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Less than a week after teasing a new “collectible masterpiece” codenamed the B95, Automobili Pininfarina has just unveiled the EV – which we have learned is called the Barchetta. This extremely limited production run electric hypercar feature blends past and present with an entirely open top and a “world’s first” aero screen design. Such rarity comes at a price, though, earning the title of most expensive EV to date.

Today’s global premiere in Monterey caps off quite a busy summer for Automobili Pininfarina, who has already graced the world of EV enthusiasts with not one, but two uniquely designed electric hypercars.

First was the Battista Edizione hyper GT – the automaker’s second chapter in limited-edition versions of its flagship EV – the Battista – an elusive vehicle itself. This hyper GT dedicated to the original founder’s nephew and the first-ever Formula 1 champion, Nino Farina, goes 0-60 mph in a mind-boggling 1.79 seconds. That level of speed is quite hard to come by, and so is the new EV delivering it – Automobili Pininfarina says it only intends to build five.

Earlier this month, the hypercar developer followed up with another astonishing exercise in EV design, introducing a new concept called the PURA Vision – complete with a glasshouse top hat and tri-opening pillarless doors.

At the time, we learned the PURA Vision would be on display in Northern California at Monterey Car Week and that a new “B95” EV recently teased by Pininfarina would debut with some of the same design elements as the concept.

Following today’s global premiere, you may notice one element not included in the B95’s design is the glasshouse. Instead, Automobili Pininfarina has removed the top altogether.

Meet the all-electric Barchetta.

Barchetta arrives as a new EV celebrating Pininfarina’s history

During today’s global debut, we have learned that the “B” in B95 stands for… you guessed it, Barchetta. Meanwhile, the “95” is a nod to the automaker’s 95th anniversary in 2025 – the year Pininfarina SpA intends to begin customer deliveries of the limited-edition hyper EV. Company chairman Paolo Pininfarina spoke:

The B95 is elegant, bold, beautiful, and innovative. Everything that defines a true Pininfarina design.  It will be the perfect celebration of the 95th anniversary of Pininfarina, which has an unrivaled history creating rare icons that are now the most revered and sought-after collectors’ cars in the world. B95 will undoubtedly continue this legacy and also deliver a statement of intent for Automobili Pininfarina as it develops an incredible portfolio of new luxury electric cars.

Pininfarina SpA speaks often and at length about its PURA design philosophy that strives for vehicles that are pure, timeless, and instantly recognizable. Don’t forget super rare to come by. To keep drivers safe on the road or track without the repose of a glasshouse, Pininfarina has implemented unique design elements on the Barchetta, including a more submersive cabin space, domes behind each passenger’s head, and electronically adjustable aero screens the automaker has proclaimed a “world’s first.”

Each version of Pininfarina’s newest EV will be built entirely by hand at the automaker’s facility in Cambiano, Italy. Like the original Battista, Pininfarina SpA will work alongside each customer to create a Barchetta that is truly one of a kind. For added safety, the automaker says its design team will also offer bespoke helmets to its customers to match their one-of-a-kind Barchetta.

How many customers is the hypercar developer courting, you ask? A mere ten this time. That being said, you can expect a price tag to match. This is a “collectible masterpiece,” after all. Pininfarina SpA shared that each bespoke Barchetta will cost a staggering 4.4 million euros ($4.78 million).

That officially takes the crown from the Aspark Owl as the most expensive EV on the planet. Congrats team!

So, what sort of performance can nearly $5 million get you? The Barchetta’s makers say the new hypercar will feature the same powertrain as the Battista hyper GT, but uniquely tuned. It’ can ‘s four individual motors can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 2 seconds and reach a top speed over 300km/h (186 mph).

The Barchetta’s T-shaped, liquid-cooled, 120 kWh lithium-ion battery generates a peak power of 1400 kW (1,900 PS) and can achieve charge rates up to 270 kW on DC fast chargers, replenishing from 20-80% top up in 25 minutes.

Visitors to Monterey Car Week can get an up-close look at the new Barchetta alongside Pininfarina SpA’s other two EV models. We will cap this news off with a quote from CEO Paolo Dellachà, who summed up the debut of this summer’s hyper EV trinity up quite well:

This is the most exciting chapter of the Automobili Pininfarina story so far – we’re taking another big step forward. The introduction of the B95 is the third of three essential building blocks this summer for our brand. First, we introduced the Battista Edizione Nino Farina, an exclusive celebration of Pininfarina’s racing son – also the first Formula 1 World Champion.

The launch of the PURA Vision design concept then unlocked a new design philosophy for all future models from our brand, across a spectrum of different segments. Now, our new Barchetta shows how these design principles can be applied – with a retro-futuristic vision fusing classic motorsport themes with the latest technological innovations, materials and processes.

B95 delivers the power of Battista and yet creates a new dimension of driving experience, redefining the very joy of driving. It is the first of a new kind, an object of desire that introduces the thrill of exceptional, electrified performance in stunning open-top form.

Well said. By the way, can anyone lend me $4.78 million? I’m good for it, I promise.

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Renewable giants shrug off Trump’s anti-wind policies: ‘Electrification is absolutely unstoppable’

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Renewable giants shrug off Trump's anti-wind policies: 'Electrification is absolutely unstoppable'

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. 

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Renewable energy giants appear relatively sanguine about U.S. President Donald Trump‘s anti-wind policies, describing the process of replacing fossil fuels with electrically powered products as “absolutely unstoppable.”

Trump, who promised a new “golden age” for America in his inaugural address on Monday, swiftly took aim at low-carbon energy initiatives.

In a standalone executive order, which had been widely expected, the president temporarily suspended new or renewed leases for offshore and onshore wind projects and halted the leasing of wind power projects on the outer continental shelf.

“We are not going to do the wind thing. Big ugly windmills, they ruin your neighborhood,” Trump told his supporters at the Capital One Area in Washington on Monday. He previously described wind turbines as an economic and environmental “disaster.”

The measures formed part of a much broader energy offensive designed to “unleash” already booming oil and gas production. This included declaring a national energy emergency, promoting fossil fuel drilling in Alaska and signing an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the landmark Paris Agreement.

Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board of Siemens Energy, one of the world’s biggest renewables players, seemed unfazed by Trump’s sweeping energy agenda. In fact, Kaeser considered the policies a “slight plus” for the German energy technology group.

Shares of Siemens Energy jumped more than 8% on Wednesday morning, hitting a new 52-week high.

“We need to see what’s behind all the executive orders and the policies. So far, I believe there are many areas where actually Siemens Energy benefits a lot,” Kaeser told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.

There will be uncertainty for low-carbon energy sectors, such as onshore and offshore wind, Kaeser said, before adding that Trump’s measures were unlikely to directly impact Siemens Energy. That’s partly because roughly 80% of the firm’s wind market is in Europe, Kaeser said.

European Union is not prepared for Trump 2.0, top German business executive says

“So, I believe that doesn’t move the needle. I’m much more worried about the European economies and how they deal with a very powerful nation, with a very powerful concept. We may or may not like it, because it’s got some nationalistic type of things, but if we look at it from the view of the American people, we better get something going,” Kaeser said.

Beyond onshore and offshore wind, Kaeser said Siemens Energy was well positioned to capitalize from a “booming” electrification market.

“Think about the data centers, artificial intelligence, we have waiting times now on large gas turbines. Actually, customers are coming and saying, hey can I make a reservation and I’ll pay you for a reservation? Just think about that. It hasn’t happened for a long time,” Kaeser said.

“I believe the electrification age has just begun. Whether that’s gas turbines or wind or solar or something else, we’ve got everything, and the customers decide in the end. And one thing I believe one should not underestimate, the White House is not buying much [but] the customer does,” he added.

‘Very, very optimistic’

Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola was similarly bullish about the road to full electrification, describing the transition away from fossil fuels as “absolutely unstoppable.”

“We are seeing that probably we are in the best moment for electrification,” Ignacio Galán, executive chairman of Iberdrola, told CNBC at WEF on Tuesday.

Galán cited soaring global demand for electrically powered data centers, low-emission vehicles as well as cooling and heating applications.

A logo on the nacelle of a wind turbine at the Martin de la Jara wind farm, operated by Iberdrola SA, in the Martin de la Jara district of Sevilla, Spain, on Friday, April 21, 2023.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“All of those things require more electricity 24 hours a day. Our business in the United States is mostly in this area, which is networks … and the regulation depends on the state authority, so I think that is not really affected at all,” Galán said.

“Depending on the legislation, we will make more or less investment in another part of our business,” he added, referring to Trump’s energy policy.

“We are very, very optimistic about the United States and the future,” Galán said.

Wind power woes

Shares of some European wind power giants fell shortly after Trump took aim at wind power plans.

Denmark’s Orsted, which recently announced a roughly $1.7 billion impairment charge on U.S. projects, dipped 4.4% on Wednesday morning, extending steep losses from the previous session.

The rapidly growing offshore wind sector has endured a torrid time in recent years, hampered by rising costs, supply chain disruption and higher interest rates.

Windmills pictured during a press moment of Orsted, on Tuesday 06 August 2024, on the transportation of goods with Heavy Lift Cargo Drones to the offshore wind turbines in the Borssele 1 and 2 wind farm in Zeeland, Netherlands. 

Nicolas Maeterlinck | Afp | Getty Images

Artem Abramov, head of new energies research at Rystad Energy, said Trump’s energy agenda essentially means the likelihood of any new offshore developments in the U.S. has fallen to zero — at least for now.

“The US currently has around 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of advanced-stage offshore wind developments that have reached final investment decision and are under construction, which are unlikely to be impacted by the order,” Abramov said in a research note published Tuesday.

“Moderate risk amid the unfavorable investment climate is present for 10.5 GW of projects which secured necessary permits but have not reached investment decisions,” Abramov said.

“The remaining 25 GW of early-stage projects are unlikely to see any progress under the current administration,” he added.

— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.

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Trump’s first day, Hyundai lease deals, and Volvo’s EVs arrive in the US

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Trump's first day, Hyundai lease deals, and Volvo's EVs arrive in the US

On today’s episode of Quick Charge, President Trump has a wild first day in office, but it’s not ALL bad, either. Plus: Tesla gets diner integration, Hyundai keeps the deal train rolling, and it’s dad’s 80th birthday.

We also look ahead to some possible discounts for Tesla insurance customers, some news on the upcoming “cheap” Cybertruck, and wonder out loud if Puerto Rico’s billion dollar solar project is going to see the light of day. All this and more – enjoy!

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

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Stripe cuts 300 jobs in product, engineering and operations

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Stripe cuts 300 jobs in product, engineering and operations

The Stripe logo on a smartphone with U.S. dollar banknotes in the background.

Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

Stripe cut 300 jobs, representing about 3.5% of its workforce, mostly in product, engineering and operations, CNBC has confirmed.

The payments company, valued at about $70 billion in the private markets, still expects to increase headcount by 10,000 by the end of the year, which would be a 17% increase, and is “not slowing down hiring,” according to a memo to staff from Chief People Office Rob McIntosh. Business Insider reported earlier on the cuts and the memo.

A Stripe spokesperson also confirmed to CNBC that a cartoon image of a duck with text that read, “US-Non-California Duck,” was accidentally attached as a PDF to emails sent to some of the employees who were laid off. Some of the emails mistakenly provided affected employees with an incorrect termination date, the spokesperson said.

McIntosh sent a follow-up email to staffers apologizing for the “notification error” and “any confusion it caused.”

“Corrected and full notifications have since been sent to all impacted Stripes,” he wrote.

In 2022, Stripe cut roughly 1,100 jobs, or 14% of its workers, downsizing alongside most of the tech industry, as soaring inflation and rising interest rates forced companies to focus on profits over growth. The Information reported that Stripe had a few dozen layoffs in its recruiting department in 2023.

Stripe’s valuation sank from a peak of $95 billion in 2021 to $50 billion in 2023, before reportedly rebounding to $70 billion last year as part of a secondary share sale. The company ranked third on last year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list.

In October, Stripe agreed to pay $1.1 billion for crypto startup Bridge Network, whose technology is focused on making it easy for businesses to transact using digital currencies. 

Brothers Patrick and John Collison, who founded Stripe in 2010, have intentionally steered clear of the public markets and have given no indication that an offering is on the near-term horizon. Total payment volume at the company surpassed $1 trillion in 2023.

WATCH: Early Bridge investor weighs in on $1.1 billion Stripe deal

Early Bridge investor weighs in on $1.1 billion Stripe deal

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