New Jersey joins a growing list of nine states, including California, Vermont, New York, Washington, and Oregon, to ban gasoline-burning cars – eventually, at least. As of 2027, New Jersey will start limiting the number of gasoline-powered cars, light-duty trucks, and SUVs that can be sold within the state, and eventually ramp that up to a full ban starting 2035.
Governor Phil Murphy and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced yesterday the filing of the Advanced Clean Cars II rule for adoption on December 18, which puts the state on course toward phasing out fossil-fuel burning cars, trucks, and SUVs. California has led the way in pulling back on ICE vehicles, and Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and New Jersey having announced they’ll enforce the Advanced Clean Cars II regulations to scale down to zero-emissions.
The federal government has no ban put in place, but has set the goal of having 50% of new cars sales in the US being electric by 2030. President Biden has budgeted $5 billion to help make that happen.
Similar to ICE bans elsewhere, this of course doesn’t mean it’ll be illegal to own or drive an ICE car but rather prohibits the sale of new or used cars. Of course, die-hard ICE fans can just hop the border and buy them from another state, as long as the vehicles meet emissions standards.
Automobile lobbyists and businesses aren’t too happy, with thousands of letters apparently pouring into the state office asking to pull back on the measure, arguing that it puts a limit on the freedom to drive what you want, or in some cases, limits what people can afford to drive. “This ban of the sale of new gas-powered cars in such an expedited time does not take costs or feasibility into account,” argues Ray Cantor, an official with the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. “It does not take the lack of local and highway infrastructure into account. It does not take grid capacity into account. It ignores consumer choice. It doesn’t take New Jersey residents into account, especially low- and moderate-income families.”
However, environmental groups take a different view. “The electric vehicle revolution is upon us, and the benefits are far-reaching — even for those who never plan to get behind the wheel of an EV. By adopting Advanced Clean Cars II standards, New Jersey is making a commitment to cleaner air, improved public health, and climate change mitigation,” said Kathy Harris, senior clean vehicles and fuels advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She adds that the state can avoid at least 175 premature deaths from polluted air by 2050, and that the program will bring cost-savings to New Jersey vehicle owners of nearly $60 billion by 2050.
Electrek’s Take
This great news, but why not sooner? The transition to electric is already well underway, and consumers are showing they are ready. But legislation needs to catch up. Still, more states embracing the ban undeniably puts more pressure on the US government to potentially issue a federal ban, similar to the European Union, which has approved a full ban on new gas-powered cars starting 2035. Additionally, moves like this add more pressure to automakers to accelerate EV production. Of course, major automakers are already doing that with firm plans in place to phase out ICE vehicles: GM is targeting 2035, with smaller automakers with quicker timelines, and European automakers are moving to phase out quickly to meet the EU deadline.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC on November 13, 2024.
Allison Robbert | AFP | Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday selected Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright to serve as the next energy secretary of the United States.
Liberty Energy is an oilfield services company headquartered in Denver with a $2.7 billion market capitalization. The company’s stock gained nearly 9% on Nov. 6 after Trump won the U.S. presidential election, but its shares have since pulled back.
Wright serves on the board of Oklo, a nuclear power startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that is developing micro reactors.
Wright will also serve on Trump’s Council of National Energy, the president-elect said Saturday. The council will be led by Trump’s pick for Interior Secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Wright has denied that climate change presents a global crisis that needs to be addressed through a transition away from fossil fuels.
“There is no climate crisis and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either,” Wright said in a video posted on his LinkedIn page last year. “Humans and all complex life on earth is simply impossible without carbon dioxide. Hence the term carbon pollution is outrageous.”
“There is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy,” Wright said. “All energy sources have impacts on the world both positive and negative.”
Trump described Wright as a “leading technologist and entrepreneur in the energy sector.”
“He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas,” the president-elect said in a statement Saturday.
“Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics,” Trump said.
The U.S. has produced more crude oil than any other country in history, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, since 2018, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Kubota says its new KATR farm tractor concept raises the bar in autonomous, zero-emission farming – and it looks like they’ve convinced others, too. The robot just won “Best of Innovation” at the CES Innovation Awards.
Built as a follow-up to last year’s New Agri Concept electric autonomous farm tractor, the new Kubota KATR is a first of its kind, compact, four-wheeled robot with a stable cargo deck platform and stability control features that allow it to conduct work in demanding off-road agricultural and construction work environments, even on extreme hills and slopes.
The KATR was named best in the Industrial Equipment and Machinery product category by a panel of industry expert judges, including media, designers, and engineers who reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering, aesthetics, and design.
Kubota seems pretty proud of themselves – and rightly so. “We have a long-standing philosophy that our products must be technically excellent, be productive and enjoyable for our customers, and also ensure the sustainability of limited resources. Ultimately, our goal is to improve the quality of life for individuals and society,” said Brett McMickell, Kubota North America Chief Technology Officer. “Given the versatility of the KATR, it has a wide range of applications specifically designed to enhance productivity in the agriculture and construction sectors.”
The KATR is designed to be powertrain agnostic – meaning it can be configured with either an electric or combustion engine, “reflecting Kubota’s commitment to customer choice without compromise.” As shown, it offers a load capacity of approx. 285 lbs. (just under 130 kg) and can be operated either remotely or with an onboard controller.
The CES Innovation Awards program is owned and produced by CTA, the host and organizer of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is recognized worldwide for its innovation awards as it is the most influential tech event on a global stage. CES 2025 is set to run from January 7-10, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada – and, of course, we’ll be there (again).
Electrek’s Take
Population growth, while slowing, is still very much a thing that is happening – and fewer and fewer people seem to be willing to do the work of growing the food that more and more people need to eat and live.
We got to ride a pre-production model of a striking new e-bike/e-moped, the Owlet One, with lots of power in a small package.
We first met Owlet at Electrify Expo in Long Beach, CA, where we only had a couple minutes on its bike. But since the company is headquartered nearby in Los Angeles, they emailed us asking if we’d like a longer test ride, and delivered a bike to us for to spend a few hours on this time.
Just to set the stage for this ride: Owlet is a new brand, preparing to ship its first bike. So to start off, we rode a prototype, not the finished version. This means it may come with different features, and we’re not entirely sure when it will ship, either.
The first thing to notice about the Owlet One is its design, which certainly stands out immediately. The bike is made of aviation-grade aluminum, though is still quite hefty, tipping the scales at 84 lbs (but it felt even heavier in our hands).
On top of Owlet’s striking design, the bike is also somewhat of a unique shape and size. Despite offering a format that looks similar to an e-bike at first glance, it rides more like a small moped. This actually puts its 84lb weight into a different perspective – rather than being heavy for a bike, it can be thought of as light for a moped.
But photographs can’t encapsulate everything about the design of the Owlet, because it has one totally unique feature: an adjustable wheelbase.
This can be done by one person in under a minute, though requires a socket wrench and a small amount of elbow grease.
In practice, I found that the adjustable wheelbase probably won’t come up much for riding purposes. The longest wheelbase (or close to it) was the most comfortable and stable to me, and shorter wheelbases were a bit more of a novelty, especially on this powerful bike which can get a little squirrelly on the shorter settings.
Another issue is that it changes the angle of the kickstand, which means you can’t really use the kickstand outside of a narrow wheelbase range. The final bike will supposedly have a different kickstand design, but this will likely be an issue regardless of how it’s redesigned.
But it was good for making the bike small enough to fit into places you might not normally be able to fit a moped-style bike. Between its narrow handlebars and shrunk down to its smallest 44-inch-long setting, it fit into the back of both a Tesla Model Y and an Audi A3 wagon (both with seats down), but not quite into a Model 3 – which I’ve fit multiple normal-sized bikes into the back of, though with the front wheel removed. Though its hefty weight does mean it can be awkward to lift the bike in there in the first place.
And it’s got more power than you’d expect out of most e-bikes too. With a 750W motor (3000W peak), there’s plenty of get up and go, and plenty to keep you going even as you reach closer to its 30mph top speed. This top speed can be lowered through the bike’s computer, to fit your local regulations.
Speaking of regulations, the bike is officially categorized as a motorized scooter, rather than an actual e-bike, as it doesn’t have pedals. It’s in a similar category to electric kick scooters, so you need to have any class of driver’s license to ride it, though it can be used either on or off public roads (but check your area’s regulations for sidewalk use, helmet requirements, and so on).
The shrouding on the front fork does restrict turning radius, but only when walking the bike in tight corners
The throttle we tested was a thumb throttle, though we would have preferred a twist throttle. The thumb throttle is just too twitchy, and on a bike with such peaky acceleration, it could get jumpy. This was especially true with shorter wheelbase settings. Owlet says there will be an option for a twist throttle when the bike ships, but we’d also like to see the software moderate acceleration on the very low end even with the thumb throttle.
And the bike is fully throttle-driven – there are no pedals, only pegs. Owlet plans to offer an option for pegs attached to the front to allow a different, more laid-back seating position.
The motor, kickstand and pegs. This is the final wheel design, rather than the traditional spoked design in Owlet’s press photos above
I tested the bike with a few accessories I had laying around, but because of the Owlet’s unique design, not all of them would fit (the handlebar cupholder seen in some of my photos doesn’t come with the bike, for example, which has no bottle cage mount). You’ll probably want a backpack if you’re planning to carry things on this bike, rather than saddlebags or the like.
The bike’s owl-like headlights fit well with the brand name. The charging outlet is in the “beak”
Owlet says the bike’s 1500Wh battery (made with 2170-format cells) can take you around 40-60 miles, and comes with a 350W charger for a ~5 hour charge. Based on our test ride, we think this range is reasonable or perhaps even conservative – but I’m also a pretty lightweight rider at 155lbs, and always remember that e-bike ranges vary widely depending on terrain and rider.
The seat has a very cool look to it and is comfortable to sit on, partially due to integrated seat suspension. The front fork also has 3.5 inches of suspension travel. I’d have liked for both suspensions to be a little looser, but that is again likely due to my relatively light weight.
All of this comes with a caveat: we rode a prototype here, not a final bike. So the bike was missing some final features, some features weren’t working (like the headlight), and so on. Owlet says that specifically the LCD and foot stands will be changed, but we imagine other tweaks are possible (we hope one of the LCD changes makes it easier to read with polarized sunglasses – it was a bit tough, which is true of many, but not all, bike computer screens).
Owlet also has plans for a future bike, the Owlet 2, which is more solidly in the moped category, with a less wild design and higher range and top speed. Owlet shared an early prototype fact sheet with us, but given the One is already a bit of a ways out from delivery, don’t hold your breath for the 2 yet.
In short, the Owlet is a fun, quirky ride with a very design-forward ethos. If you’re looking for a bike that doesn’t look like any other, it could be worth looking into. Though it’s definitely on the unorthodox side and you have to be willing to accept its eccentricities when compared to more conventional two-wheeled devices.
The company is taking $50 refundable deposits for its bike, which it has said it wants to ship around March – but it also says that it’s waiting for a minimum batch quantity of preorders first, and that shipments would take 3-6 months after that, so we imagine March could be optimistic. If you want to get in line, you can reserve one here.
The bike will cost $3,995, though early reservers can get it for $2,995, along with an engraved serial number and a 1 year warranty/service package. Owlet wants to have service locations around LA and possibly one in New York, to begin with. It will distribute the bikes by shipping them directly to customers.
If you’re an e-bike/motorcycle/scooter owner, charge them up at home with rooftop solar panels. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing on solar, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.