Äike T review: Testing the first electric scooter that can charge your laptop
To be fair, the Äike T electric scooter is an interesting and innovative ride by itself. But the fact that it’s the world’s first USB-C enabled electric scooter is icing on the cake.
But what makes the Äike T electric scooter stand out so much from the hundreds of other e-scooters on the market?
Pretty much every electric scooter in the world is built in China. I say pretty much, because there’s one model that isn’t, and you’re looking at it.
Meet the Äike T, a European-designed and built electric scooter that packs a number of surprises.
Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that most of the cool features surrounding this scooter relate to its design, not its performance.
The performance is good, don’t get me wrong. But there’s nothing majorly innovative on the performance side. In the US it gets a 20 mph (32 km/h) speed limit, which is nice but a far cry from the faster electric scooters we’ve tested.
The 1,000W motor is certainly peppy, but again, it’s similarly powerful to many other electric scooters out there.
The battery’s 583 Wh capacity is commendable, but 25 miles (40 km) of range is once again fairly average for the nicer electric scooters already available in the US.
What makes the Äike T scooter so different?
So what makes this scooter special then? If the raw performance figures put it in the middle of the pack, then it’s all the other features and design considerations that make it stand out.
The first of which is that impressive battery. Not only is it removable, which is a nice bonus for anyone that doesn’t want to carry a 42 lb (19 kg) scooter around to find a plug. But the battery is also rechargeable via a USB-C charger, just like the kind you likely already use to charge your laptop and other devices.
It can accept up to 100W of charging via USB-C, though there’s another charge port if you want to get the higher power dedicated charger for even faster charging.
That USB-C feature means even if you’ve forgotten your charger, you can still beg, borrow, or steal a commonly available USB-C laptop charger somewhere. If you’re in class, you’ve probably got a few friends around that have one within reach. Both the battery and the scooter have a USB-C port, so you don’t have to pull the battery out to charge it.
The battery can also serve as a portable power station, meaning if your laptop or phone is low on juice then it can charge up your devices straight from the scooter’s battery. That’s probably not something most people will use everyday, but it’s a cool feature to have in a pinch. Think about it: Many of us have a big e-bike or e-scooter battery laying around that is only good for one thing: powering that ride. If you can get a second use out of it for backup power, then why not?!
There’s even more impressive tech under the hood. The scooter includes GPS anti-theft protection, and there’s even keyless smart-lock that uses your phone to activate the scooter – no key or PIN code needed.
Next, consider the physical design features. The side-supported wheels don’t just look cool, they also make it easier to change a tire. You’re unlikely to need to do that often though, since those 10″ tires are tubeless pneumatics that are less likely to get flats.
Braking is accomplished with a combination of a mechanical drum brake (i.e. no maintenance) and regenerative electric braking (i.e. also no maintenance). The entire scooter is IPX5 rated for water resistance, though it’s safer to avoid riding in rain anyway. But if you do get caught in a sprinkle or have to ride through puddles, you can be confident that the scooter can take it.
The entire construction and assembly is designed to be much more rugged than cheap imported scooters, and having European-based manufacturing gives the company the highest level of quality control to ensure those high standards.
Even things that many would consider superfluous, such as the kickstand, are nicely thought out. The double kickstand is minimalistic yet creates an extremely stable parking platform to prevent the scooter from falling over, which is good, because you probably don’t want to be knocking over and scratching up an expensive scooter.
Though even on that front, the Äike T isn’t really that expensive, at least not compared to the rest of the market. It’s priced at around €1,150 in Europe (approximately US $1,250), and in the US its available as part of a subscription program for around US $75 per month.
Suspension – what about it?
If there’s any single major downside to the Äike T electric scooter, it’s the suspension. Or rather the lack of it.
There’s no suspension in the scooter and so you’re going to feel bumps like sidewalk cracks and cobblestones more than on a full-suspension scooter.
Personally, this didn’t really bother me because was riding on mostly good streets, bike lanes, and sidewalks. I didn’t have many pot holes to watch out for and the ones I did, well, I knew where they were and I just didn’t hit them. The large 10″ tires also help smooth out smaller imperfections like the cracks between concrete slabs.
So for many people like me, it’s not a deal breaker. But if you have a lot of rough roads or bumpy trails where you plan to ride, you should know about the lack of suspension going in.
There is an upside here, though, and that’s increased ruggedness. Since there’s no suspension, there’s also no suspension to wear out or break. That might be a poor tradeoff for some, but others may appreciate knowing that the scooter is just one solid piece that’s designed to last.
In conclusion
Like I said, the scooter itself works well. I can’t commend it too much on performance because other than being a really stable platform to ride, it’s not like it’s that much different than other high end scooters in areas like speed, power, and range. It’s sufficiently fast and has a long enough range for most city riders.
The real gem here is everything else! The slick looking design, the GPS anti-theft, removable USB-C compatible battery, the nicely designed app for customizing the scooter, the ultra-low maintenance design, the automotive style tires with large diameter wheels. Even the broad, easily visible lighting is a great feature to see.
While it certainly costs more than a budget scooter, it’s also a high end, European-made electric scooter that will last a lot longer. So you have to pay a bit more than many Americans are used to for cheap Asian scooters, but you get a lot more too.
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Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Perplexity is extending its bet on chat-powered shopping, aiming to stand out in the crowded generative artificial intelligence market against OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
The company said on Wednesday that it’s partnering with PayPal to let users make purchases directly in chat. U.S. customers will soon be able to book travel, buy products, and secure concert tickets without leaving the platform.
Payments will be completed in the chat with PayPal or Venmo, and PayPal will handle processing, shipping, tracking, and invoicing. Purchases will be completed with one click, with the help of the payment company’s passkey checkout.
“Perplexity wants to be wherever users are asking questions and making decisions,” said Ryan Foutty, Perplexity’s vice president of business. “Our vision for assistive AI is that everything just gets better and easier for people — wherever they are and however they prefer to make decisions.”
Perplexity jumped into e-commerce last year, adding a shopping feature for paid U.S. users and integrating with sellers using services like Shopify. Now Perplexity is allowing users to complete transactions within a chat, a feature that OpenAI’s ChatGPT has yet to roll out.
PayPal is competing for AI deals against companies including Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard.
PayPal technology chief Srini Venkatesan said PayPal’s system can directly connect to the merchants, handling payments, shipping, and billing information without requiring users to re-enter details. The company also manages support.
“The next generation of commerce is happening on the agentic side. People are starting to research and shop online through agents,” Venkatesan said, referring to AI-driven systems that can complete tasks without human intervention. “Agentic commerce is not only the searching but making it all the way to the purchase — paying for it and then buying it from that merchant. So that’s what PayPal has been leading, and we’ve been trying to get the agentic commerce piece right.”
Venkatesan said PayPal’s edge in this space comes from its ability to securely verify both buyers and sellers. PayPal authenticates users through their wallet and automatically fills in billing and shipping information, aiming to reduce friction.
“We provide the trust that the business is legitimate on one side, and then the customer is legitimate on the other side,” he said.
The partnership comes as Perplexity is finalizing a $500 million funding round at a $14 billion valuation, down from an initial target of $18 billion.
The use of AI-driven chat services for buying decisions has jumped 42% in the past year, according to Salesforce data, based on 1.6 trillion page views on its platform. Global sales influenced by AI climbed to $229 billion between November and December, up from $199 billion during the same period a year earlier.
ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s AI Overviews have climbed ahead in search, building powerful real-time results and AI-enhanced answers. OpenAI launched its ChatGPT search feature last year, positioning it to compete directly with Perplexity, while Google’s AI Overviews brought real-time insights to search.
WATCH: Perplexity CEO on AI race
More than 1 in 4 cars sold around the world in 2025 are expected to be EVs, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). And if EVs stay on track, they could make up over 40% of global car sales by 2030.
The IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2025 report, released today, shows the electric car market is still charging ahead, even with some bumps in the road. Despite economic pressures on the auto sector, EV sales hit a record 17 million in 2024, pushing their global market share past 20% for the first time. That momentum carried into early 2025, with EV sales jumping 35% in Q1 year-over-year. All major markets saw record-breaking Q1 numbers.
China continues to lead the EV race by a wide margin. Nearly half the cars sold there in 2024 were electric. That’s over 11 million EVs – more than the entire world sold just two years earlier. EV adoption is also booming in emerging markets across Asia and Latin America, where sales shot up by more than 60% last year.
In the US, EV sales grew about 10% year over year, with electric vehicles now making up over 10% of all new car sales. Meanwhile, Europe’s EV sales hit a plateau. As government incentives started to taper off, the continent’s market share held steady at around 20%.
“Our data shows that, despite significant uncertainties, electric cars remain on a strong growth trajectory globally,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “Sales continue to set new records, with major implications for the international auto industry.”
One of the main drivers is lower prices. The average cost of a battery electric car dropped in 2024, thanks to increased competition and falling battery prices. In China, two-thirds of EVs sold last year were cheaper than their gas-powered counterparts, and that’s without subsidies. But in markets like the US and Germany, EVs are still pricier up front: around 30% more in the US, and 20% more in Germany.
Still, EVs win when it comes to operating costs. Even if oil drops to $40 per barrel, it’s still about half as expensive to charge and run an EV at home in Europe than to drive a gas car.
The report also notes the growing role of Chinese EV exports. About 20% of all EVs sold globally last year were imported. China, which produces over 70% of the world’s EVs, exported 1.25 million of them in 2024. These exports have helped push down prices in emerging markets.
And it’s not just electric cars that are on the rise. Electric truck sales jumped 80% globally last year, now making up nearly 2% of the truck market. Most of that growth came from China, where some heavy-duty electric trucks are already cheaper to run than diesel, even if the upfront cost is higher.
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Global research firm Rho Motion has shared its monthly global EV sales report for April, which details continued long-term growth. While global EV sales are down compared to March 2025, the year-over-year tally remains strong, despite uncertainty amid the threat of tariffs and trade wars.
Since merging with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence last June, Rho Motion has become one of the go-to platforms for data surrounding critical mineral and energy transition supply chains. Its monthly updates on market intelligence, including prices and sales data, are must-see research every time they’re published.
This month’s report is no different.
In March 2025, we reported that EV sales worldwide had surged to 1.7 million units, bringing the total to 4.1 million units for Q1. March marked a 40% increase compared to February 2025, and a 29% increase year-over-year.
For April 2025, Global EV sales stumbled slightly compared to the prior month, but held steady in YoY growth.
April global EV sales fall MoM but rise YoY
According to Rho Motion’s latest report, global EV sales for April 2025 were 1.5 million units, bringing the year-to-date tally to 5.6 million NEVs (BEVs, PHEVs, and LDVs). April sales fell 12% compared to March 2025, but matched the previous month’s year-over-year growth at 29%.
Here’s how those 2025 global EV sales breakdown by region, compared to January to April 2024:
- Global: 5.6 million, +29%
- China: 3.3 million, +35%
- Europe: 1.2 million, +25%
- North America: 0.6 million, +5%
- Rest of World: 0.5 million, +37%
As has been the case with every Rho Motion report we cover, China continues to lead the world in EV adoption despite sales dropping 9% month-over-month. Having recently visited the Shanghai Auto Show alongside some OEM visits in Hangzhou, I can see why adoption is moving more quickly. The number of available makes and models at affordable prices is incredible, and the technology you get for your money is downright staggering.
Even amongst ongoing talks of tariffs between global superpowers, including EV powerhouse China, EV sales continue to grow. Per Rho Motion data manager, Charles Lester:
Ongoing tariff negotiations are dominating talk in the electric vehicle industry but quietly, domestic manufacturers in China and the EU continue to perform well and grow market share. The EU is certainly the success story for EV sales in 2025 so far, with emissions targets lighting a fire under the industry to accelerate the switch to electric, they have grown the market by a quarter in the first third of the year. In China, that year on year sales increase is even greater at 35%, spurred on by the vehicle trade in scheme.
Europe, whose adoption numbers stumbled in 2024, has seen steady growth in EV adoption in 2025, landing second to China in sales growth last month (a 25% increase). This increase has been fueled by the increasing number of BEV and PHEV imports to the region from China from brands like BYD, ZEEKR, NIO, and XPeng.
North American sales have only grown by 5% in 2025, with Mexico leading the pack. The rest of the global EV market saw a 37% increase in sales, but those numbers only accounted for about half a million units.
Next time anyone tells you EV adoption is slowing down, you can just send them this data, because it is quite the contrary. Global EV sales continued to grow in April, and that trend should continue through 2025 and beyond.
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