Ahead of initial production scheduled for 2024, electric RV startup Lightship is offering a peek behind its solar electric curtain, detailing the efforts that went into its flagship L1 towable trailer to ensure it arrives as the more aerodynamic option on the market.
Lightship is a San Francisco, CA, and Boulder, Colorado-based startup that heralds itself as the first all-electric RV company – designing battery-powered trailers for the all-electric age. It was founded in 2020 by Ben Parker and Toby Kraus – two industry veterans with notable tenures at Tesla.
We have followed Lightship since its inception, through to the official unveiling of its L1 electric RV trailer at SXSW this past March. This travel trailer is unique in its aerodynamic, modular design and comes equipped with its own all-electric powertrain and battery pack, alleviating the towing capacity for the vehicle in front of it.
The result is a towable EV that will empower future owners to drive further and more efficiently without recharging as much. The L1’s debut last spring did not disappoint, but we have admittedly been left craving more details as an electric trailer that maintains its towing vehicle’s range has the makings to be an absolute game-changer in a stale RV industry.
Today, Lightship shared details of the L1’s development process – particularly the keen focus its creators put on aerodynamics – as it works to deliver a true one-of-a-kind electric RV.
The L1 in “Road Mode” / Credit: Lightship
Real world efficiency testing using Rivian EVs
Two examples of CFD simulated CFD runs that helped optimize the exterior design of the L1
Every facet of Lightship’s electric RV is optimized for aero
As you’ll learn about in the video from Lightship below, the startup simulated thousands of hours in a virtual wind tunnel using advanced modeling software and help from Angus Locke, who was the lead aerodynamicist on the Tesla Roadster.
This cost-saving technique helped Lightship analyze the airflow behavior around competitor trailers and compare it to its own electric RV designs, enabling its final concept. The startup’s founders also gathered their experience in passenger EVs to develop L1’s unique “Dual Mode” design, which allows for a roomy cabin with 7’6″ of headroom when parked in “Camp Mode” before telescoping its hard-sided walls down to “Road Mode,” thus reducing the Coefficient of Drag and Frontal Area by 35-40%.
Lightship goes on to point out three specific areas it optimized the L1 electric RV trailer:
Tongue Box: The trailer’s ever-so-important leading edge – dictating how the air interacts with the rest of the object downstream while in motion. The L1 features a storage box that helps stabilize the flow around the front of the vehicle while helping reduce the differential between the vehicle towing in front of it, regardless of whether it’s an EV or an ICE truck.
Boat-tailed Rear: Shallow angles at the back help avoid inducing strong vortices, which can increase drag while maintaining the central portion of the cabin to ensure a queen-size bed can still fit.
Electric Powertrain: The star of the show. Lightship’s L1 Long Range RV comes equipped with its own electric motor and battery, propelling itself while reducing the load on the tow vehicle and resulting in improved range.
R&D is vital in this process as Lightship looks to deliver a slam dunk on its first attempt to enter the RV market. However, simulations and computer designs can only go so far. At some point, real-world testing is necessary. To truly put the L1’s aerodynamics to the test, it towed an Essential version (no electric powertrain) 60 miles at a 60 mph pace using three different vehicles: a Rivian R1T pickup, R1S SUV, and gas-powered Ford F-150. For added comparison, Lightship also towed a “bullet-shaped trailer. Here are the results:
Configuration
R1T EV
R1S EV
F-150 Gas
No Trailer
2.17 mi/kWh
1.97 mi/kWh
23.2 mpg
“Bullet Trailer”
0.93 mi/kWh
0.96 mi/kWh
10.2 mpg
L1 Essential
1.26 mi/kWh
1.33 mi/kWh
14.4 mpg
L1 vs. “Bullet”
0.33 mi/kWh (+35%)
0.37 mi/kWh (+28%)
4.2 mpg (+29%)
Overall, the L1 is more efficient than its competitor, regardless of whether the towing vehicle is electric or combustion. Keep in mind that the data above does not account for the L1 Long Range, which promises to offer near-zero range loss thanks to its own drivetrain system.
Current electric pickup and SUV owners are seeing huge cuts to range when towing, making long trips with a trailer more difficult than a traditional ICE vehicle. However, Lightship’s L1 RV has solved that issue, even without its electric motor.
The Lightship L1 is currently available for pre-order with $500 down and is priced between $125,000 and $151,500, depending on which version you opt for. Production is expected to begin in late 2024.
Be sure to check out Lightship’s aerodynamic testing in the video below:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Why is Europe getting all the fun new electric vehicles? After its electric SUV, the EV3, has already become a top seller in Europe, Kia is doubling down with new models, like the EV5 and EV4. Thanks to the new tariffs, Kia is pushing for EVs in Europe while the US gets left on the back burner.
Which EVs is Kia launching in Europe and the US?
After launching the EV3 in late 2024, Kia’s compact electric SUV “started with a bang,” as the most popular retail EV in the UK in January.
Through the first half of the year, the Kia EV3 has remained the UK’s best-selling EV among retail customers, with nearly 6,300 registrations. Including commercial vehicles, it was the fourth most popular EV overall.
Kia looks to build on its success with a flurry of new EVs on the way. After opening orders for the EV4 hatchback in June, its first all-electric hatch, Kia introduced the Fastback version, or sedan model, less than two weeks later.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
And then, last month, we got our first look at the upgraded EV5, the European version of Kia’s Tesla Model Y-sized electric SUV, which has been on sale in China since 2023.
Kia EV6 (right), EV3 (middle), and EV9 (right) Source: Kia
Kia plans to begin EV4 deliveries in Europe in September. The hatchback will be the first EV Kia builds in Europe at its Zilina plant in Slovakia. Kia said the move will speed up deliveries. However, the sedan will still be built in South Korea.
The EV5 will arrive in Europe later this year. Kia is launching the EV5 in North America in early 2026, but it will be “exclusive to the Canadian market.”
Kia EV5 GT-Line (Source: Kia)
Next year, Kia will introduce the smaller, more affordable EV2. The EV2 will sit underneath the EV3 as Kia’s new entry-level electric vehicle.
Outside of the EV4, which Kia will launch in the US in early 2026, no other models have been confirmed for the US. Although it was spotted testing in the US again this week, the last official release from Kia specifically said the EV5 will be exclusive to the Canadian market in North America.
Kia Concept EV2 (Source: Kia)
The EV4 will arrive, but only as a sedan. It will feature up to 330 miles of driving range and a built-in NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers.
Kia has yet to reveal prices, but the EV4 is expected to start at around $35,000. In the UK, the hatch starts at £34,695 ($47,700) with up to 388 miles WLTP driving range. The Fastback, or sedan variant, is priced from £40,895 ($55,000) with a driving range of up to 380 miles.
Kia EV4 models during safety testing in Europe (Source: Kia UK)
And that’s not even touching the PV5, Kia’s first electric van. Kia is launching the PV5 Passenger and Cargo models across Europe, but whether it will arrive in the US is still up in the air.
Electrek’s Take
Kia’s decision to prioritize Europe over the US is thanks to the Trump Administration’s new tariffs on vehicle imports. Imported vehicles from South Korea are subject to a 15% tariff.
On top of this, the $7,500 federal tax credit is set to expire at the end of September, which will make the US EV market even more competitive.
Kia’s electric vehicle sales are already down significantly this year. Through July, Kia has sold nearly half as many EV9 and EV6 models as it did in 2024. The Korean auto giant is expected to offset slower EV sales in the US with new models arriving in Europe.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
A judge has ruled to allow a class-action lawsuit against Tesla over claims that the company has been misleading customers about its self-driving capabilities for years.
It’s the latest of a series of legal actions against Tesla regarding its deployment of advanced assisted driving systems, which the automaker describes as self-driving.
As we reported earlier this month, the floodgates of lawsuits opened against Tesla after it was found partially liable in a wrongful death case following a fatal crash involving Tesla Autopilot.
There are now a dozen similar cases moving forward against Tesla.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
On the other hand, Tesla has also been fighting legal actions from owners who felt misled by the automaker regarding the capabilities.
Tesla claimed that all vehicles built since 2016 have the hardware capable of achieving “full self-driving”, which isn’t the case, and Tesla has been selling a software package called “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) that it claimed would deliver unsupervised level 4-5 self-driving, and it hasn’t.
For years, owners of HW3 vehicles, which Tesla confirmed wouldn’t achieve unsupervised self-driving, have been trying to sue Tesla under a class action to be compensated for the failed promises, but Tesla has been trying to weasel out of the class action lawsuit due to its force arbitration clause in its sales contracts in the US, and claims that self-driving deployment is subject to “validation and regulatory approval.”
Today, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin said that the claim that Tesla lacked hardware to achieve the promise level of autonomy and its inability to “demonstrate a long-distance autonomous drive with any of its vehicles” justified group lawsuits by two sets of drivers who bought its FSD package.
In short, it amounts to false advertising, but one of the problems with making this a class action lawsuit is the fact that Tesla doesn’t do mass advertising and was making these claims through blog posts, its website, social media posts, and its CEO.
Judge Lin commented (via Reuters):
“While these channels alone may not ordinarily be enough to establish class-wide exposure for a traditional car manufacturer, Tesla’s distinctive advertising strategy warrants a departure from the typical approach.”
The class action was certified with two subclasses:
The first one covers California residents who purchased FSD packages between October 2016 and May 2017
The second one covers FSD owners who opted out of Tesla’s arbitration agreement between 2017 and mid-2024.
On top of the damages to these Tesla owners, the legal action is also seeking an injunction to stop Tesla from making similar statements about its products in the future.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla has been trying to weasel out of this for years. This is a step in the right direction, even though it doesn’t go far enough in my opinion.
To me, it’s as simple as Tesla promised and sold something that it didn’t deliver.
Due to its forced arbitration in its sales contracts, which buyers have a limited time to opt out of following the purchase, it can limit the damages, but that’s just a technicality.
Ultimately, I think this will get the ball rolling to try to get Tesla accountable for not delivering on its promises.
This is just the beginning. There are approximately a dozen other lawsuits involving Tesla’s self-driving features currently pending in US courts.
I’m going to have more on that soon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Navee’s latest 47-mile travelling GT3 Max electric scooter gets further price cuts to new $561 low
As part of its ongoing Back to School Sale that will continue through August 25, Navee has dropped the price lower than ever on its new GT3 Max Electric Scooter to $561 shipped, after using the promo code SCHOOL15 at checkout, which beats out its Amazon pricing by $132.49. What’s more, you’ll also be getting a FREE carbon fiber riser bag ($59 value) that is automatically added in the cart. Since its release mid-way through July, carrying a $750 price tag, we’ve seen discounts direct from the site (before this week) only take things down to $730 (and later $620 with the extra savings code last week), while at Amazon we’ve seen it regularly repeat to $693 for Prime members. All those rates are getting beaten out here by the combined 25% markdown that cuts $189 off the price tag for the best new rate that we have tracked.
While the GT3 and GT3 Pro are equally new models that first launched during CES 2025, Navee has already upgraded the series’ design with the GT3 Max electric scooter, which mainly focuses on its travel range. There is a 400W motor housing within the sleek frame (peaking at 1,000W) and a 597.6Wh battery that affords it a longer 46.6-mile range over the Pro models’ 37.3-mile range, with a top speed of 19.9 MPH. This puts it squarely in competition with the flagship ST3 Pro e-scooter, which mainly differs in its damping arm suspension system. There are three riding modes here, as well as the full array of smart features/controls we’ve seen on the latest models, including Apple Find My, Bluetooth proximity locking, and more – all controlled via the companion app.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Of course, Navee’s 49-pound GT3 Max e-scooter comes with the usual folding design that helps you to carry it inside or up stairs more easily, not to mention making storage less of a headache. There are also other solid stock features like the tubeless tires to protect against flats, front fork and rear cylinder suspension, turn signal functionality integrated into the handlebars, a front drum brake paired with a rear electronic regenerative brake, and more.
Commute on streets and dirt alike with Tenways’ AGO X e-bike that gets $307 in free gear at its $1,899 low, more
Tenways has launched its Back to School Sale that is taking up to $600 off select e-bikes alongside offering up to $307 in free gear. Among the models seeing discounts, Tenways has returned its AGO X All-Terrain Mid-Drive e-bike to $1,899 shipped while giving you $307 in free add-on equipment. This model usually fetches $2,499 at full price, which has mostly been brought down to $1,999 over the last year, though we’ve been seeing more regular drops to the $1,899 low, like today. You’re saving $600 while the sale lasts at the best price we have tracked, not to mention the bonus mudguards, kickstand, and rear carrier you’ll be getting that puts you at $907 in total savings. What’s more, if you buy two of them (or any e-bike) together, you’ll receive an additional $300 discount on your cart’s total.
Segway’s new entry-level Ninebot E2 Plus II eKickScooter with a 16-mile range drops to $300 in latest sale
Looking back in on Segway’s Upgrade Your Daily Grind sale, which will continue through the rest of the month, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the brand’s new Ninebot E2 Plus II eKickScooter at $299.99 shipped, which is also matching in price at Amazon too. This model launched back in May with a $400 price tag direct from the brand but never went higher than $370 at Amazon, which we saw dropped to $350 for its preorder period on both sites, with today’s deal being the second-ever fall to $300 that we’ve spotted. It did go $4 lower last month through and after Prime Day, with this otherwise being the best price we have tracked with $100 taken off the tag.
EcoFlow’s RIVER 2 Pro 768Wh LiFePO4 power station tackles personal backup support at $379
By way of its official Amazon storefront, EcoFlow is offering its RIVER 2 Pro Portable Power Station at $379 shipped, which is matching directly from the brand’s website. While it carries a $599 MSRP directly from the brand, it keeps down lower at $529 in full at Amazon. We’ve seen discounts in 2025 bouncing the price around between $399 and its one-time $352 low that popped up in early May. Today’s deal gives you a 28% markdown off the going rate for $150 savings ($220 off the MSRP) and lands it at the third-lowest price we have tracked, beaten out by falls to $359, most recently in July, and the $352 low.
Greenworks’ 2025 13A 2,100 PSI compact electric pressure washer is down at $160, more
Amazon is offering the newer Greenworks 13A 2,100 PSI Compact Electric Pressure Washer at $159.99 shipped, which is also matching in price directly from the brand’s website. This is one of a number of newer models that were released at the top of the year, with discounts having mostly repeated to this same rate, save for the two Prime Day rates of $150 and a $140 low that was available to Prime members, exclusively. Today’s deal brings back the usual 20% markdown to cut $40 off the tag at the best non-Prime Day price that we have tracked.
Aiper’s HydroComm smart monitor offers 5-in-1 testing for your pool and/or hot tub at a return $250 low
Through its official Amazon storefront, Aiper is offering a return low price on its latest HydroComm Smart Pool Monitor for $249.99 shipped in its blue colorway, which beats out the brand’s direct website pricing by $50. Originally priced at $500 when it released in April, we see it carrying a lower $400 price tag from the brand and keeping at $350 at Amazon, where discounts have given us this same low rate twice before since Prime Day last month. It’s coming back for a third time here today, cutting $100 off the going rate (and $150 off the MSRP) at the best price we have tracked. You can also check out the array of discounts on the brand’s various pool cleaners on the official Amazon storefront page here.
Navee GT3 Max Smart Electric Scooter (code SCHOOL15): $561 (Reg. $750)
Best new Green Deals landing this week
The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.