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Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Overair has shared details of a successful trip to South Korea that birthed three new partnerships to advance the country’s advanced air mobility (AAM) goals. Along with its new strategic partner Hanwha Systems, Overair has a letter of intent for a purchase of 20 Butterfly aircraft and more.

Overair is an AAM specialist based in Santa Ana, California, that was spun out of Karem Aircraft in 2020. Its team combined decades worth of aerospace experience to develop its flagship eVTOL called the Butterfly, which originally debuted in 2021.

The Butterfly’s current design can carry five passengers plus a pilot, or 1,100 pounds of cargo, and it can reach a top speed of 200 mph – all while traveling about 100 miles on a single charge. Overair hopes to bring this eVTOL to production, where it can serve as alternative transportation to congested metropolitan areas like Los Angeles.

In fact, Overair continues to work alongside Urban Movement Labs (UML) to create a safe, equitable, and sustainable path to eVTOL transportation on its native West Coast.

While Overair continues to develop its eVTOL technologies toward flights in the US, following a fresh round of funding in June of 2022, the company is setting its sights on a new market – South Korea. So far, it has found some early suitors.

Overair Korea
Credit: Overair

Overair looks to Korea to get its eVTOL’s in the air

According to the company, it signed a letter of intent as well as two memoranda of understanding (MOU) with key partners in Korea to accelerate the nation’s AAM goals. Those signings took palace this week during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX), which was attended by defense officials from over 57 countries around the globe.

Joining Overair at the exhibition was Hanwha Systems – an expert in urban air traffic management (UATM), software management systems, navigation, surveillance, and information hardware, who signed its own MOU with Overair and the self-governing Jeju Province of South Korea earlier this month.

This week’s signings included a letter of intent from HeliKorea for the purchase of 20 Butterfly eVTOLs to be used for medical, executive, and cargo transport, in addition to firefighting, high-voltage power line inspection, and other applications. Overair says it intends to provide eVTOL pilot and maintenence training if and when those Butterfly aircraft are delivered overseas.

Overair also announced a signed MOU with South Korean convergence specialist Daewoo Engineering & Construction. Together, the companies plan to develop a series of AAM networks across East South Asian markets, establish local vertiport sites, and work alongside government authorities to establish regulatory frameworks necessary for commercial AAM operations.

Lastly, Overair also signed an MOU with the Korean Police who look to integrate eVTOL technologies into the agency. Together, the new partners intend to develop and implement AAM operational training, including vertiport integration, pilot training, maintenance, and community education. Overair CEO Ben Tigner spoke to the company’s latest partnerships:

Overair is committed to supporting South Korea’s strong AAM ambitions through partnerships like these that ensure all facets of the ecosystem are considered. Local governments, operators, and infrastructure providers alike will play an integral role as we enter this new era of transportation. We look forward to collaborating with our partners at Hanwha Systems on these exciting new projects, which will bring real benefits to the communities they impact and provide a solid foundation to further AAM adoption across Southeast Asia.

To date, Overair has completed eVTOL propulsion testing, but has yet to deliver its first aircraft. The company states its full-scale prototype is in the final assembly process and flight tests are expected to begin in 2024.

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California’s e-bike voucher program stumbles again as ‘technical issue’ forces indefinite delay

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California's e-bike voucher program stumbles again as 'technical issue' forces indefinite delay

California’s rollercoaster of an electric bicycle voucher program, designed to make the highly effective transportation alternative affordable for more California residents, has hit yet another bumpy section of track. This time, a “technical issue” is being blamed for the second tranche of vouchers being delayed indefinitely, causing yet another headache for the beleaguered California E-Bike Incentive Program.

The program was set to launch its second round last night, opening its application window for one hour to distribute 1,000 more vouchers worth up to $2,000 off of an electric bicycle.

But program’s operators announced just before the application window was set to close yesterday that the website had experienced technical problems.

Unlike the first round of the incentive program, last night’s application window was designed to last for an hour, giving every eligible California resident who entered the website during the window an equal chance at receiving a voucher. That system was designed as an improvement to the first round, which was widely criticized for its “first come, first served” approach that rewarded fast typing and clicking to exhaust the first 1,500 vouchers in mere seconds.

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However, the timing of the announcement last night meant that many hopeful applicants were left waiting on the website for an hour before learning that the application round was being delayed indefinitely.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, which administers the program, said the board is investigating the issues and attempted to troubleshoot the problems “in real time.” The program “ultimately made the decision to reschedule once it became clear that not everyone was able to access the waiting room,” said CARB’s Lindsay Buckley.

It is unclear how many people entered the website during the one-hour application window, but the first round of applications launched last December saw over 100,000 people vying for the limited number of vouchers.

Despite occasional issues like these, such e-bike voucher programs are a powerful motivator for cities and states aiming to shift more trips away from cars and toward sustainable transportation. By directly reducing the upfront cost of an electric bike – often thousands of dollars – these incentives make e-bikes accessible to a broader population, especially lower-income riders who may not be able to afford one otherwise. And unlike subsidies for electric cars, which tend to benefit wealthier households, e-bike voucher programs often deliver a much higher return on investment in terms of mode shift, equity, and emissions reductions.

The benefits don’t stop at access. These programs help normalize e-bike use in urban and suburban areas, accelerating cultural adoption and proving that two wheels can be a practical alternative to four. Cities that have rolled out vouchers, like Denver and San Diego, have seen immediate surges in ridership and have reported that many recipients use their e-bikes as replacements for car trips.

As policymakers look to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and hit climate targets, e-bike vouchers offer a fast, scalable, and cost-effective tool that delivers results where it matters most: in people’s daily lives. Despite California’s own voucher program repeatedly hitting roadblocks, these types of programs have proven invaluable to making real changes in the accessibility of important commuting alternatives to cars.

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Facing pressure, Trump scales back tariffs for US automakers

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Facing pressure, Trump scales back tariffs for US automakers

Donald Trump signed two executive orders today that walked back parts of tariffs he previously imposed on US automakers ahead of a rally in Michigan to mark his first 100 days in office.

The Wall Street Journal first reported today in an exclusive that Trump was “expected to soften the impact of his automotive tariffs, preventing duties on foreign-made cars from stacking on top of other tariffs and easing some levies on car parts.”

Trump signed an executive order making sure the 25% tariffs on vehicles and certain auto parts won’t stack on top of existing aluminum, steel, or Canada and Mexico tariffs. He also gave automakers a credit to help blunt the impact of the 25% duties on imported parts that go into US-built cars.

Trump’s backpedal comes after weeks of meeting with automaker executives, and a week after a coalition that included GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai sent a letter urging him to drop tariffs on foreign auto parts due to land in May.

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American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) president Matt Blunt today said in response to the executive orders, “American Automakers Ford, GM, and Stellantis appreciate the administration’s clarification that tariffs will not be layered on top of the existing Section 232 tariffs on autos and auto parts. Applying multiple tariffs to the same product or part was a significant concern for American automakers, and we are glad to see this addressed. We will review the details of the executive order closely to assess how effectively it will mitigate the impact of tariffs on American automakers, our domestic supply chains and ultimately American consumers.” The AAPC represents Ford, GM, and Stellantis. 

Electrek’s Take

The 25% auto tariffs implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act aren’t going anywhere, and most economists say that tariffs will raise car prices and slow auto sales. This White House Fact Sheet is titled, “President Donald J. Trump Incentivizes Domestic Automobile Production.” Where’s the incentive? US automakers are just getting hit with the stick once instead of twice, and they’re thanking Trump for it.

The carrot that worked as an incentive was Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, along with the stability that came with it. All this whiplash is terrible for the US and global economy.

Read more: Killing IRA EV tax credits will ruin US EV and battery industries – Princeton study


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Tesla Powerwall 3 is disrupting the solar inverter market

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Tesla Powerwall 3 is disrupting the solar inverter market

New data suggests that the Tesla Powerwall 3 is significantly disrupting the US solar inverter market.

The home battery pack’s integrated inverter is changing the game.

Tesla acquired its solar business when it bought SolarCity in a controversial deal due to Musk being a large shareholder of both Tesla and SolarCity, and Musk’s cousin led the latter.

The automaker kept the SolarCity operations going for a few years. In fact, it continued until after Tesla shareholders sued Musk over the acquisition, and Musk defended himself by claiming that SolarCity had become an integral part of Tesla.

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Shortly after he won the lawsuit, Tesla virtually stopped all operations that came from its SolarCity acquisition, which primarily consisted of residential solar financing and installations.

Tesla even stopped reporting solar deployment. The company’s energy business now consists almost entirely of Powerwall and Megapack deployments.

However, the launch of the Powerwall 3 has indirectly brought Tesla back into the solar business, as the home battery pack features an inverter that works for both solar and storage applications.

EnergySage is a company that matches solar installers with potential buyers, and as a result, it has a wealth of interesting data about the solar industry in the US. Today, it released its Spring 2025 Marketplace report.

In the report, EnergySage revealed that Tesla became the second-most quoted inverter brand in the second half of last year:

Tesla became the most quoted battery brand in H2 2024, occupying 63% of Marketplace share nationwide. Because the Powerwall 3 includes an integrated inverter, Tesla also became the second-most quoted inverter brand. With batteries increasingly being added to solar systems—the national battery attachment rate jumped to 45% in H2 2024, an all-time high—Tesla’s growth was a key driver of the low storage and solar prices seen on EnergySage. In 2025, we are examining whether brand backlash and equipment shortages will affect Tesla’s Marketplace share.

This is also a byproduct of the increased popularity of energy storage systems when deploying new solar systems.

In big solar markets like California and Texas, the majority of residential solar quotes are attached to batteries, and Tesla is not the top quoted brand, thanks to Powerwall 3:

Powerwall was already the preferred home battery pack for many homeowners, and the fact that it now includes a solar inverter has made it even more attractive, as most home energy storage systems in the US are being deployed along with rooftop solar.

The Powerwall 3’s solar inverter integration is pushing solar plus storage costs down quite a bit.

The popularity of the Powerwall 3 has particularly hurt Enphase, a leader in solar inverter. It had 73% of the US market in 2022, and now it is down to 53%.

Despite Tesla driving prices down, Powerwall 3 is not the cheapest battery pack available. Panasonic and EG4 batteries were both priced lower on a per kWh basis than Tesla’s in the second half of 2024, but Tesla won on cost when also replacing the solar inverter.

However, it’s not all good news from Tesla. EnergySage also recently reported an increase in customers requesting alternatives to Powerwalls in 2025, partly due to Elon Musk’s increasing controversy.

If you’re interested in installing solar panels and/or batteries for your home, we recommend using EnergySage. You will be able to get quotes without any hassle and only talk to someone when you are ready to move forward. Within minutes, you can get on the path to producing your own power with solar and battery storage, including with Powerwall.

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