Lectric’s CEO answers the most common questions about its shock electric bike launch
Earlier this week, Phoenix-based e-bike maker Lectric Ebikes surprised the industry with the unveiling of a high-end yet low-cost electric bike. The $1,999 Lectric ONE e-bike, which includes components like a Pinion automatic shifting gearbox normally found on models approaching five figures, resulted in a flood of questions. To get to the bottom of the most pressing concerns, we sat down with Lectric’s CEO Levi Conlow to discuss the decisions made in designing and producing the new e-bike.
Question 1: Why does the Lectric ONE use a cadence sensor instead of a torque sensor?
When testing the Lectric ONE with both cadence and torque sensors, we didn’t really feel like the torque sensor added very much to the experience, and would end up costing the consumer a lot more. We spent a lot of time dialing in the power delivery on this bike with PWR so that the experience comes shockingly close to the experience with a torque sensor. There are several settings users can adjust to dial in the way power gets delivered on this bike.
For reference, PWR is Lectric’s own design for more natural feeling pedal assist. Compared to most low-cost electric bikes that feel jumpier and tend to lurch forward when riders begin to pedal, Lectric uses a less common current-based pedal assist system that results in a smoother and more natural feeling ride. Having tested it many times, I can personally say that it still doesn’t feel as responsive as a true torque sensor, but it’s miles more natural feeling than the cheap cadence sensor and speed-based programming on most other e-bikes in this category.
Question 2: Why didn’t you guys include a suspension fork on the Lectric ONE?
We wanted the Lectric ONE to be as light as possible to maximize ease of use for our riders. At 55 pounds, and with a 750w motor, the ONE is light enough to carry up to an apartment and powerful enough to rocket up to 28 mph for a quick, sweat-free commute.
This answer actually surprised me a bit. Sure, it definitely saves weight. But it seems like the Lectric ONE, with its much more sophisticated pedal drivetrain thanks to that Pinion electric-shifting automatic gearbox, is more of a cyclists’ e-bike. That means it is likely going to attract folks who already like to ride a pedal bike and are already bike commuters. Many (if not most) commuter bikes already lack suspension, allowing them to be more robust and longer lasting, not to mention lighter. So while the Lectric ONE is definitely lighter without a suspension fork, I imagine many of the people considering it are already frequent cyclists and likely have gotten used to common rigid bikes.
Question 3: Why the small (20-inch) wheel size on the Lectric ONE?
Putting smaller wheels on the Lectric ONE serves two primary purposes: Number one, weight savings. There really aren’t any advantages to having a commuter bike with a larger wheel diameter, and it adds weight and makes transport bulky. With 20-inch wheels and a foldable stem the ONE can be transported with ease. Number 2, acceleration is vastly improved with smaller diameter tires. It’s hard to put into words just how fast this bike gets moving from a standstill. Being able to accelerate fast adds to the joy of commuting by bike, gets you to your destination faster, and improves safety by enabling riders to maneuver quickly out of potentially dangerous situations.
I know there are some large-diameter wheel purists out there, but I personally agree about the benefits of 20″ wheels. Where I live, probably 80-90% of the commuter bikes seen on the streets and bike lanes are 20″ wheel bikes. It’s just more common around here. Large diameters have their advantages, but in commuting roles, they tend to be more than necessary.
Question 4: Is the Lectric ONE UL compliant? Does that mean Lectric does its own UL testing?
The Lectric ONE is certified to UL 2849 by SGS, a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. SGS is one of the leading global testing, inspection, and certification companies with over 99,600 employees operating a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.
This is quite common. Underwriter Laboratories is divided into non-profit and for-profit sides, with the former setting the standard and the latter offering its services to test and certify to that standard. While some companies do go straight to UL for their testing, others turn to various laboratories that have received international approval to certify to UL standards.
Question 5: This is a very different type of e-bike than you’ve ever made before. What type of rider does the Lectric ONE target?
The Lectric ONE is a commuting e-bike. With this product we are aiming to get people on a bike that can actually replace car miles. The almost maintenance-free drivetrain and semi-automatic shifting make this product as reliable as a car so you don’t even have to think as you’re riding. This product is also for folks who want to see the most cutting-edge technology the e-bike industry has to offer. Lectric’s scale has enabled us to bring many advanced features to a price point that is actually reachable.
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EV sales kept up their momentum in December 2024, with incentives playing a big role, according to the latest Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book report.
December’s strong EV sales saw an average transaction price (ATP) of $55,544, which helped push the industry-wide ATP higher, according to Kelley Blue Book. The December ATP for an EV was higher year-over-year by 0.8%, slightly below the industry average, and higher month-over-month by 1.1%. Tesla ATPs were higher year-over-year by 10.5%.
Incentives for EVs remained elevated in December, although they were slightly lower month-over-month at 14.3% of ATP, down from 14.7% in November.
EV incentives were higher by an impressive 41% year-over-year and have been above 12% of ATP for six consecutive months. Strong sales incentives, which averaged more than $6,700 per sale in 2024, were one reason EV sales surpassed 1.3 million units last year, according to Cox Automotive, a new record for volume and share.
(My colleague Jameson Dow reported yesterday, “In 2024, the world sold 3.5 million more EVs than it did in the previous year … This increase is larger than the 3.2 million increase in EV sales from the previous year – meaning that EV sales aren’t just up, but that the rate of growth is itself increasing.”)
Kelley Blue Book estimated that in December, approximately 84,000 vehicles – or 5.6% of total sales – transacted at prices higher than $80,000 – the highest volume ever. KBB lumps gas cars and EVs together into this luxury vehicle category, so this is where Tesla Cybertruck is slotted.
However, Tesla bundles sales figures of Cybertruck with Model S, Model X, and Tesla Semi(!) into a category it calls “other models,” so we don’t know for sure exactly how many Cybertrucks Tesla sold in Q4, much less in December. However, Electrek‘s Fred Lambert estimates between 9,000 and 12,000 Cybertrucks were sold in Q4, and that’s not a stellar sales figure.
What will January bring when it comes to EV ATPs? What about tax credits? Check back in a month and I’ll fill you in.
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Tesla is now claiming that Cybertruck was the ‘best-selling electric pickup in US’ last year despite not even reporting the number of deliveries.
There’s a lot of context needed here.
As we often highlighted, Tesla is sadly one of, if not the most, opaque automakers regarding sales reports.
Tesla doesn’t break down sales per model or even region.
For comparison, here’s Ford’s Q4 2024 sales report compared to Tesla’s:
You could argue that Tesla has fewer models than Ford, and that’s true, but Tesla’s report literally has two lines despite having six different models.
There’s no reason not to offer a complete breakdown like all other automakers other than trying to make it hard to verify the health of each vehicle program.
This has been the case with the Cybertruck. Tesla is bundling its Cybertruck deliveries with Model S, Model X, and Tesla Semi deliveries.
Despite this lack of disclosure, Tesla has been able to claim that the Cybertruck has become “the best-selling electric pickup truck” in the US in 2024:
It very well might be true. Ford disclosed 33,510 F-150 Lightning truck deliveries in the US in 2024 while most estimates are putting Cybertruck deliveries at around 40,000 units.
Those are global deliveries, but Tesla only delivered the Cybertruck in the US, Canada, and Mexico in 2024, and most of the deliveries are believed to be in the US.
However, there’s essential context needed here, as we highlighted in our recent ‘Tesla Cybertruck sales are disastrous‘ article.
First off, Tesla had a backlog of over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck that it has been building since 2019. This led many to believe Tesla already had years of demand baked in for the truck and that production would be the constraint.
However, based on estimates, again, because Tesla refuses to disclose the data, Cybertruck deliveries were either flat or down in Q4 versus Q3 despite Tesla introducing cheaper versions of the vehicle and ramping up production.
Again, that’s after just about 40,000 deliveries.
Furthermore, with almost 11,000 deliveries in Q4 in the US, Ford more likely than not outsold Cybertruck with the F-150 Lightning in Q4.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla is in damage control here. There’s no doubt that it is having issues selling the Cybertruck.
Inventory is full of Cybertrucks and Tesla is now discounting them and offering free lifetime Supercharging.
Tesla is great at ramping up production, and it’s clear the Cybertruck is not production-constrained anymore. It is demand-constrained despite having over 1 million reservations.
Again, those reservations were made before Tesla unveiled the production version, which happened to have less range and cost significantly more.
The upcoming cheaper single motor version should help with demand, but I have serious doubts Tesla can ramp this program up to more than 100,000 units in the US.
As a reminder, Tesla installed a production capacity of 250,000 units annually and Musk said he could see Tesla selling 500,000 Cybertrucks per year.
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