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On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s massive round of layoffs, Elon Musk putting Tesla all-in on Robotaxi, important shareholders vote, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

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:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

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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Save $300 on Denago’s City 1 e-bike at $999, EGO Power+ pole saw $269, Greenworks electric 3-tool combo, and more

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Save 0 on Denago's City 1 e-bike at 9, EGO Power+ pole saw 9, Greenworks electric 3-tool combo, and more

Today’s Green Deals are headlined by Denago eBikes’ ongoing Earth Month Sale that is still taking $500 off a selection of e-bikes, like the City 1 High-Step Commuter e-bike for $999. It is joined by the EGO Power+ 10-inch Pole Saw and Power Head at $269, with extra ways to save, as well as the return of the popular Greenworks 80V 21-inch Lawn Mower, 13-inch String Trimmer, and 730 Leaf Blower Combo with 4.0Ah Battery for $600. Plus all of the other days’ Green Deals that are still going.

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.

City 1 High-Step Commuter e-bike returns to $999 low

Denago eBikes’ Earth Month Sale is still going on, taking up to $500 off a selection of the brand’s e-bike models for a limited time more, like the City 1 High-Step Commuter e-bike for $999 shipped. Regularly $1,299, this model is often at the front of holiday sales, dropping to the same $999 low that we see again today. This deal comes in as a 23% markdown off the going rate and returns costs to the all-time lowest price that we have tracked. The City 1 e-bike is equipped with a 500W hub motor and a 48V battery that propels the bike to top speeds of 28 MPH. It features five levels of pedal assistance and a travel range of up to 60 miles on a single charge – 30 miles when using the throttle alone. It comes with a variety of accessories tailored to make your ride as effortlessly comfortable as possible like the wide padded seat, puncture-resistant tires, a Shimano 7-speed drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes, and an LCD display that gives you all the information you will need during your journey.

The biggest deal amongst the bunch is on the sleek EXC2 EMTB Mountain e-bike for $2,699, down from $3,199. It comes with a 250W Bafang M510 mid-drive motor alongside a 48V battery that reaches a top speed of 20 MPH for up to 92 miles on a single charge – which it achieves by doing away with a throttle entirely. It has five levels of pedal assistance utilizing a torque sensor and features hydraulic disc brakes, a 9-speed Shimano drivetrain, 29-inch race tires, and an LCD display.

Ego Power+ 10-inch Pole Saw and Power Head now $269 with extra ways to save

Amazon is offering the EGO Power+ 10-inch Pole Saw and Power Head with 2.5Ah Battery for $269 shipped. Down from $319, this tool saw very few discounts over the last year, with most of them being short-lived drops to $299 until Labor Day sales brought costs down further to the $256 low. The new year has only seen minor price cuts so far, with one falling to $280, while today’s deal comes in as a $50 markdown off the going rate that lands at the second-lowest price we have tracked. Throw away the noise, fuss, and fumes of traditional gas-powered tools with this combo kit. The pole saw features a 10-inch bar and chain, able to auto-lubricate, and has the added feature of being swappable with the multi-head attachments from the EGO Power+ ecosystem. The brushless motor, in combination with the 56V 2.5Ah battery ensures up to 70 cuts per charge, and thanks to its weather-resistant construction, longer-lasting life is guaranteed.

The above deal also has two different extra savings opportunities to take advantage of if you’re looking to further expand your lawn/garden care arsenal. You’ll get $100 off your total order when spending $400 on select EGO Power+ tools or $200 off when spending $500. Just add the pole saw or any of the below items into your cart and the discount will be applied automatically at checkout:

For today only, Best Buy is offering the Greenworks 80V 21-inch Lawn Mower, 13-inch String Trimmer, and 730 Leaf Blower Combo with 4.0Ah Battery for $599.99 shipped. Down from its $1,100 price tag, this combo saw a few discounts over 2023, the biggest of them dropping costs to the $580 all-time low during Black Friday sales. We’ve already seen three previous discounts in the new year taking things down to $600 with a My Best Buy membership, and two like today’s deal that drop the need for membership altogether. It comes in as a repeat 45% markdown off the going rate, landing at the second-lowest price we have tracked.

The lawn mower comes equipped with a 80V brushless motor alongside a 4.0Ah battery that offers up to 45 minutes of continuous runtime on a single charge, and able to recharge fully in up to 50 minutes. It features a seven-position height adjustment for whatever environment may need a trim and starts up with the simple push of a button. The leaf blower sports a variable speed trigger with cruise control, a vacuum bag attachment, and is able to produce 730 CFM of air flow reaching up to 170 MPH. The string trimmer offers a 13-inch cutting path for up to 30 minutes of continuous runtime, and features a pivoting head that sports 2-in-1 functionality for trimming and edging.

Spring e-bike deals!

Snapcycle 2024 R1 Pro All-Terrain e-bike with man sitting on seat at standstill in park with bridge in background. Within post for City 1 High-Step Commuter e-bike

Other 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.

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FTC accuses ex-Pioneer CEO of colluding with OPEC, blocks him from Exxon board seat

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FTC accuses ex-Pioneer CEO of colluding with OPEC, blocks him from Exxon board seat

Scott Sheffield, CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday accused the former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO of colluding with OPEC to raise prices, and barred him from serving on the Exxon Mobil board of directors once its planned $65 billion acquisition of Pioneer closes.

The FTC filed a complaint alleging that Scott Sheffield attempted to collude with representatives of OPEC to reduce oil and gas output in an attempt to increase prices at the pump and inflate Pioneer’s profits.

The federal regulator has decided to refer the allegations to the Justice Department for a potential criminal investigation, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The FTC alleged that Sheffield repeatedly held private conversations with high-ranking OPEC representatives to assure them that Pioneer and its competitors in the Permian Basin were working to keep oil output artificially low.

“This was not a one-off event but rather part of Mr. Sheffield’s sustained and longrunning strategy to coordinate output reductions,” FTC Chair Lisa Khan and the other commissioners allege in the complaint.

Pioneer said in a statement Thursday pushed back against the allegations, saying the FTC’s complain reflects “a fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. and global oil markets.” Sheffield never intended to circumvent the laws and principles that project market competition, according to Pioneer.

“Notwithstanding, Pioneer and Mr. Sheffield are not taking any steps to prevent the merger from closing,” the company said in its statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Joby completes pre-production eVTOL testing, segues into production prototype flight certification

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Joby completes pre-production eVTOL testing, segues into production prototype flight certification

Urban Air Mobility specialist Joby Aviation is touting its latest milestone in eVTOL development today, relaying that it has completed testing of its pre-production aircraft and will now move into getting air certified using its production-intent eVTOL prototypes.

Joby Aviation ($JOBY) currently operates as one of the more prominent and promising electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi developers in its growing segment of advanced air mobility (AAM).

We saw the company achieve its first flight with a pilot onboard in October 2023 before segueing to a live demonstration in New York City – all en route to plans for full-fledged air taxi operations expected to begin in 2025.

Following millions in initial funding and a grant in California, Joby began setting up US eVTOL production. We’ve since seen Joby continue testing with pre-production eVTOL models, which it has now completed and will move on to the next development phase.

new york air taxi
Credit: Joby Aviation

Joby to continue eVTOL testing with production prototypes

Per a release from Joby Aviation earlier today, it has officially capped off four years of eVTOL testing using two pre-production prototype aircraft, completing over 1,500 combined flights culminating in over 33,000 miles of travel through the air.

Of those completed flights, over 100 were operated with a human pilot onboard, a critical step in future flight certification and commercial air taxi operations someday. Joby Aviation’s founder and CEO, JoeBen Bevirt, spoke about the company’s latest milestone and what it means for the future of its technology and the AAM industry as a whole:

Over the course of this test program, our team has shown the world how real electric air taxis  are, with tens of thousands of miles flown using today’s battery technology. Our pre-production aircraft were the second full-scale generation of Joby’s design, and their performance met or exceeded our predictions throughout the program, successfully achieving our targets for maximum range, speed, and a revolutionary acoustic footprint.

Successfully completing this rigorous test program has allowed us to proceed to ramp production with full confidence, the second of which rolled off the line at our production line in Marina, California, earlier this week.  Learnings from the flight test program have been invaluable to our certification program and to the broader development of regulatory frameworks around electric VTOL aircraft, validating the performance, safety, and acoustics of our design while providing insight into daily operations and maintenance

With pre-production prototype eVTOL testing now complete, Joby says it will focus on flights using its production prototypes as it prepares to begin for-credit flight testing en route to full-fledged commercial airworthiness certification.

When commercial operations (hopefully) begin in the coming years, Joby’s eVTOL air taxis will be able to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph and travel over 150 miles on a single charge—all with significantly lower noise pollution than helicopters and zero emissions.

Those air taxi operations could very well begin in the United Arab Emirates, as Joby signed a six-year exclusive deal for air taxi operations throughout Dubai this past February.

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