is only active a few weekends a year, typically used to help power events held on Main Street. So the couple said that their $60 could help pay for the electricity used to run the music at that weekend’s dinosaur festival dance.
After the encounter, SECO’s staff signed Lauterbach’s copy of the Ekalaka Eagle, seen in this article’s featured photo above. Staff said “we will need to get with the times!” and is now considering installing an electric car charger in town.
At Montana’s average 12c/kWh electricity prices, $60 is enough for about 1,700 miles of driving, using Tesla’s optimistic estimates. A single, 0-100% charge of a Model Y battery would cost about eight dollars at this rate. Lauterbach said the 3,000-mile trip from LA to Montana and back cost about $300 total in charging fees.
Electrek’s Take
When I saw this story, I loved it… because I’ve done something similar myself, and remember stories like these from the early days of EV ownership.
Early on in my EV journey, back in 2011, my dad and I took our Mini E up to Laguna Seca for Refuel Races, an EV track day. We had ours in a car trailer, but fellow Mini E driver Matt Walton followed behind us and drafted the trailer to help with range on the drive up. Then, at the motel, I wanted to make sure the Mini was topped off before the track day, and we found a spare outlet at the bottom of a light post, and got a little extra juice there.
Another Mini E owner once used an outlet next to a vending machine in front of a grocery store to get an extra couple miles on the way home.
This actually highlights one of the things that I like to point out about EVs. Even in a town with no EV charger and no EVs, Lauterbach was able to find a place to charge.
The fact is, electricity is everywhere, even in the absence of official “charging stations.” You’re always closer to a place that you can charge an electric car than you are to a place where you can fill up a gas car – because even gas stations run on electricity.
With a little preparation, it’s easy to tap into this electricity and find a place to fill up, pretty much no matter where you are in the world. Though Lauterbach’s preparation goes above and beyond – the list of 11 different adapter kits he told us he carries would make this article too long if we posted it here.
Gas car owners might occasionally worry about the cost of this (to the public, to the friends or family you’re staying with, etc.), but that’s because the high price of gasoline (which still isn’t high enough given the cost of pollution) is all they have to compare against.
Since EV charging is so much cheaper than gas, most won’t particularly mind once you show them the cost of charging from a standard wall outlet is maybe 20 cents an hour. Give them a bottle of cheap wine to compensate and everything will be okay. Or, as Lauterbach and Markham did, clean up some dinosaur bones, pay for the entertainment, and offer a few test rides to the locals to smooth things over.
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Environment
Tesla is now buying ads on Elon Musk’s X to get people to vote for his $1 trillion compensation
Tesla is now buying advertising on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) to get Tesla shareholders to vote for his CEO compensation package worth up to $1 trillion in stock options.
Tesla, under Elon Musk’s leadership, has famously been against advertising. The CEO is even on the record saying that he “hates advertising” and that “other companies spend money on advertising and manipulating public opinion, Tesla focuses on the product.”
However, that was before he acquired Twitter, now X, which relies heavily on advertising.
After that, he started to push Tesla to do some advertising, but the company quickly stopped or greatly reduced its advertising efforts.
We reported that Tesla’s advertising effort picked back up last week, starting with a few Google ads to encourage Tesla shareholders to vote for Musk’s new unprecedented CEO compensation package worth up to $1 trillion.
The automaker is in a full-on marketing blitz to convince shareholders to vote for the package and to allow Tesla to issue more shares in exchange.
Now, Tesla is even buying social media ads to push shareholders to vote for Musk’s compensation package and they are even buying ads on Musk’s privately owned platform, X:
They are also buying ads on Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit.
As we previously reported, Tesla’s board has claimed that voting for the compensation package will determine the future of Tesla.
Musk went even further and linked his compensation package to the future of the world.
Earlier today, the CEO claimed that his compensation plan is not about money, but about control over Tesla:
It’s not about “compensation”, but about me having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots. If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don’t even own Tesla shares themselves, I’m not comfortable with that future.
The CEO previously threatened Tesla shareholders not to build AI products at Tesla, despite claiming they were critical to the company’s future, if he doesn’t get 25% control over the company.
Electrek’s Take
The CEO of a publicly traded company threatens shareholders to gain control over the company and uses company funds to purchase ads that benefit his privately held company, with the goal of persuading the shareholders of the publicly traded company to give him more money.
If that’s not late-stage capitalism, I don’t know what is.
Also, I know I won’t shock anyone here, but Elon is lying about this not being about money.
If he wants to increase his percentage of Tesla shares, he could do exactly what his friend Larry Ellison did with Oracle and do long-term buybacks. It would benefit everyone, but it’s not what he wants. He wants the shiny new stock options.
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Voltpost just rolled out the Voltpost Air, its next-gen lamppost EV charger in New York City, and this one comes with a key twist: it’s mounted 10 feet above ground.
The Voltpost Air uses that elevated design with a retractable cable system to protect against weather damage and vandalism, setting it apart from Voltpost’s original curbside charger. It’s also built for faster installation, broader pole compatibility, and better reliability.
It can be installed on both wooden and metal lampposts and utility poles, curbside or in parking lots. Site hosts can deploy one or two chargers per pole, making it a flexible option for cities and property owners. Drivers can pay with the app or by tapping with a credit card. Voltpost Air supports Level 2 charging, up to 9.6 kW per charging port.
Luke Mairo, COO and cofounder of Voltpost, said that “the modular design and quick installation reduce costs and complexity, making it easier than ever to expand charging infrastructure.” Voltpost is already operating chargers in Oak Park, Illinois, and at the American Center for Mobility near Detroit. The company has projects underway in New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Former US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation executive director Gabe Klein, now a Voltpost board advisor, said, “The transition to renewable transportation requires bold, scalable solutions that can integrate seamlessly into existing urban infrastructure. Technologies like Voltpost’s lamppost chargers are vital because they unlock new opportunities to deploy EV charging.”
The Brooklyn installation is part of New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (NYCEDC) Pilots at Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) program, which supports climate-tech companies in scaling new solutions. It’s expected to be available to the public by the end of the year. New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) president and CEO Doreen M. Harris called the model “highly replicable” and said it could be adopted across New York State.
Voltpost Air is now available for deployment at public and private sites.
Read more: Voltpost just flipped the switch on its first public lamppost EV charger
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Environment
Kia’s electric van was spotted in the US again, but this time it looks a little different
Is Kia’s electric van finally coming to the US? The Kia PV5 was caught testing with a unique design, hinting it’s destined for the US.
Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?
Although Kia has yet to announce it publicly, all signs point to the PV5 launching in the US. In February, the electric van was first spotted charging at a station in Indiana.
A few photos and a video sent to Electrek confirmed it was indeed the Kia PV5. The sighting came somewhat as a surprise, as the only official statement from Kia said the PV5 would arrive in Europe and South Korea this year, followed by “launches in other markets” in 2026, but no mention was made of the US.
After another PV5 was spotted in Arizona, rumors that Kia’s electric van was coming to the US began to surface again.
Kia still has yet to confirm or deny a US launch, but another sighting hints at the PV5’s imminent debut. The latest spotting, by KindelAuto, appears to be of the US-spec 2026 Kia PV5.
It looks about the same as the Kia PV5 Passenger, which is already available in parts of Europe and South Korea. However, although it’s not very clear, Kia’s electric van appears to have added side marker lights, a requirement in the US.
Following its launch in the UK earlier this year, the Kia PV5 Passenger is now being introduced to new European markets.
In the UK, it starts at £32,995 ($44,000) on the road. In Germany, the PV5 Passenger is priced from €38,290 ($45,000) or €249 per month.
Kia’s electric van is available in two variants: Passenger, for everyday driving, and Cargo, for business use. The PV5 Passenger is available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh, providing WLTP ranges of 183 miles and 256 miles, respectively. Meanwhile, several more variants are on the way.
During its PV5 Tech Day in July, we learned that Kia plans to launch seven PV5 body types, including a Light Camper, a premium “Prime” Passenger model, and an open bed version.
We’ll have to wait for the official word, but there’s still hope Kia’s electric van will make it to the US. We should find out soon. Can we get the EV5 too? That might be pushing it.
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