Connect with us

Published

1 year ago

on

Photo by Marcus Reubenstein on Unsplash

Australia will introduce a bill to parliament this week containing its first-ever vehicle emissions rule, a huge step forward for the country. But the rules make the same mistakes that have caused ballooning vehicle sizes in the US over the last decades.

Australia doesn’t have its own fuel efficiency standards, making it one of only two advanced countries without such a rule, alongside Russia. Australia has seen some state-level efforts to expand EVs, some better than others, but the federal government has been somewhat hands-off in this respect until now.

As a result, the average new car in Australia consumes 6.9L/100km, compared to 4.2L in the US and 3.5L in Europe. Automakers often bring their dirtiest cars to Australia, and don’t offer better and cleaner electric models in the country.

The new emissions rules intend to change that, and to increase availability of EV options for the country.

The rules will cut new vehicle emissions by more than half by 2029 and will save Australians $95 billion in fuel costs by 2050. This will result in 321 million fewer tons of carbon emissions in Australia by 2050.

While both of these numbers are a lot less than the US’ new EPA rules, the US also has 13x as many people as Australia.

The numbers are also lower than they would have been in the original proposal, which would have cut 369 million tons of carbon emissions. But that proposal was watered down by automaker lobbying (which we’ve seen a lot of recently), primarily through exceptions added for huge SUVs.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The US EPA has long had what is referred to as a “footprint rule,” which allows larger vehicles to pollute more. This has been credited with causing ballooning vehicle sizes in the US. And giant SUVs have, in turn, eliminated the auto emissions gains we could have had if cars had remained normal sized.

Thankfully, the EPA’s new rules – which the Albanese government modeled its rules after, including the softening of them after EPA finalized a softer version of its own rules last week – have actually acknowledged this mistake, and say that they will “narrow the numerical stringency difference between the car and truck curves” over time in order to reduce this favor given to huge vehicles. The Albanese government’s rules, however, do not seem to include a similar realization.

The Australia rule classifies several large SUVs as “light commercial vehicles,” despite that they are typically used for non-commercial purposes. These include the Toyota LandCruiser, Ford Everest, Isuzu MUX, Nissan Patrol and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport – all mid- or full-size SUVs.

Commercial vehicles get a higher emissions limit than passenger cars – 210g/km in 2025 and 110g/km in 2029, instead of 141g/km and 58g/km respectively for passenger cars. Higher limits would make sense for vehicles that are doing commercial work, like last-mile delivery, but picking the kids up from footy practice isn’t really a “commercial” task.

Further, the commercial vehicle limits were raised compared to the original plan. They were originally going to be 199 and 81 grams, instead of 210 and 110. This watering-down echoes similar recent developments in both US and EU regulatory schemes.

These changes were pushed for by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Australia’s primary automaker lobbyist. Tesla and Polestar used to be members of FCAI, but both quit due to the misinformation that FCAI spread in the process of lobbying against these emissions standards.

As you might expect, Toyota was one of the main proponents of watering down the standards, in keeping with its general global stance of spreading misinformation about electrification.

However, Toyota does seem reasonably satisfied with the compromised rules – though characterized it as “a very big challenge” and called the numbers “ambitious” (which recalls what the US’ main auto lobbyist said about the EPA’s new rules – calling them “a stretch goal”).

Other automakers had a similar take, including Tesla, whose head of policy in Australia, Sam McLean, said the rules are a “moderate standard that takes Australia from being really last place in this transition to the middle of the pack.”

The rules were a priority for Anthony Albanese, Australia’s center-left Labor party prime minister. Albanese succeeded a string of right-wing Liberal prime ministers, including most recently Scott Morrison, who was criticized for, among other things, taking a vacation to Hawaii while his country was on fire due to a climate change-exacerbated brush fire.

A bill containing the new auto emissions rules will be introduced in parliament this week. The bill is expected to pass over objections of the opposition, which has not seen the rules but said that it plans to vote against them.

Electrek’s Take

Like with the new EPA rules, we obviously think that a huge step forward in auto emissions is a positive step.

But, also like with the new EPA rules, we recognize that watering down these standards is an incredibly dumb idea. The EPA rules shouldn’t have been watered down, and following the US’ dumb decision is not a good move. Especially since Australia’s rule implements a large-car exception that the EPA’s own rules acknowledge was a devastatingly bad influence on US auto emissions, road safety, and general sprawl over the course of the last few decades.

Take it from someone in the US: don’t make the same mistakes we did. It won’t make your cities nicer, it won’t make your population healthier, and it won’t save you money.

And in general, there are no emissions schemes in the world currently that are ambitious enough to confront the climate crisis we find ourselves in. According to Climate Action Tracker, no countries have made commitments compatible with keeping global temperatures under +1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, and only a scant few are rated as “almost sufficient.” Australia’s commitments are currently rated as “insufficient.” So it is apparent that there is still action to be had, and that Australia needs to do better.

The other threat is possible future Chinese dominance in the auto industry. While this is less of a threat in Australia’s case (it doesn’t have a domestic auto industry to speak of), the recent pattern of automakers lobbying governments for looser emissions rules will only harm those automakers, as weaker rules will lull them into a false sense of security that is not shared by the rapidly growing Chinese auto industry.

Read More: Big Auto is begging governments to let them go bankrupt as Chinese EVs loom

China is ramping EVs, and will fill gaps in consumer demand that are left by intransigent Western automakers who fall into their pathological compulsion of opposing any reasonable regulation just for the sake of opposing it. And while EU and USA may try to throw their weight around and oppose this shift (which I believe will be an impotent effort), Australia is not likely to, given its proximity to China, history as a large trading partner with the nation, and relatively smaller size and therefore ability to call the shots globally.

But, we must also celebrate progress wherever we can. Going from no commitment at all, to one that ramps as a pretty good rate before the end of this decade, is praiseworthy.

Photo by Marcus Reubenstein on Unsplash

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Environment

Bluetti Earth Day Sale takes up to 54% off power stations, Lectric XP 3.0 cargo bundles from $999, Aiper solar smart pool monitor, more

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 16, 2025

By

Bluetti Earth Day Sale takes up to 54% off power stations, Lectric XP 3.0 cargo bundles from 9, Aiper solar smart pool monitor, more

Today’s Green Deals are being led by Bluetti’s Earth Day Sale that is taking up to 54% off power stations and solar generator bundles, like the one we’re seeing on the AC180 Portable Power Station that comes with a 350W solar panel back at its $902 low, among plenty of others. That’s not the only Earth Day savings, as Lectric switches to its holiday-themed sale with up to $654 in free gear accompanying e-bikes, adding cargo-capable packages to the XP 3.0 e-bikes starting from $999. We just spotted the first savings on Aiper’s new solar-powered HydroComm Smart Pool Monitor that offers 5-in-1 testing at $200 off, as well as the first of EcoFlow’s phase 2 Mega Sale flash offers that bundle either the DELTA 2 or DELTA Pro Ultra power stations starting from $849 and only lasting through the rest of the day. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals are in the links at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s second phase EcoFlow Mega Sale offers, the launch discount on Hiboy’s U2 Pro Electric Scooter, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Bluetti’s Earth Day Sale returns the AC180 1,152Wh LiFePo4 bundle with a 350W panel to $902 low

Bluetti is launching its Earth Day Sale through April 27 with up to 54% being taken off its power station lineup, complete with bonus savings. One solid option for your upcoming out-of-the-house ventures is the brand’s popular AC180 Portable Power Station bundled with a 350W solar panel for $901.55 shipped, after using the promo code Earth5 at checkout for an additional 5% off. This package would normally fetch $1,499 at full price, with past sales, particularly Black Friday, having seen it fall to this same low rate. The savings are returning here with the hopes of helping you enjoy Mother Nature even more thoroughly at a 40% markdown, slashing $597 off the going rate and returning it to the lowest price we have tracked and can currently find. This price is also beating out Amazon’s pricing by $47.

Bluetti’s AC180 power station is a solid backup power option for camping trips, with it carrying a 1,152Wh LiFePO4 capacity that covers devices and appliances with its 1,800W output that can surge up as high as 2,700W if needed. There are 11 ports to connect to for off-grid power: four ACs, four USB-As, one USB-C, one DC, and even a 15W wireless charging pad. You can regain 80% of its battery in as little as 45 minutes when plugged into a wall outlet, or you can get that same recharge in 2.8 to 3.3 hours when utilizing its maximum 500W of solar input, with alternate options available via a carport or a generator. It’s rated for 3,500+ life cycles, meaning you could use and recharge it every day for over nine and a half years, at least, before having any concerns.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

***Note: None of the prices below have had the extra savings factored in, so be sure to use the promo code Earth5 at checkout to score the maximum savings!

Bluetti’s best Earth Day Sale camping companions:

Bluetti’s best Earth Day Sale road tripping companions:

Bluetti’s best Earth Day Sale work-from-home companions:

Bluetti’s Earth Day Sale on-the-go charging solution deals:

Bluetti’s Earth Day Sale solar panel deals:

You can browse the entirety of Bluetti’s Earth Day sale on the landing page here.

Lectric XP 3.0 e-bike

Load up and head out with Lectric’s cargo-equipped XP 3.0 e-bike bundles at up to $455 off from $999 in Earth Day savings

Lectric has switched over to its Earth Day Sale pricing taking up to $654 off its e-bike bundles, with its popular best-selling XP 3.0 e-bikes getting a mix of bundle options. You’ll find the standard models getting $295 in free gear at $999 shipped, while the Step-Thru Long-Range models are getting $355 in free gear at $1,199 shipped and the Black Step-Over Long-Range model getting the largest package of $455 in free gear at $1,199 shipped. These bundles would normally run you $1,294, $1,554, and $1,654, respectively. While these aren’t the largest bundles we’ve seen, they are providing the occasional cargo-ready add-on gear that is perfect for outdoor treks, especially while enjoying nature on trips. The $295 bundles offer the steel-encased front and rear cargo baskets, rear-view mirrors, a phone mount, and an accordion-style bike lock. From there, the $355 bundle trades the mirrors for an Elite headlight while the $455 bundle gives you the same with the addition of a suspension seat post and wide comfort saddle.

Lectric’s XP 3.0 models are the best-selling e-bikes in America, offering reliable commuting power alongside extremely affordable rates. The folding frames on any of these e-bikes house a 500W hub motor that peaks at 1,000W, delivering 20 MPH speeds unless you live within a state that permits the higher 28 MPH speeds.

The big difference between your choices here will depend entirely on just how far you need it to carry you, with its pedal assistance providing you with 45 miles of travel riding the standard models and up to 65 miles of travel riding the long-range models. And for when you’re not feeling like pedaling, there are throttles to go entirely electric, though keep in mind doing so will decrease your traveling range. Along with the free add-on gear, you’ll also enjoy some quality stock features, like the integrated rear cargo rack (which the basket attaches to), puncture-resistant tires, 180mm hydraulic disc brakes, an LCD display, and more.

Lectric XP 3.0 e-bike offers with up to $455 bundles:

Lectric XPedition 2.0 offers with up to $654 bundles:

Lectric XP Trike with $420 bundle:

Lectric XP Lite 2.0 LR e-bike offers with up to $365 bundles:

Lectric XPeak 2.0 offers with up to $316 bundles:

Lectric XPress 750 Commuter e-bikes with $316 bundle:

Lectric ONE LR e-bike with $220 bundle:

Aiper Smart Pool Monitor

Aiper’s solar HydroComm smart pool monitor provides 5-in-1 testing of your water with first savings at $300

Coming at us by way of its official Amazon storefront, Aiper is now offering the first chance at savings on its new HydroComm 24/7 Smart Pool Monitor at $299.99 shipped, after clipping the on-page $50 off coupon. Having been introduced to the world back at CES 2025 with a $500 price tag, this is the first chance at savings that we’ve seen, with Aiper’s direct site matching the deal, as well. All-in-all, you’re looking at a combined $200 markdown here that equips your pool with intelligent 5-in-1 testing that can run for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Be sure to head below to learn more about this device and check out the discounts we’re seeing on the brand’s robot pool cleaners.

There’s no more need to have several different testing kits for when you need to check the various levels of your pool once you’ve added Aiper’s new HydroComm monitor to the water. It provides 5-in-1 testing thanks to the advanced detection head, giving you accurate read-outs for your pool’s pH, ORP, EC, TDS, and temperature. What’s more, it comes solar-powered, so it can continue running for 24/7, ready to provide you the information you need, whenever you need it – and should there be any cloudy days where sunlight isn’t available, there’s also the DC port to plug it in.

Aiper’s in-ground pool cleaning robot deals:

  • Scuba S1: $580 (Reg. $700) | matched at Aiper
    • for pools up to 1,600 square feet in size
    • floor/wall/water line cleaning
  • Scuba S1 Pro: $950 (Reg. $1,200) | matched at Aiper
    • for pools up to 2,150 square feet in size
    • floor/wall/water line cleaning
  • Scuba X1 (newest model): $1,199 (Reg. $1,799) | matched at Aiper
    • for pools up to 2,150 square feet in size
    • floor/wall/waterline cleaning

Aiper’s above-ground pool cleaning robot deals:

Aiper’s other robot deals for all pool types:

EcoFlow DELTA 2 power station bundle

Cover campsite and home backup with EcoFlow’s DELTA 2 and DELTA Pro Ultra flash sale bundles starting from $849

For today only, as part of EcoFlow’s second phase Mega Sale that is running through April 25, you’ll find flash offers taking up to 52% off two varying backup power solutions, with the first being the bundled DELTA 2 Portable Power Station that comes with an expansion battery and a waterproof bag at $899 shipped or you can grab just the station and battery from Amazon at $849 shipped. The 3-in-1 bundle from the direct sale normally goes for $1,877 at full price, which we don’t normally see, as it’s usually the station and the bag that get bundled for $449 or $499 in these flash savings. Outside of these short-term discounts, the station and battery combo averages around $999 with the cuts, meaning you’ll be getting one of the best values while these deals last, regardless of whether you go with or without the additional bag.

A solid option to support you through outdoor travels as you enjoy the Earth’s bounty, EcoFlow’s DELTA 2 power station starts at a 1,024Wh LiFePO4 capacity that will instead be bumped to 2,048Wh thanks to the extra battery, and which can go higher to 3,074Wh with one more added on. It provides you with 15 port options with a steady 1,800W power output that will surge to 2,200W to meet larger appliance needs, bolstered by the X-Boost tech that also improves recharging rates. Plugging the station into a wall outlet will have the battery back to 80% in about 80 minutes, with it also accepting a maximum of 500W of solar input that can refill it in as fast as three hours time, with ideal conditions. With it rated for 3,000 life cycles, you can use and recharge the battery every day for over eight years, so with weekend or non-daily usage it will last you far longer.

The second of these offers gives you the brand’s more comprehensive and expandable DELTA Pro Ultra power station with a trolley for $4,799 shipped, coming down from $6,297 and $200 under the trolley-less offer from Amazon. This is the brand’s most expansive unit that you can invest in over time down the road, giving you a 6.1kWh LiFePO4 capacity to start with up to 7,200W of power output. Those numbers, with the addition of additional equipment, can go as high as a 90kWh capacity and 21.6kWh output with three inverters (stations) that are each given five batteries, which is great for folks looking for whole-home backup setups (especially if you have roof panels to regularly keep it all juiced up, though this will also require the brand’s Smart Home Panel 2).

Be sure to check out the full lineup of EcoFlow’s phase 2 Mega Sale, which is taking up to 65% off an expanded list of units from the first phase, complete with bonus savings and starting from $119 through April 25.

Best New Year EV deals!

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.

Continue Reading

Environment

Tesla (TSLA) sales continue to slide in California

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 16, 2025

By

Tesla (TSLA) sales continue to slide in California

Tesla’s sales are continuing to slide in California. According to the California New Car Dealers Association, Tesla registrations are down 15% in Q1 2025.

California is the most important market for electric vehicles in the US.

While zero-emission vehicles account for only 8% of new vehicle sales in America, they account for more than 20% of new vehicle sales in California.

In terms of overall volumes, more than 28% of electric vehicles sold in the US are sold in golden state.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Unsurprisingly, this made California a very important market for Tesla.

In 2022, Tesla held 70% of the electric vehicle market in California. The automaker’s deliveries peaked in 2023 in terms of volume, but its market shares slid to 60% due to more competitions.

Now, Tesla’s deliveries are going down in California, along with its EV market shares.

The California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) reports that Tesla registrations were down 15% in Q1 2025:

Tesla registrations in the First Quarter of this year fell 15.1 percent versus year earlier, while registrations for all other ZEVs increased by 35 percent. Tesla’s share of the state electric vehicle market fell from 55.5 percent in 1Q ‘24 to 43.9 percent this year. An aging product lineup and backlash against Elon Musk’s political initiatives are likely key factors for the decline in Tesla BEV market share.

The performance was rough amid growing vehicle sales in California during the same period:

Electrek’s Take

The Model Y changeover certainly had an impact on these results as deliveries were 10,000 units lower than in Q1 2024.

But I would also expect Tesla to suffer from brand damage in California due to its CEO’s meddling in politics. The bulk of Musk’s impact happened in the second half of the first quarter with protests and boycotts following his inauguration salutes and DOGE mess.

Q2 is likely going to be a better test of Tesla’s performance following the brand degradation.

Tesla bulls are hoping that the new Model Y will help, but Tesla doesn’t seem to have a backlog of orders for the redesigned vehicle.

The automaker is going to need to deliver more than 50,000 units in California if it doesn’t want to keep sliding year-over-year in the critical EV market.4

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Elon Musk shut down internal Tesla analysis that showed Robotaxi would lose money

Published

5 hours ago

on

April 16, 2025

By

Elon Musk shut down internal Tesla analysis that showed Robotaxi would lose money

Tesla Robotaxi and robobus hero

According to a credible new report, Elon Musk has reportedly shut down an internal analysis from Tesla executives that showed the company’s Robotaxi plans would lose money and that it should focus on its more affordable ‘Model 2’.

In early 2024, we reported that Musk had canceled Tesla’s plan for a new affordable electric vehicle built on its upcoming ‘unboxed’ vehicle platform, often referred to as ‘Model 2’ or ‘$25,000 Tesla’.

Instead, Musk pushed for only its new Robotaxi, also known as Cybercab, to be built on the new platform, and replaced the plans for a next-gen affordable EV with building cheaper versions of the Model Y and Model 3 with fewer features.

This decision culminated a long-in-the-making shift at Tesla from an EV automaker to an AI company focusing on self-driving cars.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

We credit that shift initiated by Musk for the current slump Tesla finds itself in right now, where it has only launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years, the Cybertruck, and it’s a total commercial flop.

Now, The Information is out with a new in-depth report based on Tesla insiders that describe the decision-making process around the cancellation of the affordable Tesla and the focus on Robotaxi.

The report describes a meeting at the end of February 2024 when several Tesla executives were pushing Musk to greenlight the $25,000 Tesla:

In the last week of February 2024, after a couple of years of back-and-forth debate on the Model 2, Musk called a meeting of a wide range of executives at Tesla’s offices in Palo Alto, Calif. The proposed $25,000 car was on the agenda—a final chance to air the vehicle’s pros and cons, the people said. Musk’s senior lieutenants argued intensely for the economic logic of producing both the Model 2 and the Robotaxi.

After unveiling its next-generation battery in 2020, Musk announced that Tesla would make a $25,000 EV in 2020, but he had clearly soured on the idea by 2024.

He said in October 2024:

I think having a regular $25,000 model is pointless. Yeah. It would be silly. Like, it’ll be completely at odds with what we believe.

The Information says that Daniel Ho, head of Tesla vehicle programs, Drew Baglino, SVP of engineering, and Rohan Patel, head of business development and policy, Lars Moravy, vice president of vehicle engineering, and Franz von Holzhausen, chief designer, all pushed for Musk to greenlight the production of the new $25,000 model.

Omead Afshar, a Musk loyalist who started out as his chief of staff and now holds a wide-ranging executive role at Tesla, reportedly said, “Is there a mutiny?”

The executives pointed to an internal report that didn’t paint a good picture of Tesla’s Robotaxi plan. The report has credibility as Patel commented on it:

We had lots of modeling that showed the payback around FSD [Full Self Driving] and Robotaxi was going to be slow. It was going to be choppy. It was going to be very, very hard outside of the U.S., given the regulatory environment or lack of regulatory environment.

Musk dismissed the analysis, greenlighted the Cybercab, and killed the $25,000 driveable Tesla vehicle in favor of the Model Y-based cheaper vehicle with fewer features.

The information describes the analysis:

Much of the work was done by analysts working under Baglino, head of power train and one of Musk’s most trusted aides. The calculations began with some simple math and some broad assumptions: Individuals would buy the cars, but a large portion of the sales would go to fleet operators, and the vehicles would mostly be used for ride-sharing. Many people would give up car ownership and use Robotaxis. Tesla would get a cut of each Robotaxi ride.

The analysis followed a lot of Musk’s assumptions, such as that the US car fleet would shrink from 15 million a year to roughly 3 million due to Robotaxis having a 5 times higher utilization rate.

They subtracted people who wouldn’t want to switch to a robotaxi for various reasons, arriving at a potential for 1 million self-driving vehicles a year.

One of the people familiar with the analysis said:

There is ultimately a saturation of people who want to be ferried around in somebody else’s car.

After accounting for competition, Tesla figured it would be hard for robotaxis to replace the ~600,000 vehicles it sells in the US annually.

Tesla calculated that the robotaxis would bring in about $20,000 to $25,000 in revenue at the sale and about three times that from Tesla’s share of the fares it would complete over their lifetimes:

The analysts figured Robotaxis would sell for between $20,000 and $25,000, and that Tesla could make up to three times that over the lifetime of the cars through its cut of fares. They added in capital spending and operational costs, plus services like charging stations and parking depots.

The internal analysis assigned a much lower value to Tesla robotaxis than Musk had previously stated publicly.

In 2019, Musk said:

If we make all cars with FSD package self-driving, as planned, any such Tesla should be worth $100k to $200k, as utility increases from ~12 hours/week to ~60 hours/week.

Furthermore, Tesla’s internal analysis pointed toward difficulties expanding into other markets, which could limit the scale and profitability of the robotaxi program. Ultimately, it predicted that it could lose money for years.

Electrek’s Take

For years, this has been one of my biggest concerns about Tesla: Musk surrounding himself with yesmen and not listening to others.

This looks like a perfect example. It was a terrible decision fueled by Musk’s belief that he was smarter than anyone in the room and encouraged by sycophants like Afshar.

Musk has been selling Tesla shareholders on a perfect robotaxi future, but the truth is not as rosy, and that’s if they solve self-driving ahead of the competition, which is a big if.

It’s not new for the CEO to make outlandish growth promises, but it’s another thing to do at the detriment of an already profitable and fast-growing auto business.

The report also supports our suspicions that the shift in strategy contributed to some of Tesla’s talent exodus last year.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending