Chevy just unveiled a ferocious new Blazer EV.R prototype. Based on the new Blazer EV SS and NASCAR’s tri-motor powertrain, the prototype delivers over 1,300 horsepower.

Chevy unveils 1,300 hp Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype

Ahead of the Daytona 500 this weekend, Chevy is giving us a glimpse into the future of racing. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV.R prototype on Thursday, which was built in collaboration with NASCAR.

Based on NASCAR’s Next-Gen EV chassis, the Blazer prototype packs over 1,300 hp (1,000 kW) from three STARD UHP 6-Phase electric motors, one in the front and two in the back. It also features a 78 kWh liquid-battery cooled battery.

Chevy said the Blazer EV.R is an example of new technology it’s testing out that could potentially be used in future production cars and race programs.

The prototype pulls design features from the 2025 Blazer EV SS, the fastest SS Chevy has ever made. With up to 615 hp, the electric Blazer can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.

Chevy’s global design executive director, Phil Zak, explained the Blazer EV.R features a lower and wider stance with added aerodynamics for performance.

Although just a prototype (for now), GM engineers were able to test it out at race pace last month at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina.

The prototype was driven by Team Chevy Driver Justin Allgaier, who won the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion.

NASCAR vice president of vehicle design Brandon Thomas said, “With the Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype, Chevrolet and its engineers meshed new technologies with the NASCAR Next Gen platform – and the result is a powerful, exciting vehicle that we believe fans will love when they see it at Daytona International Speedway.”

The 2025 Chevy Blazer EV SS will be the first to pace “The Great American Race” this weekend. You can watch the Daytona 500 to catch Chevy’s new performance EVs on Sunday, February 16, 2025.

Republican Senators have introduced bills to not only kill the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles but also add a $1,000 tax at the purchase of new EVs.

President Trump campaigned on killing the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles. Therefore, it’s not surprising that it’s happening, but now we have a better idea of how.

Senator John Barrasso, along with 14 other GOP senators, has introduced a pair of bills going after electric vehicles.

The first one, unsurprisingly, would end the federal tax credit for electric vehicles, which includes the $7,500 credit for buying or leasing a new electric car, the $4,000 tax credit for used electric vehicles, and the incentives for charging stations.

Some hoped that legislators would push to end the tax credit for next year, which would have helped EV sales in the US in 2025, but the bill, as it stands, says that the credits would end 30 days after it is signed into law.

The second bill, sponsored by Senators Deb Fischer, Pete Ricketts, and Cynthia Lummis, would add a one-time $1,000 fee to the purchase price of a new electric vehicle.

GOP senators justify this by pointing out the lack of contributions from electric vehicles to fund the repair and maintain of highways, which is thought to be financed through taxes on gas and diesel. They arrive at $1,000 by calculating roughly the average contribution of a gas-powered car through the gas tax over 10 years.

Fischer said:

“EVs can weigh up to three times as much as gas-powered cars, creating more wear and tear on our roads and bridges.”

The most popular gas car in the US is the Toyota Corolla, which weighs about 3,000 lbs—or about 800 lbs less than a comparable electric Tesla Model 3—but it’s nowhere near three times heavier.

It’s worth noting that Fischer took $356,393 from the oil and gas industry during the last election cycle. It is one of her top contributors.

As for Barrasso, he takes even more money from the oil and gas industry: $781,381 during the last cycle.

Trump’s recently appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had signaled plans to impose new fees on electric vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve made my peace with the tax credit going away in the US. It’s going to cripple the country’s EV market, which is already way behind the rest of the world, but it sounds like Americans are OK giving up the lead on that front. So be it.

I was hoping that the change would be announced for the end of the year, creating some urgency to by this year – boosting sales in 2025, but it sounds like that won’t happen.

But the $1,000 fee is about as dumb as it gets. It doesn’t account for a vehicle’s size, weight, or efficiency. It’s a flat fee for everyone regardless of how much or how little they use the car. It makes no sense, and it is clearly meant to discourage electric vehicles.

If the GOP passes this legislation, it will sabotage its entire auto industry long term, including Tesla. They will lose EV expertise to the rest of the world.

Tesla is testing a couple of creative solutions to try to prevent charging cable thefts at its Supercharging stations, which has become a serious problem for all charging station operators.

There are still a lot of problems with public charging stations for electric vehicles. There are issues with the number of stations, the number of chargers pers station, peak charges, which increases prices, and the reliability.

Several factors affect he reliability and uptime of a station, including having charging cables.

Believe it or not, it’s not uncommon for thieves to target charging stations to cut the cables off the charging stalls in order to sell the metal in them.

Tesla operates more DC fast-charging stations than anyone and therefore, it is a big target for these thieves.

The automaker has now confirmed that it is testing new ways to try to prevent those cable theft.

First, it is currently testing a new wrap around the cable. It has been spotted at a Tesla Supercharger in Seattle, Washington (Reddit):

These are DyeDefender, which consist of small hoses that wrap around the cable and if they are cut, they shoot dye all over.

It looks something like this:

Tesla’s head of charging, Max de Zegher, confirmed that Tesla is testing the solution.

He also said that Tesla is engraving the metal in the cables:

Supercharger cables will also have “Property of Tesla” engraved from our Buffalo NY factory, so recycling companies shouldn’t accept them and notify us. It’s a scalable, cost-effective solution that doesn’t impact service operations & customer experience.

He shared this picture on X:

As long as the scrapyards and recycling facilities are willing to enforce this, it could help deter thieves from stealing the cables if they are not able to sell them.

There are black markets for these sort of things, but they often offer lower prices, which could make the thefts not worth it in the first place.