AOC can’t find a union-made EV to trade for her Tesla: That’s a problem.
In the midst of the United Auto Workers’ strike, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked on Face The Nation whether she plans to trade in her Tesla Model 3 for a union-built EV.
However, there really aren’t many EVs she could pick from, and that’s a problem for the Big Three, the UAW, the American auto industry, and US workers in general. And also for AOC.
The UAW started striking two weeks ago, beginning with shutting down one plant at each of the Big Three auto companies. Only one plug-in car was affected initially, the Jeep 4xe.
Since then, the strike has expanded to several more GM and Stellantis parts distribution centers, but the strike against Ford has not expanded as the UAW says talks are progressing better there.
With only one plug-in car currently affected by the strike, it may seem like EVs lucked out, or that the unions perhaps decided not to stop EV production. But in actuality, the reason that union-made EVs haven’t been affected by the partial shutdowns is because, well, there just aren’t very many of them.
What choices does AOC have?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has spoken out repeatedly supporting unions. She’s stood on picket lines in her district and generally supports strikes and labor unions.
Last year, she stated that she wanted to trade in her Tesla Model 3 and get a union-made EV instead. And this weekend, with the UAW striking, she was asked the same question again.
In her answer she mentioned that she purchased her car during the pandemic, looking for safe and efficient travel to DC from her district in Queens, New York. At the time, the Model 3 was the best choice for this – and, frankly, it probably still is, based on fast charging capability, price, range, and general vehicle quality.
But it’s also not union-built, and in addition, Tesla CEO Elon Musk often interferes with unionization efforts and talks down on unions (he even did so yesterday) and routinely acts publicly creepy towards AOC, which is likely a contributing factor to her desire to rinse her hands of the brand.
At the time, the only union-built EV made in the US was the Chevy Bolt. There are more union-built EVs today than there were in 2020 when AOC bought her Tesla, but the choices are still limited.
In the last few years, we’ve seen the Ford F-150 Lightning, the Hummer EV, and the Cadillac Lyriq all go into production here in the US with union manufacturing. But none of those would really be great choices for AOC. Nor would the E-Transit, which is mainly for commercial use, though it paints an amusing #Vanlife image for the congresswoman.
The Lightning and Hummer are far too large for a city dweller, and likely too way much vehicle for her purposes. And the Lyriq, despite being really dang nice, is probably not the right statement for an everyman representative like her – although its $57k base price is almost identical to the $58k MSRP that Long Range Model 3s were fetching at their peak price at the end of last year.
At least, those are some union-made EVs that are built in the United States. If we expand elsewhere, we can find plenty of examples of EVs built by union labor. While foreign automakers typically run non-union shops in the US, they are unionized in their own countries (so, no ID.4 then unless she picks a used, early run model before they switched to Tennessee models). European auto-worker unions are strong (especially in Germany), and Asian automakers are typically unionized domestically even if their unions are not as strong as in Germany. Mexican auto assembly plants are also often unionized, including the one that builds the Mustang Mach E.
But, as a US rep, she is probably looking for a US-made vehicle (and to be fair, she does have the most American-made vehicle already in her Tesla). So even the Mach E from our neighbors to the South is out of the running.
That leaves us the same choice she would have had in 2020: the unassuming but awesome Chevy Bolt. We at Electrek think this is a great choice, having given it our Vehicle of the Year award, and it remains a screaming deal given its low MSRP and availability of credits and incentives to drive that price down further (if you can find one anyway – you can check local dealer inventory here).
A Bolt EUV (due to Super Cruise availability, for that long trip down to DC) is going to be our official recommendation.
But it’s still not ideal for her circumstances, since the Bolt has a slow 54kW DC charge rate. Since Queens and DC are about 240 miles apart, the Bolt’s 247 mile range will likely need a little top-up for safety along the way, and slow DC charge rate and lack of access to Tesla’s superior Supercharger network (though that’s changing soon) will make that experience less than optimal.
Her choices could be getting better soon, with the upcoming Chevy Blazer and Equinox EVs, but those aren’t out yet (though they’re due to hit the road this coming quarter). And her choices will get a little worse at the end of the year as well, since the excellent Chevy Bolt is due to end production in December (though it is slated to come back).
So it’s no wonder she hasn’t been able to trade in her car yet – and that’s kind of a problem.
Electrek’s Take
It’s a problem because it shows that the companies that have formed the industrial backbone of the US for so long are simply not building enough EVs. Everyone understands that EVs are the future of the auto industry – though we at Electrek would argue that they are also the present of the auto industry, not just the future.
Tesla currently has around 5x the combined market cap of Ford, GM, and Stellantis, despite that those three companies combined sell about 10x as many vehicles as Tesla currently. This is obviously a quite… optimistic valuation, but it also shows, among other things, that the market values growth and sees where the industry is going. And it’s clear that investors, as a collective, have more confidence in Tesla’s ability to prepare for the future of the industry than they do in the Big Three combined.
Some, including business media and leadership from the Big Three in the last week or two, blame this on the UAW themselves. The argument goes that unionized labor asks for too much or stands in the way of progress, and that this cripples the Big Three with labor costs and keeps them from being competitive as vehicles evolve, particularly given that EVs will require fewer assembly hours than gas cars.
But as mentioned above, other countries’ automakers have strong auto unions and yet are not similarly “shackled.” And when questioned about whether they might oppose the industry’s green transition due to this drop in assembly hours, UAW leadership has never taken the bait and has merely insisted it be a “just transition.”
Meanwhile, analyses have shown that countries and automakers that don’t fully participate in this green transition aren’t going to do well. We covered a report suggesting Japan’s GDP could drop a full 14% due to its failure to move on EVs. And a year later, we’ve already seen Mitsubishi and Toyota reduce their presence in China due to failure on EVs, and the same goes for other foreign automakers who have underestimated EV demand there. Then there’s the matter that Tesla is outselling Toyota in California and has the world’s best-selling car, the first EV to gain that title.
So everybody knows that we need to go in the right direction, but American automakers have still been slow to offer a wide variety of EV models – despite GM’s promises to the contrary.
The US government has tried to stimulate more production here, via the Inflation Reduction Act, which gives tax credits to domestically-produced EVs. The proposed law originally included an additional union-made credit, but it was struck by the efforts of all 50 republicans and Joe Manchin.
The law has been successful in onshoring production of EVs, as manufacturers have announced investments in domestic EV production totaling in the hundreds of billions of dollars. But it has been less successful in creating union jobs, as many of those announcements are non-union (though we did see the first battery plant unionize late last year and win a pay raise last month).
As I stated in the last article about this, personally, I’m pro-union. And I think that everyone should be – it only makes sense that people should have their interests collectively represented, and that people should be able to join together to support each other and exercise their power collectively, instead of individually.
This is precisely what companies do with industry organizations, lobby organizations, chambers of commerce, and so on. And it’s what people do when sorting themselves into local, state, or national governments. So naturally, workers should do the same. It only makes sense.
Unions are important not just for AOC’s car choices, but for American labor as a whole. The US economy and US workers tend to do better when unionization rates are high, and the auto industry is one of the bulwarks of organized labor in the US and has been central to US manufacturing prowess for decades. This is why AOC supports them, and why President Biden, who joined UAW workers on the picket line yesterday, does as well.
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The Honda Ruckus has earned cult status thanks to its minimalist styling, exposed frame, and seemingly endless customizability. The scooter, also known in international markets as the Honda Zoomer, has spent years being seen as a blank canvas for scooter tuners, urban commuters, and anyone who just wanted something simple, small, and kind of weird to zip around town. A few years ago, Honda finally answered the call for an updated version by announcing and producing the “Zoomer e:”, which was an electric version of the Honda Ruckus. So where is it?
When Honda launched the all-electric version of the Ruckus, the Zoomer e:, back in 2023, many fans hoped it was only a matter of time before we saw it quietly glide onto U.S. streets.
But two years later, there’s still no sign of a stateside release, and no indication that Honda plans to change that anytime soon.
The Zoomer e: was first introduced in China in early 2023 alongside two other retro-inspired electrics: the Cub e: and Dax e:.
The Zoomer e: keeps the stripped-down, industrial look of the classic gas-powered Ruckus, but swaps the 49cc engine for a 400W rear hub motor and a 48V 24Ah battery (around 1.15 kWh).
It was originally given a top speed of a mere 25 km/h (15.5 mph) to keep it street legal as an electric bicycle in its first market of China, where it also came with functional but stubby pedals so riders could pretend it was actually pedalable.
The first version of the electric scooter claimed a range of up to 80–90 km (50–56 miles) from its removable lithium-ion battery, depending on conditions.
We’ve since seen the performance bumped up to 40 km/h (25 mph) top speeds when the scooter was introduced into the Philippines market, where the local L1B classification allowed for higher speeds. It’s fairly obvious that the performance can be software-tweaked by Honda depending on the market, though likely to a limit. To achieve speeds much higher than 25 mph, a motor and controller swap may be required, though neither would be complicated.
In other words, the electric Ruckus’ debut revealed an ultra-lightweight, street-legal runabout designed for countries with expansive low-speed e-bike laws. But in the U.S., these types of quasi-e-bikes that are actually scooters are few and far between. The same performance can be had from a $1,000 electric bicycle, and in fact, Class 3 e-bikes in the US can go nearly twice as fast as the original electric Ruckus.
So Honda obviously hasn’t been in a rush to bring its low-spec version of the bike to the US market, where it would be a slower and heavier competitor to the wide range of cheap imported electric bicycles. However, its iconic design and cultural legacy have kept enthusiasm up for riders who have managed to privately import their own models. One Redditor appears to have imported two Honda Zoomer e: models in parts to assemble in the US, while someone else posted a YouTube video of his completely assembled Honda Dax e: model that was launched along the Zoomer e:.
Despite clear consumer interest and a growing market for low-speed electric vehicles, as well as Honda’s own proven interest in growing its electric scooter market, the company hasn’t made any moves to release the Zoomer e: in the US. That’s not surprising since America still lacks a robust electric scooter culture (or even a gasoline scooter culture, for that matter), and anything motorcycle-shaped that doesn’t hit 30+ mph tends to get passed over by mainstream buyers.
But perhaps that could change one day. Technically, bringing the Zoomer e: to the US wouldn’t be a monumental task for Honda. The U.S. is a self-certify country, meaning Honda could design a version that meets federal vehicle safety standards, beef up the motor and controller for higher speeds, and sell it as either a Class 2/3 e-bike, or perhaps more appropriately, as a low-speed motorcycle with a top speed in the 35-45 mph range (55-70 km/h).
With the rise of micromobility, electrification, and growing frustration with car-centric cities, now might actually be the perfect time for a reborn electric Ruckus to hit US roads. But until Honda decides to take that step, American riders will have to keep dreaming – or start importing.
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BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.
The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.
The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.
But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.
The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.
There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.
BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.
With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.
Electrek’s Take
I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.
Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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