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Lotus has unveiled a new EV concept which it calls “Theory 1,” a lightweight(-ish) electric sportscar concept inspired by the Lotus Esprit with nearly 1,000hp and capable of speeds up to 200mph.

Here at Electrek, we see and report on a lot of wild EV concepts. These concepts are often accompanied by long treatises on how the design incorporates various “core principles,” unnecessary branding of things that will never make it to production, and buzzwords aplenty.

In a way, the Theory 1 is no different. My eyes glazed over at the 2,000+ words in Lotus’ press release before reaching the table of technical specs.

And yet, there is still something here, because this is Lotus – a company with an incredibly significant motorsport heritage… and a significant electric car heritage too.

Lotus is the company that provided the lightweight “gliders” on which the original Tesla Roadster, the car that started the modern electric vehicle era, was built.

And lately, Lotus has gotten into electric cars on its own, with the $2million Evija hypercar and the consumer-focused Eletre SUV and Emeya Hyper-GT.

But you’ll notice – one of those things is not like the others. Despite being a company famous for its focus on small cars, owing to founder Colin Chapman’s theory to “simplify, then add lightness,” the Eletre and Emeya are both over 5,500lbs, more than twice the weight of the original Tesla Roadster.

And so, Lotus’ new Theory 1 – packed full of probably-unrealistic concept features, but also clearly going downmarket from the Evija’s eyewatering $2million pricetag – could signal somewhat of a return to form for the wayward small-car maker.

That’s because its curb weight is listed at a much more reasonable 1600kg, or 3,527lbs. This is still hefty compared to the absolute lightest vehicles on the road right now, but it’s on the lower end of most powerful sportscars available today (including lighter than the Evija), quite low compared to other EVs, and significantly less than some ridiculous gas-powered chonkers.

It’s also a lot more than the original Lotus Esprit which the Theory 1 takes inspiration from, which began at around 2,000lbs. But later versions of the same vehicle weighed as much as around 3,000lbs, not too far off from the Theory 1.

In that relatively small package, Lotus claims it has fit some great performance specs.

Its 986hp powertrain is capable of sprinting 0-100km/h (62mph) in less than 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of 320km/h (198mph).

Energy comes from a 70kWh battery with a 250 mile range. This is a little smaller than some of the larger batteries we’ve seen around (the Eletre has a 112kWh battery, for example), but that’s the benefit of having a light, low-slung vehicle.

But specs don’t tell everything about how a vehicle feels to drive. And Lotus is promising to bring exceptional driving dynamics to this vehicle, through methods like including the motor and battery as stressed members and mounting the rear wing directly to the suspension assembly.

It also wants to use steer-by-wire, a technology which has been thought about for a long time but only recently has made its way into production vehicles, like the Lexus RZ and Cybertruck.

But perhaps the most striking part of the driver experience on the Theory 1 is its 3-seat design, seating the driver in the center of the vehicle, similar to the famed McLaren F1.

The car’s light weight comes from extensive use of advanced materials like carbon fiber and titanium, which are sure to boost the price of this vehicle if they make it to production. In that previously-mentioned 2,000 words, there’s plenty of talk about 3D printing and recycled materials as well.

But Lotus says that it wants to reduce the amount of “A-surface materials” – those you can touch – down to 10 or fewer, compared to the 100-or-so in most cars.

“There’s been this period of maximalism, and people having to do one-upmanship and go above, above, above. And I think we’ve reached that point where it plateaus in stylistic terms, and also in the demonstration of tech. We’re not in a crazy numbers race with this car.”

-Lotus design VP Ben Payne, as quoted by Wired

So the original Lotus philosophy of “simplify, then add lightness” is certainly present in this concept, signaling a return to form for the brand after a few years of wandering in the desert.

Finally, while we are just talking about a concept here, we’ve certainly seen plenty of EV concepts make their way into production in some way or another. Even particularly wild ones like the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept ended up being made into the BMW i8 sportscar.

So we might even see this Theory 1 show up on the road at some point. But, even if we don’t, at least it shows that Lotus is back to thinking about smaller cars (as they should have been all along…), and we’ll hopefully get a real EV sportscar out of them in a few years.


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State of the solar industry as GOP eliminates homeowner’s tax credits

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State of the solar industry as GOP eliminates homeowner's tax credits

On today’s sunny side up episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at the latest from the world of solar power, and discuss Congressional Republicans’ plans to limit your energy independence by eliminating a critical tax credit for homeowners nearly ten years early. (!)

We’ve also got a quick review of a massive solar farm powering 200,000 homes in Indiana and the biggest solar project East of the Mississippi – both part of a record 98% of all new power generation and grid capacity introduced in 2025 coming from wind and solar. Those are jobs, those are lower utility rates, those are energy independence … so why are Congressional Republicans working to make that more expensive?

If you want to read that EnergySage report on the state of the home solar industry, including news about battery energy storage system and V2H/V2G prices and financing trends, you can check it out for yourself, below, then let us know what you think in the comments.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Alphabet’s Waymo wins approval to expand driverless ride-hailing service to San Jose

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Alphabet's Waymo wins approval to expand driverless ride-hailing service to San Jose

A Waymo autonomous vehicle drives along Masonic Avenue on April 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California. 

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Alphabet’s Waymo unit has received approval to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service to more parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose.

In March, the company submitted a request to the California Public Utilities Commission to gain approval for its latest passenger safety plan, a key step in gaining permission to operate driverless vehicles across a broader area. On Monday, the proposed expansion was approved, allowing for Waymo’s driverless coverage to extend from San Francisco down through the Peninsula.

“We’re very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!” the company wrote in a post on X on Monday. “While this won’t change our operations in the near-term, we’re looking forward to bringing the benefits of Waymo One to more of the Bay Area in the future.”

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Waymo is a bright spot in the Google story, says Truist's Youssef Squali

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Trump reversal revives Empire Wind, NY’s offshore energy giant

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Trump reversal revives Empire Wind, NY’s offshore energy giant

The $5 billion Empire Wind is back in business. The Trump administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has lifted its stop-work order for Empire Wind, a major offshore wind project off the coast of New York led by Empire Offshore Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Equinor. Construction is now allowed to resume.

Equinor CEO Anders Opedal welcomed the news, saying the restart reinforces Equinor’s commitment to delivering clean energy while supporting local economies and saving thousands of jobs. He also credited a wide coalition of officials for helping get the project back on track, including Trump, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and congressional leaders like Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Dan Goldman. Opedal also thanked the Norwegian prime minister and the minister of finance for raising the issue with the US administration.

Governor Hochul said in a statement that “countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials” had taken place.

Neither the BOEM nor the Department of the Interior has issued a comment.

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The Trump administration halted construction of the 54-turbine Empire Wind on April 16, but discussions between Equinor, regulators, and leaders at the federal, state, and city levels led to a reversal. That means Empire Wind can now push ahead with its goal of powering 500,000 New York homes with offshore wind energy.

“This project delivers on the energy ambitions shared by the US and New York by providing a vital new source of power to the region,” said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Wind US. She added that Empire Wind is boosting supply chain investments across the country, with activity in New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and South Carolina.

Equinor plans to reassess the project’s financials in the second quarter. The goal is still to install turbines offshore in 2025 and hit full commercial operation by 2027. The company says it will work with suppliers and regulators to minimize any delays from the month-long pause.

Empire Wind was first awarded its offshore lease in 2017 after a competitive federal process. It received its final construction green light in early 2024 following an extensive environmental review. Construction kicked off shortly after, and the project is now over 30% complete.

The US is a major market for Equinor. The Norwegian energy giant says it has invested around $60 billion in US energy projects since the early 2000s, more recently in low-carbon solutions, critical minerals, and renewables. Empire Wind is one of its flagship projects in the US.

Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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