Lectric Ebikes rose to the top of sales, and now they are giving it all away
In just four years, Phoenix-based Lectric Ebikes quickly grew into a major player in the US e-bike market. The garage startup story of how Lectric’s founders rode the brand’s budget-priced e-bikes all the way to the top has been told many times. Just as fascinating, yet less well-known, is how committed the company has been to giving back through major donations and philanthropy.
Today, on Giving Tuesday, that story deserves to be told.
When Lectric stormed onto the scene with its first sub-$1,000 e-bike, the co-founders Levi Conlow and Robby Deziel had no idea just how big it would become.
Shooting to the top as the best-selling e-bike in the US, the Lectric XP 3.0 has since been joined by several other models that have expanded the company’s range through fat tire bikes, cargo e-bikes, lightweight folders, and more. With several e-bikes still priced at under $1,000, the company has become a heavyweight of the affordable e-bike market.
I sat down with Levi to discuss how his team’s success has enabled the company to achieve its wide-ranging goals beyond merely selling e-bikes.
“In college, I became really interested in the idea of conscious capitalism,” Levi explained. “The idea that a business shouldn’t be purely about pursuing profits. It should do so in a way that focuses on ethics and remembers that a rising tide lifts all ships.”
Since its very beginning, Lectric Ebikes’ business model has focused on disruption by moving into new e-bike categories with models that significantly undercut current price trends. But as Levi explained, that model isn’t just about profits.
“Lectric is determined to continue to disrupt the bike market, also by setting a high bar for philanthropy. We’re the leader in sales, but we also want to lead the way in giving.”
And he isn’t just waxing poetically, either. The company has put its money where its mouth is. Just this year they’ve given away over US $2 million, including more than US $1 million in e-bike donations and over US $1 million in cash donations.
“Part of the reason we can do this is that we run a good company,” Levi continued. “We didn’t go the venture capital route or blow our money on bad business ideas or on buying growth. We’ve run a good, profitable business from day one. Leadership has continued to make what’s important to us important to the company. That’s the beauty of being the founders. Rob and I get to take our principles and further them through the good of the company.”
The amount of giving has grown as well. Last year, Lectric announced that it would partner with Beast Philanthropy to “adopt” an orphanage, completely renovating it with larger and better-equipped facilities to serve more children. The company told customers that for every e-bike sold on Giving Tuesday 2022, Lectric would donate $250 to the project. However, as the budget for the massive undertaking grew, Lectric ultimately donated 100% of its sales from the day.
Donating to orphanages and supporting foster care systems has become one of several main focuses of the company’s giving. “My relationship to parents was a huge resource to me growing up, they were so important to who I became. I still call them probably five times a week. And so that’s been part of why supporting foster care programs has been so important to me. To give orphans the best chance, the best resources that are often taken for granted.”
This year, they’ve decided right from the start to embrace that strategy of total giving. The company just announced that 100% of proceeds from bike sales today on this year’s Giving Tuesday will go towards Lectric’s next philanthropy project. If you want your entire bike purchase to go towards many of the charities and social projects that Lectric supports, you can find their wide range of e-bike sales here. Personally, this year I also started my own e-bike charitable project called E-bikes For Good, and so I’m going to buy an e-bike to donate, knowing that the money I spend will become a second donation as well.
This year’s Giving Tuesday project will be joining a long list of other far-reaching endeavors already undertaken by Lectric. The e-bike brand has partnered with Beast Philanthropy several times for global projects.
Those projects have included donating over 1,000 cargo e-bikes to be used for water collection in Africa for areas without clean drinking water, donating tens of thousands of shoes and clothing to those in need, installing solar power and internet access in a remote area of Colombia, and more.
Lectric has often provided funds and e-bikes for such projects, but also frequently sends its own staff to help out as well.
In addition to philanthropic projects worldwide, Lectric has also focused on helping those in need closer to home.
Recent activities have included working at and supplying Phoenix food banks, $100,000 in toy donations to a statewide toy drive during the holidays (including the Lectric team personally wrapping them), and partnering with local urban farms that feed food-insecure families.
During the holidays, the company even gave each of its employees a $2,000 stipend to donate to a charity of their choice.
“I’ve always believed in the saying that ‘The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give that gift away,’ Levi explained. It’s one of several quotes that Levi tries to live his life by.
And based on the company’s track record, it seems they’re doing a pretty good job.
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More than 100,000 home batteries across California stepped up as a virtual power plant last week in a scheduled test event, and the results were impressive, according to new analysis from The Brattle Group.
Sunrun was the largest aggregator, Tesla was the largest OEM, and most of the batteries were enrolled
in California’s Demand-Side Grid Support (DSGS) program.
Sunrun’s distributed battery fleet delivered more than two-thirds of the energy during a scheduled two-hour grid support test on July 29. In total, the event pumped an average of 535 megawatts (MW) onto the grid – enough to power over half of San Francisco.
The event, run between 7 and 9 pm, was coordinated by the California Energy Commission, CAISO (California Independent System Operator), and utilities to prepare for stress on the grid during August and September heat waves. And it worked.
Sunrun alone averaged over 360 MW during the two-hour window. The batteries kicked in right when electricity demand typically spikes in the evening, acting just like a traditional power plant, but from people’s homes.
Brattle’s analysis found that the battery output made a visible dent in statewide grid load, when the power is needed most. “Performance was consistent across the event, without major fluctuations or any attrition,” said Ryan Hledik, a principal at The Brattle Group. He called it “dependable, planning-grade performance at scale.”
Residential batteries, Hledik explained, don’t just help shave off demand during critical hours; they can reduce the need for new power plants entirely. “They can serve CAISO’s net peak, reduce the need to invest in new generation capacity, and relieve strain on the system associated with the evening load ramp,” he said.
This isn’t a one-off. Sunrun’s fleet already helped drop peak demand earlier this summer, delivering 325 MW during a similar event on June 24. The company compensates customers up to $150 per battery per season for participating.
Sunrun CEO Mary Powell summed it up: “Distributed home batteries are a powerful and flexible resource that reliably delivers power to the grid at a moment’s notice, benefiting all households by preventing blackouts, alleviating peak demand, and reducing extreme price spikes.”
Read more: The US’s largest virtual power plant now runs on 75,000 home batteries
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Hyundai’s new Elexio electric SUV, which is built in China, could be sold in overseas markets. The CEO of Hyundai Australia calls it “a promising vehicle” that could help the company regain market share from Tesla, BYD, and others.
Will Hyundai’s new Elexio SUV be sold overseas?
The Elexio SUV is the first dedicated electric vehicle from Hyundai’s joint venture with BAIC in China, Beijing Hyundai.
After unveiling it for the first time in May, Hyundai is preparing to launch the new Elexio in China in the next few weeks.
According to a new report, Hyundai’s new electric SUV could be sold in overseas markets, including Australia. Don Romano, the CEO of Hyundai Australia, told journalists (via EV Central) last week during the launch event for the new IONIQ 9 that the company has done a “terrible job” with its EVs so far.
“And the only explanation for that is that we haven’t put enough focus into it,” he explained. However, Romano promises the automaker will do better.
Hyundai plans to boost marketing and support its dealership network, which only began selling IONIQ EV models a little over a year ago.
In what mostly went under the radar, Romano also suggested the new Elexio SUV could arrive in Australia. “It’s under evaluation now,” he said, adding, “it’s definitely a promising vehicle.”
Despite this, it may have a few hurdles to clear. Hyundai’s Australian boss explained, “I still have work to do to ensure that it’s the right vehicle in the right segment at the right price for our market. And I have not reached that level yet.”
Romano told journalists that a final decision needs to be made “in the next 60 to 90 days,” and to check back in three months when he will have a definitive answer.
Hyundai Australia is also looking to launch the IONIQ 2, a smaller, more affordable EV to sit between the Inster EV and Kona Electric.
Romano said, “It’s a potential opportunity,” but didn’t provide any details. He said, at this point, he’s just glad Hyundai is producing it. “Now I just need to get the details and find out, will it fit into our overall product plan and create enough demand to where it becomes a viable option for us? So my initial thought is absolutely. Yep.” Hyundai Australia’s boss told journalists.
The new EVs would help Hyundai, which has been struggling to keep pace in the transition to electric, compete in Australia and other overseas markets.
As of June 2025, Hyundai has sold only 853 EVs in Australia. In comparison, Tesla has sold 14,146 electric vehicles, and BYD has sold over 8,300. Even Kia is selling more EVs in Australia, with 4,402 units sold in the first six months of the year.
Measuring 4,615 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width, and 1,673 mm in height, Hyundai’s electric SUV is slightly smaller than the Tesla Model Y.
It recently underwent three consecutive crash tests among several other global evaluations, consistently outperforming benchmarks. Based on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform that powers nearly all Hyundai and Kia EVs, the Elexio has a CLTC driving range of up to 435 miles (700 km)
Hyundai is set to launch it in China in the third quarter of 2025. Prices have yet to be announced, but it’s expected to start at around 140,000 yuan ($19,500).
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