Weird Alibaba: Anybody want an electric airplane stair truck?

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2024

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Remember how the Bluth family drove that airplane staircase truck in the TV series Arrested Development? My apologies if not, since that’s a bit critical to the lead image gag above. But either way, you can surely appreciate how ridiculous it would be to actually own and drive one of those as a real vehicle. And now thanks to Alibaba, you might not have to purely imagine it anymore.

That’s right! This week’s entry in the future Pulitzer Prize-winning column Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week is a set of electric airplane stairs that you can drive to the grocery store, bowling alley, or to visit your friend in jail. Just don’t park too close to the fence.

To be fair, there’s a slight chance that the stair trucks in the product images on Alibaba aren’t actually electric. The sales page describes an “electric option” for the truck, and I’ve got a hunch that these might be the old-fashioned dinosaur stairs. But to be honest, I’ve been writing this column for over three years now and I’m starting to worry that I’m outpacing the rate at which China can build new weird EVs, so I’m going to allow it.

And it would make perfect sense to have an electric stair truck, at least if you happen to be operating an airline. The refueling operation for massive airliners seems like the last place you’d want any extra exploding engines driving around.

What makes a bit less sense is why they would be selling one of these on Alibaba. Surely they have a direct phone line to Spirit Airlines – they don’t need to advertise to them online.

But hey, if they’re going to market a set of electric airplane stairs on Alibaba, you better believe I’m going to imagine how they could fit into my life. This could be the big new status symbol in electric vehicles!

We’ve got dudes with too much money buying Cybertrucks just to have the latest rare thing to show off. I was just in Austin, Texas this week and saw a pile of Cybertrucks already. Boring… Next! How about driving around one of these babies, huh?! I can all but guarantee you’ll have the only one in town. Oh, your Cybertruck needs special machinery to produce it? So does my truck. Both of ours may rust when left out in the rain, but only mine comes in both a convertible and hard top!

Oh yea, and at just $60,000 a pop, mine saves me a bit of cash, too!

As usual, I don’t actually recommend trying to buy whatever awesome, weird, or traffic-crime-of-a-vehicle I happen to feature each week from Alibaba. Not only is there a real non-zero chance that you’ll lose your money and never get a vehicle, but almost none of the fun things coming out of China’s EV factories are street-legal in the US. And let’s be honest, where would you park your stair truck, anyway?

Sure, none of us will probably buy an electric stair truck. It’s an extravagance that simply won’t fit into the lives of most average folks like us.

But the next time you’re taking a bleary, red-eye flight to lord only knows where, and you happen to gaze distantly out the terminal window until your eyes lock onto a lonely, disused stair truck on the corner of the tarmac, you can think to yourself, “that could have been me.”

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Environment

Trump admin OKs $1B loan for Three Mile Island nuclear reboot

Published

7 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Three Mile Island loan — By Constellation Energy – CC BY-SA 4.0

The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) closed a $1 billion loan to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1, a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania.

The money is being loaned to Constellation Energy Generation, which is renaming the 835 megawatt (MW) Three Mile Island Unit 1 the Crane Clean Energy Center. Constellation said in September 2024 that it would restart the reactor under a power purchase agreement with Microsoft, which needs more clean power to feed its growing data-center demand.

The project is estimated to cost around $1.6 billion, and the DOE says the project will create around 600 jobs. The reactor is expected to start generating power again in 2027.

Three Mile Island Unit 1 (in the foreground in the photo above) went offline in 2019 because it could no longer compete with cheaper natural gas, but it wasn’t decommissioned. It’s capable of powering the equivalent of approximately 800,000 homes. It’s on the same site as the Unit 2 reactor (in the background in the photo above) that went into partial nuclear meltdown in 1979, and is known as the worst commercial nuclear accident in US history.

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When asked about the loan’s timing, Greg Beard, senior adviser to the Loan Programs Office, told reporters on a call that it would “lower the cost of capital and make power cheaper for those PJM [Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland] ratepayers.” Data centers are driving up electricity costs for consumers.

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Environment

Ford opens orders for the electric Bronco in China, starting at under $33,000

Published

8 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Ford opens orders for the electric Bronco in China, starting at under ,000

An affordable Bronco EV? Not for those in the US. Ford opened orders for the electric Bronco in China, starting at under $33,000.

Ford Bronco electric pre-orders open at under $33,000

Ford announced the All-Wheel Drive electric SUV is officially open for pre-sale on Tuesday, starting at RMB 229,800 ($32,300).

The electric Bronco is available in pure electric (EV) and extended range electric vehicle (EREV) options. It’s offered in three variants, priced from RMB 229,800 ($32,300) to RMB 272,800 ($38,400).

All models are All Wheel Drive, while the pure electric version costs an extra 10,000 yuan ($1,400). Ford is offering pre-sale buyers some pretty sweet benefits, including a camping experience package (with an added roof tent), a Mountain Kitchen Multi-Function Tailgate gift, an overnight stay package (for your vehicle), and more.

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The electric Ford Bronco is about the same size as the standard 4-door version sold in the US at 5,025 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,815 mm tall.

Although it may look the same, the EV version draws power from a 105.4 kWh LFP battery pack from BYD’s FinFreams, providing up to 650 km (404 miles) CLTC driving range.

It’s equipped with two electric motors, one in the front and the other in the rear, producing a combined 445 horsepower (332 kW).

The EREV version combines a 43.7 kWh battery with a 1.5T engine, delivering a pure-electric range of 220 km (137 miles) and a combined CLTC driving range of 1,220 km (758 miles).

Some of the higher trims feature Ford’s Fuyu ADAS system, developed exclusively for buyers in China with a roof-mounted LiDAR and over 30 sensors and cameras. It even features a cool “off-road logbook” that shows drivers over 20 popular routes across China.

The interior is custom-tailored for Chinese buyers with a 15.6″ central infotainment and a smaller driver display screen. It also offers a massive 70″ AR head-up display (HUD).

Unlike the Ford vehicles we’re accustomed to seeing, the electric Bronco includes a 7.5L refrigerator in the center console.

The AWD electric SUV is coming at a critical time as Ford aims to revamp its business in China. Ford is working with local partners on new technologies, designs, and powertrain ideas for global markets.

Ford’s sales in China are down by over 14% through October this year, but new electrified vehicles, including the Bronco, are expected to help turn things around. Ford’s lineup in China mainly consists of gas-powered vehicles, which have quickly fallen out of favor with buyers shifting to more advanced, more efficient, and often lower-priced domestic EVs.

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Environment

Trump administration backs Three Mile Island nuclear restart with $1 billion loan to Constellation

Published

8 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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The cooling towers of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

The Trump administration will provide Constellation Energy with a $1 billion loan to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, Department of Energy officials said Tuesday.

Previously known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, the plant is expected to start generating power again in 2027. Constellation unveiled plans to rename and restart the reactor in Sept. 2024 through a power purchase agreement with Microsoft to support the tech company’s data center demand in the region.

Three Mile Island Unit 1 ceased operations in 2019, one of a dozen reactors that closed in recent years as nuclear struggled to compete against cheap natural gas. It sits on the same site as Three Mile Island Unit 2, the reactor that partially melted down in 1979 in the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.

The loan would cover the majority to the project’s estimated cost of $1.6 billion. The first advance to Constellation is expected in the first quarter of 2026, said Greg Beard, senior advisor to the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, in a call with reporters. The loan comes with a guarantee from Constellation that it will protect taxpayer money, Beard said.

Constellation’s stock was up more than 2% in after hours trading on Tuesday.

The control panel in the main control room of the Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant is seen on Oct. 30, 2024 in Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

CEO Joe Dominguez hinted at federal financial support previously, telling investors in Sept. 2024 that Constellation would “take a look as we finance the project at loan guarantees and other things that will be available.” Constellation is the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S.

When asked why Constellation was receiving the loan now, Beard said Tuesday that Constellation could have completed the project without help from the Energy Department. But the loan will help make electricity cheaper for consumers on the grid operated by PJM Interconnection, which serves more than 65 million people across 13 states, Beard said.

“What’s important for the administration is to show support for affordable, reliable, secure energy in the U.S.,” Beard told reporters. “This loan to Constellation will lower the cost of capital and make power cheaper for those PJM ratepayers.”

Electricity prices

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last week that his department’s loan office would use most of its money to support the nuclear industry. President Donald Trump signed four executive orders in May that aim to significantly expand new nuclear capacity.

Consumers in many states in the PJM region are facing significant electricity price increases as the rapid increase in demand from artificial intelligence data centers outstrips available supply.

“We want to bring as much net addition of dispatchable, reliable electricity onto the grid to stop these price rises in electricity,” Wright told reporters on Tuesday.

The turbine deck of the Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant is seen on Oct. 30, 2024 in Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

The Crane Clean Energy Center is one of three shuttered nuclear plants in the U.S. that are aiming to start generating power again this decade subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Crane had the capacity to power more than 800,000 homes when it closed in 2019, according to Constellation.

The Energy Department is supporting the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan with a $1.5 billion loan to Holtec International. NextEra Energy announced in October plans to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa through an agreement Alphabet‘s Google Unit.

When asked whether NextEra will receive a loan for Duane Arnold, Beard told CNBC that Trump’s executive orders direct the Energy Department to “prioritize the restart of nuclear reactors.”