Have you ever been in the mood to drive an electric bus, and then thought to yourself, “the only thing that could make this better is if the bus was shaped like a marsupial”? Yea, me neither. At least not until I stumbled upon this precious specimen of a koala bus.
And to be fair, I did think it was a mouse until our graphics guy corrected me. But that’s kind of the beauty of a nondescript animal bus – it can be whatever you want it to be!
In this case, what it is is a 14-seater electric bus, including the driver. There’s even a full seat next to the driver, perfect for that one kid on the bus. You know the one.
Granted, the interior doesn’t look quite as magical as the exterior, but sometimes that’s just life.
And in fact, there are a few head-scratchers spread around the interior. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how the seat belt system works here. Is it a buddy system? Are those crotch straps? is it decorative? If you’ve got both a plastic grab handle AND a chrome face-smashing bar AND velvet ropes instead of walls, do you really need the loop-de-loop belts, anyway?
The world needs answers.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of hard answers for you on the design decisions. What I can tell you though is what is happening regarding the technical side.
Based on the spec sheet, it looks like we’re working with a 5-meter (16-foot) bus carrying a curb weight of a mere 1,250 kg (2,755 lb). Frankly, that’s suspiciously lightweight. I’m kind of wondering what was cut out (besides the walls) to achieve that svelte physique.
It seems the powertrain might be part of the answer. Instead of a burly workhorse of a motor, we’ve got a paltry 5.5 kW spinner powering that rear axle. And the 9.6 kWh battery isn’t exactly huge either, though the lead acid battery design means it’s probably contributing to around a quarter of the entire vehicle’s weight.
But hey, when I said “koala bus”, I don’t think anyone came running over expecting something that was going to lay down respectable times at the local drag strip. You’re all here for a bus with a koala on it, and by god, that’s what you’ll get. I’ll stake my reputation on this right now – there’s no other bus out there that’s got more koala than this one, and that’s a promise you can take to the bank.
Just don’t try and make an international wire transfer while you’re there. Just because this koala bus is priced at around $8,500 doesn’t mean you should try to get one into your driveway. Ignoring the whole host of issues such as street legality and safety, don’t forget that you’d have a super desirable vehicle on your hands and no locking doors. Good luck waking up and still having a koala bus in your driveway. That puppy is going, going, gone as soon as thieves realize what a prize you’ve found. I don’t know the resale value of an electric animal bus on the black market, but it’s got to be up there.
So add this to the list of fun, funny, or just plain weird Alibaba electric vehicles that I’d love to try but I’m not going to risk my paycheck on trying to own.
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A Palantir sign at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 22, 2022.
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
If you have any U.S. technology stocks in your portfolio (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you might want to look away.
For the second day in a row, tech stocks dragged markets lower, with the Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.67%. Juggernauts such as Apple, Amazon and Alphabet were more meh-nificent than magnificent, falling more than 1%.
Palantir — the standout S&P 500 stock, having more than doubled so far this year — had its sixth consecutive day in the red and lost its place among a ranking of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies.
While Palantir’s slide was partly triggered by a report from short seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research, which called the company “detached from fundamentals and analysis,” there was no single trigger for the broader pullback.
Investors could have been spooked by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s caution about an AI bubble forming, although some analysts dispute that assertion. “In our view the tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another 2-3 years,” said Wall Street tech bull Dan Ives.
Or it could be something benign, like traders locking in profits. “Tech stocks,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, “have had an incredibly strong run – with some up over 80% since the early April lows.”
Summer, after all, is far from over. Some investors might have just wanted to cash out for another round of margaritas.
What you need to know today
And finally…
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Aug. 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska.
U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing an unusual strategy — courting Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding fire on Beijing, all the while turning the screws on India.
Despite India being one of the earliest nations to engage in negotiations with the Trump administration, there is still no sign of it sealing a deal with America. New Delhi is now also staring at a secondary tariff of 25% or a “penalty” for its purchases of Russian oil that is set to come into effect later this month.
Palantir Technologies signage on an options contract ticker as traders work on the floor of American Stock Exchange at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., on Friday, June 20, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
If you have any U.S. technology stocks in your portfolio (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you might want to look away.
For the second day in a row, tech stocks dragged markets lower, with the Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.67%. Juggernauts such as Apple, Amazon and Alphabet were more meh-nificent than magnificent, falling more than 1%.
Palantir — the standout S&P 500 stock, having more than doubled so far this year — spent its sixth consecutive day in the red and lost its place among a ranking of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies.
While Palantir’s slide was partly triggered by a report from short seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research, which called the company “detached from fundamentals and analysis,” there was no single trigger for the broader pullback.
Investors could have been spooked by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s caution about an AI bubble forming, although some analysts dispute that assertion. “In our view the tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another 2-3 years,” said Wall Street tech bull Dan Ives.
Or it could be something benign, like traders locking in profits. “Tech stocks,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, “have had an incredibly strong run – with some up over 80% since the early April lows.”
Summer, after all, is far from over. Some investors might have just wanted to cash out for another round of margaritas.
What you need to know today
Fed officials divided over inflation and employment worries. Central bank governors generally agreed there were risks on both sides. But a couple — breaking from the majority — saw the labor market woes as more pressing, according to minutes of the Fed’s July meeting.
Trump likely to pick Kevin Hassett as next Fed Chair. The director of the National Economic Council firmly led the pack, according to a CNBC Fed Survey. However, respondents think the president “should” pick former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.
[PRO] The Fed is expected to cut just as markets trade at highs. This is what tends to happen when both factors coincide, according to Goldman Sachs research.
And finally…
United States President Donald Trump participates in a Multilateral Meeting with European Leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US. Picture date: Monday August 18, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump has been on a multimillion-dollar bond-buying spree since taking office in January, investing in debt issued by local authorities, gas districts and major American corporations.
Across 33 pages of filings with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, or OGE, dated Aug. 12, the president outlined 690 transactions that have taken place since he took office. The documents were made public on Tuesday.
— Chloe Taylor
Correction: This report has been updated to correct the spelling of Kevin Hasset’s name.
Tesla has started offering leases of certified pre-owned cars, which is relatively rare in the industry, with $0 down as it desperately tries to move vehicles before the end of the quarter.
With the federal tax credit for electric vehicles set to expire at the end of the quarter, automakers in the US are all trying to optimize EV sales, as demand is being pulled forward.
This also applies to used EVs, as the $4,000 federal incentive for used electric vehicles will also expire on September 30th.
Now, leasing used vehicles is much less common than leasing new cars, but some automakers, or mainly dealers, do offer it.
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Tesla is getting into this business for the first time.
In California and Texas, Tesla is now offering leases on certified pre-owned (aka used) Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
These are reasonably priced and can be as low as $215 per month with $0 down for a 24-month lease and 10,000 miles per year.
Tesla also offers a 12-month lease and up to 15,000 miles annually. While there’s no down payment needed, there’s an “Acquisition Fee” of $695.
That, and the first month, is all you need to get in a used Tesla for the next year or two.
This is undoubtedly the cheapest way to get into a Tesla vehicle right now.
Tesla is trying to sell as many vehicles as possible in the US this quarter, as demand for EVs has been pulled forward due to the end of the tax credit. This is expected to result in a record quarter in the US, but it also going to create a few difficult ones in the future.
With demand being pulled forward and future buyers feeling like they missed out on EV discounts, the US EV market is expected to experience a significant slowdown over the next 12 to 18 months.
Tesla sales are down about 13% globally so far this year. While this quarter is expected to be better, many analysts still anticipate Tesla’s year-over-year performance to be down.
This year alone, Tesla added more than 50,000 electric vehicles to its inventory.
Used cars have also been piling up.
Tesla owners rushed to sell their vehicles as Tesla’s brand perception dived following its CEO’s involvement in politics.