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This week’s Green Deals is led by a short-term flash sale on Lectric’s XP 3.0 Long-Range e-bike that comes with $507 in free camping gear for $1,299. Next, we have Bluetti’s ongoing sale that began last week and is continuing the savings from Prime Day, with the AC200L Portable Power Station still sitting at its $1,199 low as a result – and even some exclusive member discounts too. Electric Bike Co. has also taken $200 off its ready-designed stock e-bikes, with a bonus promotion that gives you $383 in fee gear, all starting from $1,399. Bringing up the rear is a bunch of AeroGarden indoor hydroponic systems that are getting big post-Prime discounts, with the Harvest 2.0 beating out last week’s rate at $52. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals in the links at the bottom of the page, like Friday’s $500 discount on the Tenways CGO600 Pro e-bike, and more – all collected together in our Electrified Weekly roundup from over the weekend.

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.

Lectric’s best-selling XP 3.0 long-range e-bikes get limited-time $507 of free camping gear at $1,299

Alongside its ongoing Fall into Savings sale, Lectric has thrown in a limited-time camping bundle on its XP 3.0 Long-Range e-bikes through October 16, giving you $507 in free gear at $1,299 shipped. This bundle package would normally cost you $1,806 in total, with it giving you everything you need to support you during your next camping trip, or even for more localized trips to tailgates or doing errands around town. You’ll be getting a larger-than-normal giant cushioned saddle that is better supported by the coiled spring suspension, a front mounting rack, a small cargo basket, a large cargo basket, a 35L soft cooler, a silk cargo net, a folding bike lock, a pair of rear-view mirrors, and an adjustable phone mount.

Lectric’s three models of XP 3.0 Long-Range e-bikes all arrive with a 500W hub motor and an internal 48V battery that work together to propel the bike up to 20 MPH – with top speeds of 28 MPH available in states where regulations allow for it. Using its five levels of pedal assistance (powered by the brand’s Pedal Assist Wattage Regulation Programming which you can learn more about here) you will get up to 65 miles of travel distance on a single charge, or you can solely use the throttle for up to 30 miles per charge. On top of the additional gear, these e-bikes also come stocked with an integrated rear cargo rack, puncture-resistant tires, 180mm hydraulic disc brakes, a headlight, a taillight, as well as the LCD display and a foldable body for easier storage/transport when you’re not on the saddle.

You can check out all the other ongoing e-bike bundle discounts during Lectric’s Fall into Savings sale here, like the free extra battery offer on the XPeak Off-Road e-bikes.

Lectric XP 3.0 e-bike

Save $800 on Bluetti’s 2,048Wh AC200L LiFePO4 power station at $1,199 low in post-Prime Day sale

Bluetti has an ongoing sale direct from its website through October 20 that is continuing Prime Day savings with up to 57% taken off power stations, bundles, and accessories, with some exclusive member discounts for those with an account (sign-up is free). A notable inclusion is the brand’s popular AC200L Portable Power Station that is down at $1,199 shipped. Normally priced at $1,999, we’ve seen plenty of short-term discounts over 2024 that have often brought costs down to $1,399, with the last few months seeing increased savings as low as $1,199 – including last week’s Prime Day event. This sale gives you ample opportunity to get the best savings we’ve seen at a 40% markdown that slashes $800 off the tag and returns it to the all-time lowest price we have tracked.

If you plan to head out over the fall season with larger camping groups and/or more appliances while also wanting to be prepared for sudden home backup support during emergencies, Bluetti’s AC200L power station can certainly handle the job. It delivers a 2,048Wh LiFePO4 battery capacity that can be expanded upon up to 4,096Wh with a B230 expansion battery, 6,348Wh with two B210 batteries, or even 8,192Wh with two B300 batteries. It pumps out power at up to 2,400W (surging to 3,600W) with its 11 output ports: four ACs, two USB-As, two USB-Cs, one car port, one RV port, and even a NEMA TT-30 port.

Recharging the unit can take just 45 minutes to hit an 80% battery when you plug it into a standard wall outlet, or you can utilize up to 1,200W of solar input that can fill the battery in 1.7 to 2.2 hours on average. There’s also the usual array of smart controls that you’ve come to expect, all accessed through a tablet or smartphone via the BLUETTI app.

Bluetti AC200L bundle deals:

Exclusive Bluetti Member deals:

  • AC180T, 1,433.6Wh capacity with MultiCooler Fridge: $1,598 (Reg. $2,498)
    • $1,698 for non-members
  • AC500, 5,529.6Wh capacity with two B300K expansion batteries: $3,199 (Reg. $3,999)
    • $3,299 for non-members
  • AC300, 2,764.8Wh capacity with B300K expansion battery and 200W solar panel: $2,099 (Reg. $2,998)
    • $2,199 for non-members

More Bluetti power station deals:

Bluetti on-the-go backup bundle deals:

Bluetti home backup bundle deals:

Bluetti accessory deals:

stock e-bikes

Electric Bike Company has taken $200 off a selection of its ready-designed stock e-bike models, as well as offering some accessory discounts and a bonus promotion too – with prices starting at $1,399 shipped for its Model J e-bike. Normally fetching $1,599 in our post-tariff market, cash savings on e-bikes from this brand are rare occurrences, often only ever seeing the price cut down by $100 or $200 increments. While we have seen it go as low as $1,299 in the past – first during last year’s Black Friday sales and only once in 2024 in February (which we haven’t seen again since), this model often gets dropped to $1,499 on average. Today though, you’re looking at a solid $200 markdown here that lands it at the third-lowest price we have tracked. The brand also has an ongoing promotion that gives you a free anti-theft alarm alongside an upgraded 3.5A supercharger along with your e-bike purchase by using the code FALL2024 at checkout – valued at $383.

Arriving with a minimalist moped design that is reminiscent of Venice Beach cruisers (complete with the banana seat), the Model J e-bike cruises onto the scene at 20 MPH (using the throttle alone) to 28 MPH speeds (with its five pedal assistance levels) and up to a 60-mile travel distance on a single charge. It achieves these performances thanks to the 750W geared hub motor that is powered by a 14Ah battery. You’ll also be getting the e-bike stocked with motorbike-grade puncture-resistant tires, integrated front and rear safety lights, hand stitched vegan leather grips, and an LCD color display with a USB charging port. You can get a full hands-on rundown from our review over at Electrek.

More Electric Bike Co. e-bike discounts:

Electric Bike Co. accessory discounts:

AeroGarden Harvest 2.0

AeroGarden’s Harvest 2.0 indoor hydroponic system beats out Prime Day pricing at $52

Amazon is offering the AeroGarden Harvest 2.0 Indoor Hydroponic System for $52.49 shipped. Normally priced at $90, it’s mainly kept above $80 throughout 2024, with summer having seen the largst discount to the $50 low for a short while before returning back to its higher rates. In last week’s Prime Day event we saw it fall to $60, but that price is being beaten out here today with nearly $40 slashed from the tag, giving you the second-lowest price we have tracked – just $2 above the all-time low.

For those not in the know, AeroGarden recently announced that it will be closing its doors in the coming months, so if you’ve ever wanted to add one of these indoor hydroponic gardens to your home, now is the time to do so – especially with such a large discount bringing costs down to its lowest prices. Without the mess of soil, you’ll be able to grow up to six of your favorite veggies, herbs, or flowers up to 12 inches tall with the Harvest 2.0 model thanks to its grow deck and water bowl design. There’s a 15W grow light that features an automatic on/off timer to mimic natural sunlight and allow plant germination ” up to 5x faster than in soil.” This upgraded model sports a darker interior within its grow deck to increase prevention of algae growth in the water reservoir and even has a nutrient reminder so you don’t forget when to add more plant food. Along with the unit itself, you’ll also be receiving a growing starter kit that includes plant food, grow sponges, and lettuce seeds.

More AeroGarden indoor hydroponic system deals:

  • Sprout, 3-plant system: $42 (Reg. $60)
  • Harvest Elite, 6-plant system: $94 (Reg. $120)
    • includes 6-pod gourmet herb seed pod kit and plant food
  • Bounty, 9-plant system: $158 (Reg. $230)
    • Wi-Fi & Alexa compatible
    • includes 9-pod gourmet herb seed pod kit, plant food, and trellis
  • Bounty Elite, 9-plant system: $164 (Reg. $260)
    • Wi-Fi & Alexa compatible

Fall e-bike 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.

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Tesla has yet to start testing its robotaxi service without driver weeks before launch

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May 15, 2025

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Tesla has yet to start testing its robotaxi service without driver weeks before launch

Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta Hero

Tesla has reportedly yet to start testing its robotaxi service in Austin without a safety driver behind the wheel – just weeks before the planned launch.

For months now, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have been hyping the launch of “Tesla Robotaxi”, a Uber-like ride-hailing service powered by autonomous Tesla vehicles, starting with a launch in Austin, Texas in June.

We have extensively reported that this launch is disappointing compared to what Tesla promised for years: that all its consumer vehicles built since 2016 are capable of self-driving.

Instead, Tesla plans to build an internal fleet of “10-20” Model Ys and have them offer ride-hailing services in a geo-fenced area around Austin, Texas, helped by human teleoperations. This is very similar to what Waymo has been offering in other cities for years, specifically in Austin, for months now.

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Even with the significant downgrade in self-driving capabilities promised with this project, there are many doubts about Tesla’s ability to achieve the lesser goal.

That’s because the robotaxi service will be based on Tesla’s ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ program, which is currently achieving about 500 miles between critical disengagements fleet-wide, according to the latest crowdsourced data.

Tesla will be able to improve on that by optimizing a version for the geo-fenced area in Austin and it has been training its neural nets for that for months with vehicles going around Austin.

However, a new report now claims that Tesla has yet to start testing its service without safety drivers at the wheel – similar to Tesla’s public ‘Supervised FSD’. The Information wrote in a new report:

Elon Musk’s deadline for launching Tesla’s first robotaxi service, in Austin, Texas, is weeks away, but the company hadn’t started testing its cars without a human safety driver as of last month, according to an engineer close to the testing and a former employee. That’s a crucial step required before Tesla can launch the pilot service for customers.

For comparison, before launching its paid ride service in Austin, Waymo tested its vehicles with safety drivers in the area for 6 months and then without safety drivers for another 6 months.

Waymo has now taken over a significant market share of ride-hailing rides in the Texas capital, but it still has limitations; for example, it doesn’t drive on the interstate.

The report also mentions that Tesla has been working with local emergency services in Austin to develop intervention plans in order to avoid causing issues if its autonomous vehicles fail.

Electrek’s Take

This is the biggest softball goal. It’s a fraction of what was promised, it’s something that others have achieved before. It’s a punt created for Tesla to finally get a “win” in self-driving.

If they can’t even make it, it would be disastrous, but at least, I hope that it will finally open the eyes of many Tesla shareholders to the reality that Tesla is actually behind in autonomous driving and that Musk’s latest claims that Tesla will have “millions of robotaxi on the road” in 2026 are just the same as when he claimed it would happen in 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019: corporate puffery.

My main concern now is for public safety. I have little hope of US regulators being able to stop Tesla considering Trump is firing anyone who got in Musk’s way after he gave him over $250 million.

If Tesla brings its cowboy approach to this, it could get bad quickly.

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Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe shares more detailed images of the R2’s Maximus drive unit

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May 15, 2025

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Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe shares more detailed images of the R2's Maximus drive unit

Rivian Maximus

The development of Rivian’s R2 validation builds continues to progress. We know so because the American automaker’s founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, continues to pepper us with welcome updates with plenty of fantastic images. The latest post features the inner workings of Rivian’s Maximus drive unit, which will propel the upcoming R2 EVs when they hit the market next year.

Another day, another exciting social media update from RJ Scaringe. Nine days ago, the Rivian CEO shared a peek at the company’s new Maximus drive unit, designed to be more compact and efficiently built to help reduce cost-per-unit production.

Our only look was from outside the drive unit’s casing at the time, but it was exciting news nonetheless. As an encore, Scaringe posted photos of the R2 validation builds on a pilot line at the automaker’s facility in Normal, Illinois.

This evening, Scaringe took to Instagram and X once again to share a better look at the inner workings of the Rivian Maximus drive unit. Check it out:

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Rivian Maximus
Source: @RJScaringe/X

RJ shares more images of Rivian’s Maximus development

Rivian’s CEO posted the three images above, which showcase some interesting perspectives of the developing drive unit. As previously shared by Rivian, Maximus uses a new continuous winding technique that reduces the total welds per stator and thus the total overall cost of building each one.

For comparison, Rivian’s current Enduro drive unit requires 264 stator welds, while Maximus only needs 24. You can see the stator windings in the image above to the left. Scaringe shared excitement in the progress of the Rivian team’s Maximus drive unit as well as some insight in his post:

I love the packaging on Maximus — the drive unit for R2. It has a side mounted inverter that utilizes flat area at the end of the motor to minimize the length of bus bars, keeping them light and efficient. The large planar shape also allows all processing and power electronics to exist on a single printed circuit board.

The inverter chassis closes out the oil cooled motor cavity and seamlessly routes coolant from the power modules to the drive unit’s heat exchanger with no extra parts.

Overall, the inverter part count is reduced by 41% relative to Enduro and structural inverter lid saves more parts and fasteners by also serving as the drive unit mount. I love this design efficiency. (heart emoji)

Looks fantastic, RJ. We can’t wait to see the visual progress of the R2 you share next!

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EV sales are up, Tesla sales are down, and new electric Toyota goodness

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8 hours ago

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May 14, 2025

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EV sales are up, Tesla sales are down, and new electric Toyota goodness

On today’s thrilling episode of Quick Charge, we’ve a huge spike in global EV sales and a huge dip in Tesla deliveries. Plus a whole bunch of news from Toyota, including an updated bZ that’s just a bit better than before … but is a bit better going to make a big difference?

We’re also on track for more than 1 in 4 new cars sold this year to be electric, with a whole lot more hybrids coming in to make up the difference and drive fuel demand down to a new yearly low. All this, plus the top 5 cheapest EVs to insure when you hit the play button.

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

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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Got news? Let us know!
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.

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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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