We now have pricing for the Meyers Manx 2.0 EV and it’s not cheap
Meyers held an event at Pebble Beach to announce its new Resorter NEV, a lower-speed version of its upcoming Manx 2.0 electric dune buggy. At the event we also learned pricing for the 2.0 EV, and it’s a lot higher than we had hoped.
The Meyers Manx 2.0 EV is a resurrection of the iconic original dune buggy, which started off as a kit car built on a modified VW Beetle chassis. The car was popular in the 1960s as a desert racer and beach cruiser. The kit cost around $500-$1,000, in 1967 dollars, plus whatever it cost to get the various VW Beetle parts you needed to complete the build.
But the 2.0 is its own beast, built from the ground up as a tiny 1,500lb all-terrain EV, with a choice of a 20 or 40 kWh battery, 60kW charging, with 202hp and 0-60 in 4.5 seconds for the bigger-battery version – and no doors.
From the look and specs of it, it seems like it would be a blast to drive, especially for those who live in areas with good weather, like Newport Beach, California, where the original Meyers kit car was first conceived in a garage and where the new incarnation of Meyers – now owned by venture capital firm Trousdale – is still headquartered.
Meyers Manx 2.0 EV price: $74,000
And today, we learned how much the Meyer Manx 2.0 EV will set you back, and the price is higher than we wished: $74,000. Meyers has only released the base price, so we don’t know how much options will cost – in particular how much the upgraded 40kWh battery will set you back over the base 20kWh version.
Meyers had set expectations high from the start, holding introductory events in Malibu and Pebble Beach, not areas known for bargain-hunting. And the company plans to use pricey materials in the vehicle’s construction – for example, the roof of the Manx 2.0 EV is made of carbon fiber. As a new company making a bespoke beach buggy, with necessarily low production numbers, economies of scale will be working against it.
If you’re interested in the Manx 2.0 EV at $74k, Meyers is taking $500 deposits. It expects to ship the 2.0 EV in 2024, and is looking for 50 early-interest beta testers who will drive the car and provide feedback ahead of wide release.
Electrek’s Take
I’m no stranger to pricey early EV programs, having participated as a driver of the original Mini E, in 2009, which started off as a lease-only deal at $950/month. It was great fun being part of a group of 500 people, several of whom I still keep in touch with, and feeling like we had a part in shaping the future of BMW’s EV programs and even the EV industry as a whole. It’s why I’m even here to begin with, it’s what started my EV journey. So the idea of Manx’s beta program brought back fond memories of that time for me.
That said, we had hoped that a small, stripped-down EV for getting around town or using as a beach/desert toy would be more affordable than this. At this price, it’s positioned itself as a toy for some very-wealthy beach dwellers, who don’t mind spending almost double the price of the average new car in America for a car that will pretty much necessarily be a secondary or partial-use vehicle.
It’s not really fair to compare this car to higher-production vehicles from established companies, but given that the Leaf and Bolt exist in the sub-30k range and each have batteries of 40kWh or larger, are twice as big, and have a lot more “real car” things in the cockpit (touchscreen infotainment, doors, interior storage, and so on), we had hoped to see something a little closer to that.
Especially considering that the heritage of the Manx 2.0 was not expensive. As mentioned above (and in this Car & Driver article from 1967), when it first came out in the 60s, you could build one for as little as ~$800. That’s the equivalent of about ~$7k in 2023 dollars, after accounting for general inflation levels. Though you could spend up to around ~$4,000 if you really tricked it out, which is about ~$36k in 2023 dollars.
Heck, at this price, you could probably even buy an original one and convert it to electric, which for other vehicles is never really the economical choice – but here it might even be cheaper than going with a new base model Manx 2.0.
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James Murdoch, a Tesla board member and friend of CEO Elon Musk, has confirmed that he sold about $13 million in stock today as the stock (TSLA) crashed.
There has been a lot of insider trading at Tesla lately, and by trading, we mean selling – cause no insider is ever buying at Tesla.
We recently reported on Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav recently selling ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.
Tesla’s chairwoman, Robyn Denholm, also sold $33 million worth of Tesla shares last week and over $100 million in the last 3 months.
Now, it’s James Murdoch’s turn. The Tesla board member just confirmed, through a required SEC filing, that he sold 54,776 Tesla shares for just over $13 million today:
He sold as Tesla’s stock crashed 15% today. It is now down more than 50% from its all-time high just a few months ago.
Murdoch was appointed to Tesla’s board in 2017.
He is better known as the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.
Murdoch was one of the Tesla board directors who was forced to return almost $1 billion in cash and stock options to Tesla as part of a settlement for over-compensation.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla insiders are unloading, and those are just the ones we know about. Public companies only have to report insider trading for board directors and listed top executives.
For the latter, Tesla purposefully only lists 3 people: Elon, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s CFO, and Tom Zhu, whose role at Tesla has bit quite fluid in recent years.
Therefore, we don’t know about the dozens of other top executives potentially selling their shares right now amid a giant correction.
It’s really suspicious because there are clear top leaders at Tesla who are often on Tesla’s earnings calls, and they are not even listed, like Lars Moravy, for example.
But it’s par for the course at Tesla, which has some of the worst corporate governance I have ever seen. It’s truly shameful.
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Environment
Mercedes’ new electric people mover is coming soon: Here’s a sneak peek at the luxe EV van
The next generation of Mercedes-Benz luxury vans is almost here. Mercedes’ first luxury electric van, based on its new VAN.EA platform, is now in Arjeplog, Sweden, for winter testing. The new platform will serve as the base for upcoming VIP private vans, high-end limousines, luxury all-arounders, and much more.
What we know about Mercedes’ new luxury electric van
Mercedes is already a leading van maker, both for business and private use. Starting next year, all electric Mercedes’ vans will launch on its new Van Electric Architecture (VAN.EA).
After unveiling the platform almost two years ago, Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said “VAN.EA clearly underscores our aspiration to ‘Lead in Electric.” He explained that the purpose-built EV architecture supports both mid and large vans.
With a modular design, Mercedes can easily swap out sections to create a different design. The platform consists of three blocks, or modules.
The first block has the electric powertrain while the middle module determines the van’s dimensions. At the rear, the final module can add another electric motor, giving it AWD capabilities.
With 4MATIC AWD, Mercedes claims the new architecture significantly expands driving range and ensures the vans “meet the highest standards regardless of weather conditions.”
Although final specs will be revealed closer to launch, the electric vans will be based on an 800V platform, suggesting relatively fast charging speeds.
The luxury vans will also be loaded with Mercedes’ new operating system (MB.OS), it’s powerful new in-vehicle software that powers all functions like infotainment, autonomous driving, and more.
After the electric van began testing on public roads late last year, Mercedes said it was headed to Sweden for winter testing before its official debut next year.
Mercedes plans to launch several versions for private and business use. The VAN.EA-P is designed for those looking for a mobile office, family activity vehicle, etc., while the VAN.EA-C is for commercial use, such as courier, express, and parcel delivery vehicles. It can even support larger vehicles like campers or RVs.
Mercedes aims for 20% of van sales to be electric by the end of next year. By 2030, the luxury brand wants half of all van sales to be EV.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
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Environment
BlackRock’s Fink says Trump deportations will have severe impact on agriculture, construction
HOUSTON — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Monday that President Donald Trump‘s deportation policy will have a severe impact on the agriculture and construction sectors, which could lead to elevated inflation in the near term.
“I think that over the next six to nine months, we’re going to see a little more elevated inflation,” Fink said the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. “I do believe deportations and the speed at which it is happening is going to have severe impacts on the agricultural sector and the construction sector.”
Fink said CEOs in the agriculture sector have told him that about 70% of the men and women who work in the industry were not born in the U.S. This raises the question of whether the U.S. will have enough labor to harvest the crops when spring arrives, Fink said.
“With the whole idea that we’re going to have to use private capital to build out this economy — are we going to have enough workers,” Fink asked. “I’ve even told members of the Trump team that we’re going to run out of electricians as we build out AI data centers — we just don’t have enough,” the CEO said.
This potential labor shortage will contribute to inflation, Fink said. Over the longer term, however, the U.S. could see “big deflation because of the advancement of AI and robots and how that’s going to reshape the economy,” the CEO said.
The deflationary pressure that the U.S. experienced over the past two decades was due in part to the importation of cheaper goods from overseas though this hurt U.S. workers, Fink said. The shift to rising nationalism around the world will have an impact on prices, he said.
“When I go to Washington, they talk about these policies,” Fink said. “I ask at what cost are you willing to tolerate that. “Yes, we may have opportunities to create better and more robust jobs, but then the offside of that will be, it will probably create a little more elevated inflation in the short run.”
Trump’s deportation policy is occurring at the same time the president is imposing tariffs on major U.S. trade partners. The president has slapped 20% tariffs on China. He has paused tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods that are compliant with the deal that governs trade in North America. But Trump is threatening what he calls “reciprocal tariffs” in April.
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