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If you’re old enough to remember the original 1980s Honda Motocompo micro-motorcycle – or are like me and have enjoyed learning about it since – then today’s announcement from Honda will come with all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia, either earned or learned. The long-awaited spiritual successor to the Motocompo has just been unveiled, and this time it’s gone electric. Meet the Honda Motocompacto.

The original 1983 Honda Motocompo was a tiny little gasoline-powered motorcycle designed to fit in the trunk of small car and give drivers a way to extend their reach into a city.

Instead of driving all the way in, owners could park on the outskirts of a city, pop out their tiny motorcycle from their trunk, unfold it into something that was more or less comfortable to sit on, then ride anywhere in the city.

The original Honda Motocompo next to a Honda City that would have ferried it around in the back.

If you’re thinking that an oil-leaking, gasoline-burning motorcycle isn’t a great thing to keep in the trunk of a car, then you’re right.

That’s probably why the little bike was discontinued after only two years.

It’s also likely why when Honda brought the old idea back to life today, they did it with an electric drivetrain instead. Which if you’re an Electrek reader, probably won’t come as a complete surprise. We covered Honda’s trademarking of the Motocompacto name last year and surmised that this was the likely outcome.

honda motocompacto

Just don’t expect peak performance from the Honda Motocompacto. In fact, you’d be well-advised to not get your hopes up for even moderate performance. The tiny little folding scooter has an even tinier drivetrain. The front wheel motor measures 490W and the top speed is a mere 15 mph (25 km/h).

The battery is listed as “6.8Ah,” though it’s impossible to determine the actual battery capacity without any info on the system voltage. With either a 24V or 36V battery, that would mean a measly capacity of just 163 or 245 Wh, respectively.

Honda does give us an estimate range, though the “up to 12 miles” (20 km) isn’t very promising. But then again, this is an urban-centric motorbike and few people commute further than 12 miles in the heart of a city. A 110V charger can recharge that battery in 3.5 hours and there’s even room to store the charger on board, just in case you want to recharge in the office under your desk.

As Honda described it, “Motocompacto is perfect for getting around cityscapes and college campuses. It was designed with rider comfort and convenience in mind with a cushy seat, secure grip foot pegs, on-board storage, a digital speedometer, a charge gauge, and a comfortable carry handle. A clever phone app enables riders to adjust their personal settings, including lighting and ride modes, via Bluetooth.”

The Honda Motocompacto takes much of the same folding inspiration from the original Motocompo, including handlebars and seat that drop down into the body. With the folding footpegs, the little scooter is a mere 3.7 inches wide (9.4 cm) when fully stowed. In fact, it folds up into a package barely larger than a briefcase, measuring just 29 inches (73 cm) long and 21 inches (54 cm) high.

Fortunately the Motocompacto’s weight 41.3 lb. (18.7 kg) is just under half the weight of the original 1980s Motocompo, so it should be much easier to actually slide out of your hatchback.

It appears that Honda plans to sell the Motocompacto along with some of its electric vehicles, according to Jane Nakagawa, vice president of the R&D Business Unit at American Honda Motor Co., Inc.:

Motocompacto is uniquely Honda – a fun, innovative and unexpected facet of our larger electrification strategy. Sold in conjunction with our new all-electric SUVs, Motocompacto supports our goal of carbon neutrality by helping customers with end-to-end zero-emissions transport.

In practice though, it’s likely that few owners will actually treat it like a dinghy for their car in the same way that the original Motocompo was used. Instead, it’s probable that the Motocompacto will stand on its own as part of Honda’s small yet growing electric scooter and motorcycle lineup.

The bike sounds like it was designed as a primary vehicle, as explained by Nick Ziraldo, project lead and design engineering unit leader at Honda Development and Manufacturing of America:

Motocompacto is easy to use and fun to ride, but was also designed with safety, durability, and security in mind. It uses a robust heat-treated aluminum frame and wheels, bright LED headlight and taillight, side reflectors, and a welded steel lock loop on the kickstand that is compatible with most bike locks.

Now the only question is whether or not it will sell. Priced at US $995, sales will begin exclusively online and at Honda and Acura automobile dealers in November.

I kind of wish they hadn’t shown me how the sausage was made here, it ruins all the magic.

Electrek’s Take

I’m about as pro-micromobility as anyone on the internet, but I’ll tell you right now that the coolest thing about the Honda Motocompacto is merely the fact that it exists. If you actually look at specs and pricing, there’s not too much to get worked up about.

Sure, Honda’s engineers can pull a muscle patting themselves on the back all day for bringing back the Motocompo, which is a really cool feat. But a thousand bucks for a briefcase with wheels? That’s a tough sell.

The original Motocompo was so incredible because it was the only thing like it – there just weren’t any other tiny motorbikes that could fit in a trunk. These days there are literally a thousand different electric scooters and mini e-bikes that can fold up to fit in a trunk and fulfill the same role as this thing. So ultimately, that means the only differentiator here is the design. And it IS a legitimately cool design. In fact, it looks awesome. The origami game is strong with this one. But I’d still rather ride a JackRabbit or a folding stand-up scooter if I’m looking for a serious micromobility for urban use. They’d fit in a car trunk just as well and would actually give better performance as well as bang-for-your buck.

But even after saying all that, I’m still going to be tempted to buy one of these just for “kicks and jiggles” as my non-native-English-speaking wife likes to say. It wouldn’t even be the first weird little folding e-bike thing I’ve bought this month.

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Tesla (TSLA) releases Q3 2025 financial results: earnings decline despite record revenue

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Tesla (TSLA) releases Q3 2025 financial results: earnings decline despite record revenue

Tesla (TSLA) released its financial results and shareholders’ letter for the third quarter (Q4) 2025 after market close today.

We are updating this post with all the details from the financial results, shareholders’ letter, and the conference call later tonight. Refresh for the latest information.

Tesla Q3 2025 earnings expectations

As we reported in our Tesla Q3 2025 earnings preview yesterday, the Wall Street consensus for this quarter was $26.457 billion in revenue and earnings of $0.55 per share.

It would represent a record quarter in terms of revenue, thanks to record deliveries due to demand being pulled forward into Q3 in the US, amid the end of the federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

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However, the expectations suggest that Tesla’s earnings are continuing to erode despite the positive temporary circumstances of the third quarter.

How did Tesla do compared to expectations?

Tesla Q3 2025 financial results

After the market closed today, Tesla released its financial results for the first quarter and confirmed that it delivered below expectations with earnings of $0.50 per share (non-GAAP), and it exceeded revenue expectations with $28,095 billion during the last quarter.

This is quite disappointing, considering Tesla’s operating income decreased by 40% year-over-year, despite achieving record revenue.

The difference is accounted for by a decrease in gross margin from 19.8% to 18%. In part due to Tesla losing some regulatory credits and lowering prices across most products.

Bulls also can’t explain this by Tesla investing in the future, as capex is significantly down year-over-year.

Nonetheless, the automaker added to its war chest, which now sits at $41.6 billion.

We will be posting our follow-up posts here about the earnings and conference call to expand on the most important points (refresh the page to see the most recent posts):

Here’s Tesla’s Q3 2025 shareholder presentation in full:

Here’s Tesla’s conference call for the Q3 2025 results:

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Jeep maker Stellantis delays another EV, plans to keep selling the gas version

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Jeep maker Stellantis delays another EV, plans to keep selling the gas version

Jeep and Ram’s parent company, Stellantis, is pushing back two more electric vehicles that were due out next year. The delay is the latest in a series of delays or plans to cancel what were considered key EVs.

Stellantis delays Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio EVs

Add it to the growing list of electric vehicles that have recently been delayed or cancelled altogether. The current gas-powered Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio will live on for at least another year in the US.

Initial plans called for both to arrive as next-gen variants in 2026, offered exclusively with electric powertrains. Stellantis is now delaying the EV versions for another year and will continue selling the current models until Alfa Romeo is ready to adopt the STLA Large platform.

Stellantis CEO Santo Ficili announced the news during a presentation for the updated Tonale SUV, according to a report from Motor1.

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The Giulia and Stelvio have been on sale in the US for a decade now and are still based on the same Giorgio platform they arrived with.

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2025 Alfa Romeo Giulia (Source: Stellantis)

Stellantis is delaying the EV variants to give Alfa Romeo more time to fit the next-gen Giulia and Stelvio on the STLA Large platform with gas engines. Although it’s not confirmed, the replacements will likely use the same twin-turbo inline-six “Hurricane” as the Dodge Charger Sixpack.

The announcement follows Stellantis’ decision to cancel Ram’s first electric pickup, the Ram 1500 REV. Instead, Ram will focus on the range-extended version.

Stellantis-EV-delays
2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio (Source: Stellantis)

Stellantis also cut the base R/T trim from the Dodge Charger EV lineup and reportedly shelved plans for a range-topping SRT Banshee model.

Ram and Jeep plan to bring back the HEMI engine for the Ram 1500 and Wrangler Rubicon 392, while the 2026 Dodge Durango will be exclusively available with a HEMI.

While Stellantis is shifting plans, at least one EV is still on track. Jeep’s CEO Bob Broderdorf confirmed the Recon EV, its “Wrangler-inspired” electric off-roader, will debut soon with sales starting next Spring.

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Tesla’s Autopilot safety data is getting worse

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Tesla's Autopilot safety data is getting worse

Tesla has released its latest Autopilot safety report, and the limitations are still presented misleadingly; however, one clear thing is that the data is worsening.

Tesla notoriously doesn’t release any relevant data to prove the safety of its ADAS systems: Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

The only thing the automaker releases is its quarterly “Autopilot safety reports”, which consist of Tesla releasing the miles driven between crashes for Tesla vehicles with Autopilot features turned on, and comparing that with the miles driven by vehicles with Autopilot technology with the features not turned on, as well as the US average mileage between crashes.

There are three major problems with these reports:

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  • Methodology is self‑reported. Tesla counts only crashes that trigger an airbag or restraint; minor bumps are excluded, and raw crash counts or VMT are not disclosed.
  • Road type bias. Autopilot is mainly used on limited‑access highways—already the safest roads—while the federal baseline blends all road classes. Meaning there are more crashes per mile on city streets than highways.
  • Driver mix & fleet age. Tesla drivers skew newer‑vehicle, higher‑income, and tech‑enthusiast; these demographics typically crash less.

With all these flaws in Tesla’s quarterly Autopilot safety reports, the primary value lies in comparing the miles between crashes with Autopilot features turned on over time.

As we previously reported, even this remains problematic, as Tesla stopped reporting the data for over a year. When it resumed reporting last year, it edited the previously released data.

However, there are reasons to believe Tesla’s data now, as it doesn’t look good for the company.

Here’s Tesla’s latest report for Q3 2025:

In the 3rd quarter, we recorded one crash for every 6.36 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology. For drivers who were not using Autopilot technology, we recorded one crash for every 993,000 miles driven. By comparison, the most recent data available from NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) shows that in the United States there was an automobile crash approximately every 702,000 miles.

It’s now the third quarter in a row where Tesla had a year-over-year decline in mileage between crashes:

The data deteriorated enough that Tesla had to give up its misleading claim that “Autopilot is safer than human by 10x” and now says “9x” instead:

The comment is still misleading for the previously mentioned reasons and should be labeled as “Autopilot + human driver” as it requires driver attention at all times.

There’s no way to know how many accidents human drivers prevented during Autopilot mileage.

Electrek’s Take

Again, I have to emphasize that this report only has value when you compare the Autopilot mileage against itself over time.

It’s also important to compare the same periods year-over-year as accidents are more common during the winter due to people driving more often after dark and in more difficult conditions.

Therefore, the only important thing that this report highlights is that Autopilot is getting worse.

Shouldn’t that be worrying? Shouldn’t Tesla address that instead of falsely claiming it means Autopilot is 10x, 9x safer than humans?

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