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Today’s Green Deals are lead by the fourth official discount on the GoTrax Everest Electric Dirt Bike that is back at $500 off. It is joined by the first official discounts on Goal Zero’s newest power stations, the Yeti 300, 500, and 700 models that start from $240, as well as dual one-day Best Buy sales on the WORX 40V PowerShare 14-inch Cordless Electric Chainsaw for $189 and the WORX LeafPro Universal Collection System for $36. 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.

First deals live on latest Goal Zero Yeti power stations

The official Goal Zero Amazon storefront is taking up to $120 off its three newest power station models, with the biggest amount of savings being on the Yeti 700 Portable Power Station for $479.89 shipped. Down from $600, this is the very first chance to save on these new models after riding their MSRP since their release back in January. Today’s deal comes in as a 20% markdown off the going rate – for all three models – and lands them at new all-time lows going forward. For the Yeti 300 you’ll be saving $60, while the Yeti 500 scores you $100 in savings. The Yeti 300 is going for $239.89 shipped, while the Yeti 500 is going for $399.89 shipped. There are also bundle options which you’ll find below.

These three 6th generation power station models were designed for your casual outdoor explorations, like camping trips, tailgating parties, occasional nights spent under the stars, or more. All three share the same general designs and features while simply differing in capacity size and output levels; with the Yeti 300 sporting a 297Wh capacity, the Yeti 500 sporting a 499Wh capacity, and the Yeti 700 sporting a 677Wh capacity. All three have been given fast-charging capabilities via a wall outlet, with the Yeti 300 recharging in 50 minutes, the Yeti 500 in 90 minutes, and the Yeti 700 in under 2 hours. All three can be hooked up to a solar panel with a max input level of 200W, with recharging ranging from 1.7 hours to 4 hours, depending on your model. All three offer the same output options: two ACs, two USB-As, two USB-Cs, and a car port.

You’ll also find bundle options for the two larger power stations, with the Yeti 500 being bundled alongside a Nomad 50W Solar Panel for $600. The Yeti 700 has two different bundles to choose from, the first being with a Boulder 100W Solar Panel for $720, and the second being with a Nomad 100W Solar Panel for $720 as well.

GoTrax Everest Electric Dirt Bike now $5,999

Best Buy is offering the GoTrax Everest Electric Dirt Bike for $5,999 shipped. Normally fetching $6,500, this model has only seen three previous discounts since its release in the summer of 2023, with two of them bringing costs down to $6,000 during August and December’s Christmas sales, and a one-day sale last month that saw it fall to a new $5,500 low. Today’s deal comes in as a repeat of its first two discounts, taking $501 off the going rate and returning it to the second-lowest price we have tracked.

The Gotrax Everest electric dirt bike comes equipped with a 4,000W (8,000W peak) rear-drive motor and a removable 72V battery that work together to reach top speeds of 53 MPH and travel up to 50 miles on a single charge. It fully recharges from empty in just four hours, and features dual-shock suspension, rugged deep-tooth off-road tires, hydraulic disc brakes, dual headlights, a taillight with turn signal functionality, multiple speed modes, an LED digital display, mudguards, and a surprisingly light 172-pound weight thanks to its aluminum-magnesium alloy frame.

WORX 40V 14-inch Cordless Electric Chainsaw hits $189

Best Buy is offering the WORX 40V PowerShare 14-inch Cordless Electric Chainsaw with two 2.0Ah batteries for $188.99 shipped through the rest of the day. Normally fetching $270, this chainsaw saw regular ups and downs over the last year mainly keeping above $199, with drops as low as $170 after the start of the new year. Today’s deal comes in as a 30% markdown off the going rate that gives you $81 in savings and lands at the fourth-lowest price we have tracked – $37 above the all-time low from 2022. Equipped with a brushless motor alongside a 14-inch bar and chain that automatically adjusts tension levels to their optimal points, this chainsaw also sports a quick-stop chain brake to keep you in control and prevent accidental cutting. Its two 2.0Ah batteries are compatible across the WORX PowerShare ecosystem, allowing you to interchange batteries between 20V, 40V, and 80V cordless tools. It even has a battery indicator that tells you at a glance how much juice is left for the tasks at hand. You’ll also receive a dual-port charger and a sheath along with your purchase.

Best Buy is also offering the WORX LeafPro Universal Collection System for $36, down from $55 through the end of the day. With this attachment you’ll be able to severely cut down on the time you spend collecting leaves around your yard. You can hook it up to most leaf blowers and leaf vacuums on the market, including Black & Decker, Husqvarna, Poulan, Craftsman, Ryobi, Toro, Murray, and many more. It has an 8-foot hose with a tear-resistant collection hood at one end and a multi-fit adapter that forms tight seals with the output valve of your leaf blower/vac. Do keep in mind, however, that this model is not compatible with WORX’s TURBINE Fusion blower.

Spring e-bike deals!

Lectric XP e-Trike sitting in grass next to picnic area and surrounded by trees - within post for GoTrax Everest Electric Dirt 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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Record number of EV chargers installed in the UK last quarter

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May 5, 2024

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Record number of EV chargers installed in the UK last quarter

UK installs record number of public electric vehicle chargers

A record number of public electric vehicle charging stations were installed in the UK this quarter, as charging companies struggle to keep up with the growing number of plugin cars on British roads.

Almost 6,000 new EV chargers were installed in the UK during the first three months of 2024, according to quarterly figures from data company Zapmap and published by the UK’s Department for Transport. Approx. 25% (about 1500) were DC fast chargers.

There were nearly 60,000 public vehicle chargers energized and active in the UK as of April 1st, up nearly 49% compared to 2023 and nearly 2x the number of public chargers available in 2022. Ben Nelmes, CEO of automotive think tank New AutoMotive, says the recent expansion of the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure has brought public charging to areas that had previously been poorly served. This is thanks, in part, to local governments gradually taking advantage of central government grants to put more EV chargers in the ground.

“I think there is a coming together of two things,” Nelmes told The Guardian. “Some of the barriers have been mitigated. And the private sector has woken up to the opportunity.”

Another tidbit from that Guardian article was a survey conducted by the Electric Vehicle Association of some of the UK’s one million plus EV drivers. The survey found that only 6% of EV drivers in England reported experiencing range anxiety either very often or fairly often, while 94% of EV drivers said they had range anxiety occasionally, rarely, or never.

Electrek’s Take

Electric Cab London
The all-electric TX Black Cab: Credit: LEVC

More than half of the more than 15,000 famous London “black cabs” are now electrified (effectively EVs with range-extending ICEs on board), with the majority of London’s largest taxi and minicab services committed to operating fully electrified fleets by 2025.

Let that serve as your gentle reminder that EV sales are down, except at Ford, Cadillac, GMC, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Acura, Volvo, Chrysler, etc. …

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Environment

FreeWire closes its HQ and lays off just about everyone

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4 hours ago

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May 5, 2024

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FreeWire closes its HQ and lays off just about everyone

Freewire chargers

Novel EV fast charging solution FreeWire has announced plans to close its Newark corporate headquarters and lay off virtually all of its employees.

FreeWire is able to place DC fast charging solutions without the need for expensive utility buildouts by using batteries to store energy until it’s needed. The batteries can be effectively “trickle charged” with a standard 110 or 220 AC connection, then “dump” that charge quickly – enabling a 200 kW DCFC experience for EV drivers at a fraction of the cost of conventional DC infrastructure.

It’s a clever system, but despite high-profile mentions from the Biden-Harris Administration and freshly inked deals with national brands like Chevron and General Motors, reports indicate that FreeWire will shutter its primary business at 7200 Gateway Blvd. in Newark, California this June.

In a mass layoff notice, FreeWire said the site’s closing is expected to impact “all” of the company’s 113 on-site employees. That news was picked up by The Layoff Tracker, who posted it on Twitter X this past Friday (below).

FreeWire moved into the 66,000-square-foot facility back in 2022. A press release issued at the time labeled the site FreeWire’s “global headquarters and hub for R&D, testing, and manufacturing.”

A quick scan of the company’s website doesn’t shed any more light on the layoffs. Instead, a press release published May 2nd (the same day that news of layoffs broke) highlights the installation of a FreeWire charging station at a South Bay, California truck depot.

Electrek’s Take

Electrify America EV charging station; via EA.

FreeWire’s announcement comes just day’s after Elon Musk sacked the Tesla employees running the Supercharger network – news that upended the entire EV charging space and seemingly made Electrify America the most important player on the board. One can’t help but wonder whether or not FreeWire might be able to find a rescuer willing to take a flyer on it – but it’s just as likely that the added uncertainty in the EV charging business will make that rather unlikely.

That’s my (non) take, anyway. What’s yours? Scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you make of FreeWire’s apparent collapse, and what you think happens next.

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Trump’s porn star hush-money trial enters week four: Here’s what’s happened so far

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May 5, 2024

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Trump's porn star hush-money trial enters week four: Here’s what’s happened so far

Former US President Donald Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 2, 2024. 

Doug Mills | Afp | Getty Images

For three weeks, Donald Trump has bounced between the campaign trail and Manhattan Supreme Court, where he faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records, in order to conceal hush-money payments to a porn star during his previous White House run in 2016.

Wednesdays are Trump’s free day from the proceedings, and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee used his most recent midweek respite to galvanize his base in swing states Wisconsin and Michigan with a very clear message: He’s got a “crooked,” “corrupt,” and “totally conflicted” judge in his “fake trial” in New York.

He also bragged to supporters that he’s seen a bump in the polls thanks to the raft of criminal charges against him.

It has to be a harrowing pace for the 77-year-old, though he has denied multiple reports that he’s fallen asleep repeatedly in court, saying that he is “simply” closing his “beautiful blue eyes” and listening “intensely.”

The historic hush-money trial, which still has another three to five weeks to go, marks the first-ever criminal trial of an ex-U.S. president. It is also the first of four separate criminal cases against him.

As the trial enters its fourth week, here are the highlights thus far.

Fined $9,000 for contempt of court

Former US President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Friday, May 3, 2024. 

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

Judge Juan Merchan doesn’t care if Trump speaks out against him in public, like he did to crowds in Waukesha, Wisconsin and Freeland, Michigan on Wednesday.

Merchan has also given the defendant a pretty long leash with respect to airing grievances with the press and on the campaign trail about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, President Joe Biden, and other political foes — so long as the presumptive presidential nominee doesn’t touch the topic of jurors, likely witnesses in his case, and staff and family members of the court and the DA’s office.

The order also does not, despite Trump’s protestation to the contrary, bar him from testifying in his own defense.

Thus far, prosecutors say Trump has breached the fairly narrow gag order fourteen times.

On Tuesday, April 30, the judge held Trump in contempt for repeatedly violating the gag order, warned that he could be put in jail if he again willfully violates court orders, fined Trump the maximum punishment of $1,000 for each of the nine violations, and ordered him to take down the posts from Truth Social and his campaign website.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy called Trump’s statements “corrosive” to the proceedings, but said the government was “not yet seeking jail” because prosecutors “prefer to minimize disruptions.”

The judge has not yet ruled on whether Trump violated the gag order another four times. Separately though, Merchan has, on a few occasions, admonished the former president for intimidating jurors with his conduct in the courtroom, including gesturing and side comments.

Prosecutors dig in

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump shouts during a campaign event in Freeland, Michigan, U.S. May 1, 2024. 

Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

The prosecution’s case hinges on convincing the jury that Trump tried to “corrupt the 2016 election” by making illegal payments — transactions which he subsequently covered up by faking records, in yet another illegal act. The defense contends that Trump was not involved with any of this criminal record-keeping and that he only signed the checks.

The specific payment trail in question relates to money that Trump apparently sent to his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, to reimburse him for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, ahead of the election. At the time, Daniels wanted to go public with her story of having sex with Trump years earlier while he was married.

To make its case, the government began by calling to the stand the former CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media.

David Pecker was integral to the alleged “catch and kill” scheme, which was designed to shape the public narrative around Trump during the campaign by containing damaging information about him.

Pecker testified that his publication would “embellish” negative stories about Trump’s political rivals during the 2016 election, in addition to publishing positive stories about Trump.

Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen looks on at court during a break in the former presidents’s fraud trial in New York on October 25, 2023.

Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

Pecker, who spoke on the stand about his unofficial role as being the “eyes and ears” of the campaign, named Cohen as central to this operation.

American Media paid $150,000 to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, another woman who wanted to share her story of an extramarital affair with Trump. Pecker, who said that he purchased the story in order to bury it, said that Trump never reimbursed the company.

The Daniels exchange was different, because the exchange of cash touched Cohen and Trump.

Read more about Trump’s hush money trial

The prosecution called in Trump’s longtime personal secretary Rhona Graff, who testified that Trump had the contact information for McDougal and Daniels saved to his phone. Banker Gary Farro described how he worked with Cohen to get $130,000 into a First Republic bank account — money which was ultimately used to pay Daniels through her attorney in exchange for her silence.

Keith Davidson, the former lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, took the stand to describe the negotiations that took place in 2016 for the rights to both of their stories.

In his testimony, Davidson described his dealings both with American Media and with Cohen. Calls recorded between Davidson and Cohen were also played for the jury.

Former White House communications director Hope Hicks leaves the hearing room during a break at a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee June 19, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. 

Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

And then, on Friday, Hope Hicks took the stand to talk about the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that threatened Trump’s presidential run a few weeks before election Day. Trump is heard in the tape bragging about sexual misconduct toward women.

The former White House communications aide, whose testimony followed that of either other witnesses, said she was “very concerned” when the Washington Post reached out in October 2016 to seek comment.

“Everyone was just absorbing the shock of it,” said Hicks, who later broke down in tears.

She added that the initial strategy was to “deny, deny, deny.”

Davidson, who brokered the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels, testified that the tape led to surge of interest in her story of an alleged extramarital affair with Trump.

“Before [the] ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, there was very little interest from what I understand,” Davidson said in court.

As the trial enters week four, Trump is also waiting to see how the U.S. Supreme Court case on presidential immunity pans out.

The judge denied Trump’s request to miss court for a day to hear oral arguments last month about whether the former president is immune from federal prosecution on criminal election interference charges.

— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.

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