Coast begins deliveries of its Model 1 solar electric trailer and its quality is undeniable
Coast, the future-focused sub-brand of trailer manufacturer Aero Build, has begun deliveries of the Model 1 – a solar electric travel trailer that Founder and CEO Brian Fuente put his heart and soul into to not only modernize a stale recreation segment but do so in a manner that is optimized and affordable without any compromise on quality. Fuente walked us through the Coast Model 1 and shared his insight on the trailer, the company’s design approach, and its future in electric campers.
Aero Build is a young trailer manufacturer that has been developing and crafting a variety of ground-up business-centric vessels in Nashville, Tennessee, for the last eight years. Pride in the work and commitment to the utmost quality in every build has helped the young company find early success, providing the financial runway to explore new ventures like electric travel trailers for recreational use.
The result is Coast – a passenger-focused sub-brand that not only looks to modernize the travel trailer industry further but also gives owners the freedom of travel and exploration, complimented by comfort, space utilization, and some of the best technology available today.
Those ideas culminated in Coast’s first trailer – the Model 1. Initially unveiled in early 2023, the Model 1 has since become open for pre-orders and begun production in Nashville. This past weekend, the first customer builds of the solar electric travel trailer were delivered to customers, kicking off a new chapter for Coast, which it hopes will help propel it from a niche bespoke builder to a renowned name in recreational vehicles.
Before deliveries began, Electrek got the chance to do a virtual walkthrough in the Model 1 with Coast Founder and CEO Brian Fuente, who offered some excellent insight on what sets these trailers apart.
Coast’s Model 1 trailer is a winner at first glance
Earlier this month, I hopped on a video call with Coast CEO Brian Fuente, who walked me through a near-production version of the Model 1. This slightly dated model has seen several improvements before the first travel trailers went out to customers.
My first impression of Fuente was that he knows his stuff. Not only from the perspective of recreational trailers, e.g., comfort, space utilization, etc., but from a tech standpoint, ensuring Coast’s first entry into the segment delivers quality materials and design as well as all the electronic components required to live comfortably off the grid for days or even weeks at a time.
The quality and sustainability of the materials chosen are apparent. Albeit a compact travel trailer, it’s clear that every square inch was optimized, and the Coast team reworked the layout repeatedly until it was perfect in their minds. I complimented Fuente on this achievement, and he shared some valuable insight:
We’ve been a trailer manufacturer for what, seven years now? So I think what sets us apart is we have a commercial division where we’ve built hundreds and hundreds of trailers and sent them all over the world, so we know a thing or two about trailer manufacturing. With all that knowledge we’ve been able to soak all that into this unit.
So, we can proudly say that this is one of the best built trailers you’ll ever find. It’s the price point too. We don’t have the drivetrain system… yet, we’re working on that, but from a quality standpoint, this thing is just built to last.
Fuente then pointed out that the Model 1 trailer we were viewing looked brand new (I’d agree), but it had already had several people staying in it and had traveled all over the country. More evidence of the quality of the fit and finishes chosen to ensure this trailer can handle a lifetime of travel exploring the world.
It was interesting that Fuente brought up the electric powertrain before I could even ask (I was going to, don’t worry), considering Coast’s main competitors in the space, who are already providing additional electrification to maximize towing efficiency.
I asked the CEO how he feels about the company’s trailer competitors like Pebble and Lightship, for instance, and how he thinks Coast compares:
Well, I think from a design perspective, I think it’s more palatable. It’s kind of a blend that feels like a smart home on wheels, like a home. I think from an interior design perspective, it’s just comfortable. I think this is a very comfortable unit with a lot of space and room to move around in this unit too. We are not those companies. We don’t have the big VC money. We’re the bootstrap operation and we have been trailer manufacturing for a long time.
I think that’s what sets us apart too because we’re in production and we have an incredibly talent team. This is a comfort focused electric vehicle that’s built to last a long time and I think there’s a buyer for everyone and I’m just so excited to see innovation in the space.
When we first started designing this (Model 1), the reason I was so motivated to do it was because I was just so tired of seeing junk, and I experienced the manufacturing plants in Indiana and said, ‘Guys, we gotta do better.’ From a culture standpoint, our company has really built a lifestyle brand and people have really bought into it because we provide a really great customer experience.
Bootstraps, for sure. Fuente told me he goes out to customers and shows them firsthand how to use the Coast electric trailers and even gives his personal cell number in case they have any questions or issues, saying, “That’s just who we are. We build one hell of a trailer, and we rarely have a warranty issue, and when we do, it’s usually minor. When we do, we usually take care of it within 24-48 hours.”
As sales of Coast’s electric travel trailers grow, it will be impossible for its CEO to stay on speed dial for everyone, but right now, that customer service method exemplifies how vital the buyer is to this operation. From there, Fuente spoke about Coast’s potential and the future.
All our trailers are hand-built, so we’re just focused on quality right now. Yes, we have people knocking on our door to invest, but we want to protect what we have and we want to be close to our customers. We’ve got some new partnerships that I can’t tell you about yet, but we’ve got some really big news coming soon.
Fuente told me a second trailer model is already in the works. As confirmed above, Coast is also working to add an electric drivetrain option to help drivers maximize range and efficiency while towing.
I highly recommend booking a live tour and exploring the Coast 1 trailer yourself to truly understand its design and opportunity for those who want to travel while still living comfortably with the freedom to work. Each trailer comes with Starlink’s highest level of WiFi – expensive for Coast to install, but worth every penny according to Fuente to ensure its customers get the best.
The exterior roof features eight monocrystalline solar panels that deliver 1,600 total watts of green energy to owners when out on the road or wherever their journeys take them.
The Coast Model 1 trailer is available to order now and starts at $129,900. I plan to visit Coast in Nashville soon, spend the night in a Model 1, and see if the real-life experience in the trailer matches the quality I saw from my virtual tour. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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Elon Musk is breaking his own rule of not making announcements during Tesla earnings as the CEO appears desperate amid a brand crisis.
Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, do not report the most typical earnings.
Earlier in Tesla’s run as a public company, Musk had often been combative with Wall Street analysts. Tesla became one of the first major companies to prioritize taking softball questions from retail investors over more challenging questions from analysts.
In 2021, Musk even said that he would stop attending most Tesla earnings calls, which is highly unusual for the CEO of a major publicly traded company:
“I will no longer be the default during earnings calls. Going forward, I will most likely not be on earnings calls unless there’s something really important that I need to say.”
However, he ended up attending virtually all Tesla earnings calls after making that comment.
Musk has also often said that “Tesla earnings calls are not a place for product announcements” and has shut down the idea of using the platform for revealing new information about the company.
The CEO appears to be moving away from that amid a crisis at Tesla.
Tesla has confirmed that, along with its earnings on Tuesday, the automaker will also hold a “live company update”:
In addition to posting first quarter results, Tesla management will hold a live company update and question and answer webcast that day at 4:30 p.m. Central Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time).
This is the first time Tesla has announced something like that.
It comes after Tesla also held an all-hands meeting publicly for the first time just a month ago.
This is happening amid a significant crisis at Tesla. The company experienced its first year of declining sales in 2024, and the decline accelerated in 2025 amid boycotts and protests over Musk’s involvement in politics.
Tesla’s sales are declining, gross margins are shrinking, the Cybertruck is proving to be a commercial flop, and Tesla owners are selling their vehicles in mass to distance themselves from the increasingly more controversial CEO.
Musk held the all-hands meeting publicly amid this crisis and sort of used the event to promote Tesla’s products and more directly, its stock.
Tesla’s stock is down 40% year-to-date, and it’s currently down 4% in pre-market trading a day before the earnings.
What could Tesla announce at the “company update”?
Musk’s public all-hands meeting, along with the attachment of a “company update” to the earnings, both appear to be desperation moves amid a declining stock price and brand crisis at Tesla.
With Tesla delivering ~40,000 fewer vehicles in Q1 2025 versus last year, the automaker is expected to have a tough quarter, which the CEO doesn’t want to pile onto an already long series of bad news.
Last Friday, Reuters released a report claiming a delay in Tesla’s launch of its previously announced, more affordable EV in the US. More importantly, the report appears to make more people understand that Tesla’s upcoming “more affordable EV” is simply a stripped-down Model Y.
Musk may use this “company update” to clarify Tesla’s plans for more affordable EVs, but if they are not ready to go into production right away, it’s unlikely, as the CEO wouldn’t want to fall into the Osborne effect.
It’s more likely that Musk will stick to the same stock-pumping approach he has in the last few years: self-driving and robotics.
The CEO has repeatedly said that Tesla is worth nothing if it doesn’t solve self-driving, and he more recently added that he sees Tesla becoming the most valuable company in the world with its humanoid robots.
I would expect Tesla’s “company update” to focus on those areas.
Musk will likely release more detailed plans about the planned launch of the “unsupervised self-driving” ride-hailing fleet in Austin. We previously reported that Tesla will use the launch of the geo-fenced, teleoperation-assisted fleet as a “win” in self-driving despite being an approach similar to what Waymo has been doing for years and that Musk has been criticizing as unscalable.
It’s a moving of the goalpost compared to Tesla’s previous promises of customer vehicles becoming capable of robotaxi self-driving.
The unveiling of the latest generation of Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, also wouldn’t be surprising.
Tesla has made impressive progress on the robotics side of things with its latest prototypes, but all previous demonstrations of the robots included teleoperation by humans. Until that’s a thing of the past, the Optimus robot has only minimal use cases and value. It will be something to look out for.
Along with these potential product announcements, it is also possible that Musk will announce a proposal for Tesla to invest in xAi, which he would likely present in conjunction with the integration of Grok in Tesla vehicles and robots.
Electrek’s Take
You can sense the desperation here. Tesla is afraid that the earnings will send the stock spiraling further down, and it plans a little pumping session at the same time to compensate.
I am curious to see whether it works or not. Lately, I think the stock more closely relate to whether or not people believe Musk’s claims than anything else and certainly not fundamentals.
With Tesla’s earnings anticipated to decline in the upcoming report and future earnings likely adjusted down, Tesla will trade at record-high price-to-earnings and future earnings ratios.
Every time that happened, Tesla’s stock somewhat quickly readjusted. Still, it will be interesting to see if whatever Musk announces at the “company update” can prevent that from happening, or if Tesla shareholders will start to question whether Musk’s views on Tesla’s self-driving and robotic efforts are accurate.
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Cynics will point at big rebates and claim they mean the vehicle isn’t selling, but that just exposes them for the industry noobs that they are. A rebate is a powerful financial tool that helps dealers overcome obstacles like negative equity, poor credit, and down payment requirements and get you to drive home in the car of your dreams today.
So if you’re dealing with any of the above, but still hope to slide behind the wheel of a new EV before new tariffs kick in, pay attention: these EVs could get you behind the wheel of a new electric ride sooner than you think!
As I was putting this list together, I realized there were plenty of ways for me to present this information. “Biggest EV incentive deals ..?” Not everyone qualifies for every rebate. “Most stackable EV rebates ..?” Too confusing. In the end, I went with national cash back offers and chose to present them in alphabetical order, by make. And, as for which deals are new this month? You’re just gonna have to read the article. Enjoy!
BMW XM
It may look like an angry space beaver on the outside, but BMW advertises itself as the Ultimate Driving Machine, not the Ultimate Style Machine — and by all accounts, the big BMW PHEV is one, if not the best-handling big SUVs out there.
With up to 30 miles of all electric range and a powerful V8 engine, it’s not savaing any trees, but now through April 30th, all versions of the plug-in hybrid offer $12,500 in lease or APR cash. If you’re financing your XM PHEV, BMW Financial is also offering 3.99% financing for up to 60 months, with a 72-month option at 4.49% APR.
Chevy BrightDrop
We recently highlighted a Costco offer that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in “regular” Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in “LIMITED-TIME” Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.
That’s more than $30,000 off the MSRP of one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market – ICE or electric. And that’s before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised on Chevy dealer websites.
Chrysler Pacifica PHEV
When the plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica minivan first went on sale all the way back in 2016, it seemed to imply that the old Chrysler Corporation was going to race ahead of the other “Big Three” legacy US carmakers.
That didn’t happen, but the Pacifica is still the king of cupholders, while the van’s stow n’ go seating, and all the other practical, clever details that add up to remind you Chrysler invented these things. Through April 30th, you can get a $7,500 cash allowance plus $7,500 in Federal income tax credits on Pacific Plug-in Hybrid Select, S, and Pinnacle trim level vans.
Dodge Charger EV
As the auto industry transitions to electric, Dodge is hoping that at least a few muscle car enthusiasts with extra cash, will find their way to a Dodge store and ask for the meanest, loudest, tire-shreddingest thing on the lot.
These days, that’s the new electric Charger – and you still owed money on the Hemi you just totaled, Dodge will help get the deal done on its latest retro ride with a $6,500 rebate on 2025 models or $3,000 plus 0% financing for up to 72 months on 2024s.
Dodge Hornet PHEV
Despite objectively being one of the slowest-selling new cars in North American, the Dodge Hornet eAWD PHEV offers specs that could make a compelling case for die-hard Dodge fans who are curious about EVs, but still worried about finding charging away from home.
If that’s you, the Hornet offers over 30 miles of all-electric range from its 12 kWH battery and a decently quick 0-60 mph — then sweetens the deal even more with $6,500 in lease cash to help bring the payment down.
Kia EV6 GT
CarsDirect is reporting 24-month leases on the positively awesome Kia EV6 GT featuring up to $19,000 in lease cash through May 1st. Other EV6 variants get decent cash back offers, too – be sure to ask your local dealer about the one you’re interested in.
Kia EV9
I’ve been seeing Kia’s excellent, hot-selling tree-row electric SUV all over the ‘burbs, lately — and it’s hardly a wonder why. In addition to being a great car, the Kia EV9 has some of the most aggressive customer incentives in the business, with $11,000 cash back for conventional financing customers and a whopping $16,000 lease cash on 24 month terms through May 1 (36 and 48 month lessors still get a pretty incredible $15,000 cash back).
Get used to seeing these around, in other words. If not in your own driveway, certainly in some of your neighbors’!
Nissan Ariya and LEAF
The inspiration for this article was a hypothetical $9,140 Nissan LEAF deal that I hastily concocted while walking the floor of the 2025 Chicago Auto Show, but the fact remains that even with “just” the $8,500 cash back being advertised through April 30, the $28,140 $19,640 Nissan LEAF is probably the most affordable new car you can buy in the US. If you can score some additional local incentives and dealer discounts, so much the better.
If you want something a bit more modern (and with Tesla Supercharger access), the bigger, more conventional Ariya crossover also packs some solid offers with up to $7,500 in Customer Cash.
Polestar 3
OK, this one’s cheating — the Swedish/Chinese love child of Volvo, Geely, and the championship-winning go-fast gurus at Cyan Racing, Polestar is announcing up to $20,000 in incentives to convince some (but, crucially, not all) customers to trade in their existing EVs on a new Polestar.
The catch? You have to trade in a Tesla to get the $20K. At the rate those cars are depreciating, though, that might be the best offer you’ll get out there!
Toyota bZ4X
It’s not breaking any sales records, but the Toyota bZ4X is a solid five-passenger crossover EV that should meet any suburbanite’s needs with enough of Toyota’s legendary quality baked in to make it a safe bet for a decade-plus of hassle-free driving. Plus, with $10,000 in TFS Lease Subvention cash and plenty of dealer discounts floating around, it might be the best deal in Toyota’s current lineup.
Volkswagen ID.4
One of the most popular legacy EVs, the ID.4 offers Volkswagen build quality and (for 2024) a Chat-GPT enabled interface. To keep ID.4 sales rolling, VW dealers are getting aggressive with discounts, making this fast-charging, 291 mile EPA-rated range, 5-star safety rated EV a value proposition that’s tough to beat.
This month, buy a Volkswagen ID.4 with up to $10,500 in Customer Bonus Cash or lease one with $7,500 in Lease Bonus cash.
Volvo C40, XC60 T8 Recharge
Volvo is offering up to $8,500 ($7,500 in customer cash, $1,000 in loyalty cash) off the price of remaining new C40s — the brand’s sporty, high-riding crossover coupe that happened to be its first dedicated EV offering in the US. If the C40 doesn’t suit you, the same deals are available on the more conventionally styled XC40 Recharge, too.
Buyers looking for one of Volvo’s excellent (IMO) T8 PHEV models can score up to $4,000 in allowances before the real discounting begins — and if, like me, your tastes run more towards Swedish sedans than SUVs, you might want to score yourself a sweet deal on a new S90 while you still can.
Disclaimer: the vehicle models and rebate deals above were sourced from sites like CarsDirect, CarEdge, USNews, and (where mentioned) the OEM websites – and were current 21APR2025. Despite my best efforts to filter these, some deals may not be available in your market, or to every buyer (the standard “with approved credit” fine print should be considered implied). Check with your local dealer(s) for more information.
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