Jeep has high hopes for its first 100% electric SUV in the US. The rugged SUV brand is preparing to reverse slumping sales with new EVs that Jeep believes can compete with the best. Jeep’s CEO, Antonio Filosa, believes the Wagoneer S electric SUV can take market share from Tesla’s best-selling Model Y.
After its sales in the US quadrupled, reaching nearly 1 million in 2018, Jeep has struggled to gain traction.
Jeep sales have been in a downward spiral over the past five years as the brand struggles to find its identity in a rapidly transitioning US market.
Filosa, who took over as Jeep CEO last November, believes the brand can turn things around. “We are building a road map for growth, both in volume and in profitability,” Filosa told Automotive News.
Jeep’s leader says the brand can finally reach 1 million sales in the US and 2 million globally. Filosa said much of the brand’s sales slump is due to a lack of models in important SUV segments.
After failing to update the Cherokee, the brand ended production of the mid-size SUV last year. Jeep also retired its cheapest vehicle, the Renegade, after becoming the brand’s worst-selling model.
Jeep Recon electric SUV (Source: Stellantis)
After admitting more needed to be done to fend off the competition, Jeep’s CEO slashed prices earlier this year, including up $4,000 off its best-selling Grand Cherokee.
With sales falling below 643,000 last year, Jeep plans to turn things around with its first fully electric vehicles hitting the market.
Can Jeep’s electric SUV keep up with the Tesla Model Y?
“We will have better market coverage starting from the end of the year with the launch of the Wagoneer S and Recon,” Filosa explained.
Jeep is launching its first fully electric vehicles in the US this year as it looks to revamp the brand and turn around falling sales.
Jeep Wagoneer S electric SUV teaser (Source: Jeep)
The first, due to begin production this quarter, is the premium Wagoneer S. Jeep has been teasing the electric SUV leading up to its debut later this year, revealing a new reimagined seven-slot grille and sleek design.
Based on Stellantis’ STLA platform with 600 hp, the electric SUV is “lightning fast” with a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.5 seconds.
Filosa believes Jeep can compete with Tesla in the electric SUV segment, attracting customers who “want something more sophisticated.”
Jeep’s new CEO sees the brand’s first EV attracting younger, high-earners like Tesla. “It’s a very iconic product that needs to fight against other competitors that in the US and elsewhere are doing well,” Filosa said.
2024 electric Jeep Recon (Source: Stellantis)
“I’m sincerely very optimistic on the impact it has when you see it in the flesh. We showed it to our Italian dealers, and they were stunned,” he added.
Jeep’s second EV will be the Wrangler-inspired Recon, which is expected to launch by the end of the year.
We’ve already seen what the Recon Moab 4xe looks like after images leaked out of a Las Vegas dealer event.
Jeep Recon Moab 4xe (source: Jeep Recon Forum)
With options like removable doors and windows, Jeep looks to stay true to the brand’s roots. “We have to leverage a huge community of happy Wrangler owners and explain to them that the Recon — even if electric — is consistent with our values and capability.”
Jeep’s previous head of North American operations, Jim Morrison, claimed the Recon has the capability to cross the mighty Rubicon Trail.” More importantly, it can “reach the end of the trail with enough range to drive back to town and recharge.”
According to the recent UAW agreements, Jeep is expected to launch an electric Wrangler in 2028. Around 2027, Jeep plans to launch an electric option for its best-selling Grand Cherokee.
Electrek’s Take
Since Tesla’s Model Y became the best-selling vehicle (gas or EV) in Q1 2023, it’s natural for brands to aim for the EV leader.
Jeep is already behind in the US electric vehicle market, but the brand believes it can turn things around with two new models hitting the market in key segments.
With new electric SUVs like the Chevy Blazer EV, Equinox EV, Honda Prologue, and others hitting the market, Jeep will need to get moving. Meanwhile, Rivian’s all-electric R1S, another Jeep rival, became the fourth best-selling electric vehicle overall in the first three months of the year According to Kelley Blue Book data, the R1S accounted for 2.9% of the US EV market in Q1.
The brand hopes its electric models will resonate with customers as it seeks to revamp sales in the US and globally.
What do you guys think? How will Jeep’s first electric SUVs compare to Tesla? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Crypto investor Nicholas Pinto attends President Donald Trump’s gala dinner for people who spent the most money on Trump’s meme coin, $TRUMP, in a contest, at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, May 22, 2025.
Nicholas Pinto
The price of President Donald Trump‘s meme coin plunged 16% as of Friday morning, just hours after he hosted a black-tie gala at his Virginia golf club for its biggest buyers — an elite crowd that spent a combined $148 million on the token for the chance to be there.
It was billed as “the most exclusive invitation in the world.”
Among the 220 attendees were crypto influencers, industry executives such as Sandy Carter of Unstoppable Domains, and former NBA star Lamar Odom, who used the occasion to praise Trump as “the greatest president” and promote his own token, $ODOM.
The top 25 wallets were promised a private reception and guided tour. Others, such as 25-year-old Nicholas Pinto — whose dad drove him to the event in his Lamborghini — left underwhelmed and still hungry.
“The food sucked,” Pinto said. “Wasn’t given any drinks other than water or Trump’s wine. I don’t drink, so I had water. My glass was only filled once.”
Trump made only a brief appearance, Pinto said. “He didn’t talk to any of the 220 guests — maybe the top 25,” he said.
All in, the president was there for 23 minutes, Pinto said. Trump delivered a brief address rehashing old crypto talking points then left on a helicopter before taking any questions or pictures with his meme coin contest winners, he said.
Phones weren’t locked in RFID pouches, and security was lax, according to Pinto.
“Once Trump left, they didn’t really worry about anything else,” Pinto added.
Contest winners who spent the most on $TRUMP meme coins added their signatures to a poster-sized printout of the leaderboard at a gala dinner at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, May 22, 2025.
Nicholas Pinto
The crowd’s opulence was on full display.
“Richard Mille watches weren’t even rare,” Pinto said. “I saw at least 16 people wearing them. I never see that unless I’m at a high-end restaurant in Miami or Dubai.”
But the vibe was more muted than expected, he said: “Lots of people didn’t even hold the coin anymore. They were checking their phones during dinner to see if the price moved.”
CNBC has reached out to Trump representatives for comment on the dinner and attendees.
Protests
For lawmakers and regulators, the dinner set off alarm bells.
The #1 token holder was Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun, who is currently facing Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges that were recently paused, with the agency citing “the public interest.”
Sun holds over $22 million in the $TRUMP token and another $75 million in World Liberty Financial’s native token.
“As the top holder of $TRUMP and proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner,” Sun posted on Friday. “Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry!”
Outside the gates of Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, about a hundred protesters gathered, according to NBC News. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined them, backing a new End Crypto Corruption Act with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Signs read “Crypto Corruption” and “Trump is a traitor.”
Crypto on Capitol Hill
“The Trump family activity in the memecoin space makes my work in Congress more complicated,” Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., told CNBC on Friday.
Hill, who’s leading negotiations on a bipartisan stablecoin regulation bill known as the GENIUS Act, called the gala “a distraction from the good work we need to do.”
Now, the GENIUS Act is at risk.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently added a controversial rider to the bill that would cap credit card late fees — what’s seen as a poison pill that could alienate banking allies and stall final approval.
President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner for meme coin contest winners at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, May 22, 2025.
Nicholas Pinto
On Thursday night as the meme coin contest dinner was underway, a bloc of Senate Democrats announced they’d be pushing for a new provision that would ban presidents and senior officials from profiting off crypto ventures while in office — a direct challenge to the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1 that launched in the spring.
In Washington, there’s growing concern that political infighting over Trump’s crypto ventures could derail the stablecoin bill altogether. That poses an even bigger risk.
According to The Wall Street Journal, major banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are in early talks to issue a unified digital dollar to compete with Tether, the foreign-controlled stablecoin that now commands over 60% of global market share.
Those plans hinge on legal clarity.
If the GENIUS Act stalls, the U.S. could lose its window to regain ground in the global race for digital payments.
The White House has tried to draw a line between Trump the president and Trump the private businessman.
“The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when pressed on attendee transparency.
The administration declined to release a guest list. But blockchain data — and a patchwork of guest photos — tell part of the story.
A Bloomberg News analysis found that all but six of the top 25 wallets used foreign exchanges, ostensibly off-limits to U.S. users. More than half of the top 220 wallets were linked to similar offshore platforms.
One Nasdaq-listed penny stock, Freight Technologies, disclosed in an SEC filing that it spent $2 million on Trump’s token to push U.S.-Mexico trade policy. It didn’t make the cut for the dinner — finishing 250th.
Since its January debut, the $TRUMP coin has generated more than $324 million in trading fees. Roughly 80% of the $TRUMP token supply is controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliates, according to the project’s website.
WLFI, the Trump’s parallel token, has sold $550 million in two token sales.
Still, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks remained bullish on “significant bipartisan support” for stablecoin legislation.
“We already have over $200 billion in stablecoins — it’s just unregulated,” Sacks told CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” on Wednesday. “If we provide the legal clarity and legal framework for this, I think we could create trillions of dollars of demand for our Treasurys practically overnight, very quickly.”
“We have every expectation now that it’s going to pass,” added Sacks, though he didn’t answer a question about concerns from Democrats that there aren’t sufficient safeguards in place to keep the president and his family from profiting from legislation.
The Trumps are financial backers of World Liberty Financial, which is behind the USD1 stablecoin that is backed by Treasurys and dollar deposits.
Abu Dhabi’s MGX investment fund recently pledged $2 billion in USD1 to Binance, the world’s largest digital assets exchange. It’s the company’s largest-ever investment made in crypto.
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the EV/Solar killing bill moving forward, Elon lying about Tesla’s demand, cheaper EVs coming, and more.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET)
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This is what the future of travel will look like. Circle K opened its first location exclusively for EV charging in Europe. The site features ten ultra-fast EV chargers and a convenience store while you wait.
Circle K opens first EV charging-only site in Europe
The new EV charging hub is located in Gårda, near Gothenburg, Sweden. It’s Circle K’s largest EV charging-only location with ten 400 kW chargers that can recharge from 0 to 80% in around 15 minutes.
Kempower supplied two 600 kW Power Units and ten Single Satellite chargers that can deliver up to 400 kW of power.
With an improved version of Kempower’s Autocharge feature, the system can store your information so that the next time you visit, all you have to do is plug in. The system will recognize your vehicle and bill you automatically.
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While you wait, there’s a 1,076 ft² (100 m²) convenience store that offers “a complete retail experience,” offering food, drinks, Wi-Fi, and plenty of seating.
The site expects heavy traffic on Sweden’s E6, with over 10,000 vehicles travelling on the motorway daily.
Circle K opens its first EV charging-only site in Europe (Source: Kempower)
The new EV charging-only site comes after Circle K opened its largest EV charging hub in Sweden. Located just southwest of Stockholm, the flagship location has 26 fast chargers that can be used with light and heavy-duty vehicles.
Circle K now has over 3,000 branded chargers across Europe and will continue adding to its network as demand for EV charging rises.
Circle K’s largest electric vehicle charging hub in Sweden (Source: Circle K)
With around 17,000 locations globally, the company said it’s “uniquely positioned” to support the transition to electric vehicles.
Will we see Circle K open a location exclusively for EVs in the US? As more electric cars hit the road, more charging options will be needed. A few convenience stores, including 7-Eleven, are already rolling out fast chargers. Through 7Charge, 7-Eleven aims to build “one of the largest and most compatible” EV fast charging networks of any retailer in North America.
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