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It’s time to open a new chapter in the history books. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said now is the time to act on climate change to protect the planet for our kids and their kids’ kids’ kids’.

Rivian is more than just another automaker. It’s not even your average EV maker. The company’s entire purpose is to “create products and services that help our planet transition to carbon neutral energy and transportation.”

It also happens to build some of the most unique EVs on the road today. Rivian’s “Electric Adventure Vehicles,” the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, are built for more than just getting from point A to point B.

They can also plow through over 3 feet of water, rock climb a 100% grade, and take off quicker than your average sports car.

However, Rivian is doing much more in the background, other than just selling EVs, to “build the kind of future our kids and our kids’ kids’ deserve.”

Every aspect of the company is designed for a sustainable future. Rivian’s battery packs can easily be removed for recycling or other uses. Its interiors include 100% animal-free materials, and Rivian’s charging network (Rivian Adventure Network) is powered entirely by renewable energy.

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Rivian R1T (left) and R1S (right) electric vehicles (Source: Rivian)

Rivian is also quickly adding to its portfolio of clean energy projects, expanding wind, solar, and hydroelectric options across the US.

The company’s utility-scale solar project in Tennesee and Starfire Solar project on a former coal mining site in Kentucky are already bringing renewable energy to local businesses and communities.

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Rivian electric delivery vans (EDVs) for Amazon (Source: Rivian)

Rivian CEO says now is the time to act on climate change

Rivian knows building EVs is not enough. On Tuesday, Scaringe issued an urgent call to action, saying now must be the time to make history.

Scaringe says we are alive during one of “the most significant moments in recorded human history.”

Society has advanced greatly over the past few hundred years due to new technology and industrial capabilities, producing capabilities that were previously unimaginable. However, the same technology is destroying the only home we have, slowly but surely.

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Rivian R1S electric SUV (Source: Rivian)

Growing up a car enthusiast, Scaringe loved every aspect of them, from the idea of driving to the freedom they could provide.

As he got older, he realized that cars, as important as they were for the progress of society, were “simultaneously the root of the impact they’re having on our climate.”

Rivian-climate-change
Production at Rivian’s Normal, IL plant (Source: Rivian)

The same vehicles he loved played a big role in the re-carbonization of our atmosphere. In just a few generations, we have taken what accumulated over hundreds of millions of years and re-distributed the CO2 back into the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels in just over 150 years.

According to Scaringe, we are “at the very beginning of seeing the impacts” of that. You may have noticed it on those extremely hot days or heard about the increasingly aggressive storms and weather on the news.

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Rivian’s next-gen R2, R3, and R3X (Source: Rivian)

Although it’s still in its early stages, these changes will, little by little, “make the planet less inhabitable.”

Not only for humans, but we are already seeing a rate of extinction on Earth that’s never been seen before.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe issues urgent call to act on climate change (Source: Rivian)

Scaringe said this is the moment we have a choice. In a perfect world, when we look back in another few thousand years, there will be a little blip called the fossil fuel era. It will cover how humans rapidly industrialized with advanced new technology but also developed a deep dependency on fossil fuels.

The next chapter will hopefully explain how we developed new technologies to wean off fossil fuels before we put all the carbon back into the atmosphere.

Rivian’s leader explained these changes must begin now. We need to continue expanding renewable energy on our grid while replacing the 1.5 billion gas-powered cars on the road with EVs.

The road may not be perfect, but we need to start somewhere. The best part of EVs is that they get cleaner and more efficient over time. It’s time to protect our only home for our kids and their kids’ kids’ kids.’

Source: Rivian

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Isuzu’s first electric pickup is here and it’s a beast: Meet the new D-MAX EV

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Isuzu's first electric pickup is here and it's a beast: Meet the new D-MAX EV

A fully electric Isuzu pickup truck? That’s right. The D-MAX EV is Isuzu’s first electric pickup, and it will be rolling in the next few months. After kicking off mass production, Isuzu said the new EV pickup will “match the performance of existing diesel models,” boasting high towing capacity and payload.

Isuzu’s first electric pickup is launching in 2025

Isuzu announced on Tuesday that the D-MAX EV has officially entered mass production. The company has started building left-hand drive models, which will be shipped to Europe in the third quarter of 2025.

By the end of the year, production of right-hand drive models will begin for the UK, with sales expected to start in 2026.

The electric pickup is nearly identical to Isuzu’s popular gas-powered D-MAX, but swaps the diesel powertrain for a pair of electric motors. The D-MAX EV features new e-Axles, one on the front and the other at the rear, for a full-time 4WD system.

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The dual-motor powertrain enables it to match the performance of existing diesel models, with a combined 188 hp (140 kW) and a maximum torque of 240 lb-ft (325 Nm).

It can also tow over 7,700 lbs (3,500 kg) with a maximum payload of over 2,200 lbs (1,010 kg). That’s about the same as the D-MAX diesel, which has a 3,500 kg towing capacity and a payload capacity of up to 1,200 kg.

Powered by a 66.9 kWh battery, Isuzu’s first electric pickup boasts a driving range of up to 263 km (162 miles) on the WLTP. In the city, it can have a driving range of up to 224 miles (361 km).

Isuzu D-Max EV specs
Drive System Full-time 4×4
Battery Type Lithium-ion
Battery Capacity 66.9 kWh
Max Output 130 kW (174 hp)
Max Torque 325 Nm
Max Speed Over 130 km/h (+80 mph)
Max Payload 1,000 kg (+2,200 lbs)
Max Towing Capacity 3.5t (+7,700 lbs)
Isuzu D-Max EV electric pickup specs

Built for on and off-road performance, the rugged electric pickup features over 8″ (210 mm) of ground clearance with a wading depth of nearly 24″ (600 mm).

Although prices have not been announced, the D-MAX EV is expected to start slightly higher than the diesel model, which has a base price of around € 36,500 ($41,600).

Isuzu’s popular D-MAX is sold in over 100 countries, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America. The electric version will arrive in Europe in the next few months, followed by the UK and other regions in 2026.

The electric D-MAX will compete with the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, and other electric pickups, such as Geely’s Radar R6, BYD’s Shark, and Ford’s F-150 Lightning.

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Tesla insider buys stock for the first time in years and it’s hilarious

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Tesla insider buys stock for the first time in years and it's hilarious

For the first time in five years, a Tesla insider required to report Tesla stock transactions bought stocks rather than selling them.

But the transaction is so small that it makes the whole situation hilarious.

Insiders in public companies are top executives and board members who are required to report to the SEC any transaction related to the company’s stock.

For Tesla, it has become a running joke that insiders only sell, never buy the stock.

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This has been true without exception for years.

We don’t know as much about executives as Tesla has a very short top executive bench who are required to file transactions. However, when it comes to its board members, they have been selling at an impressive rate.

We recently reported on Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav recently selling ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.

Tesla’s chairwoman, Robyn Denholm, also sold $33 million worth of Tesla shares in February and over $100 million in the 3 months prior.

However, we now have confirmation that a Tesla board member is buying, rather than selling.

Joe Gebbia, the Airbnb co-founder who joined Tesla’s board in 2022, confirmed that he bought 4,000 shares in Tesla last week worth about $1 million:

Electrek’s Take

Gebbia is estimated to be worth over $7 billion. Therefore, his purchase of $1 million worth of Tesla stock would be equivalent to my buying a fractional share in Tesla.

Furthermore, the disclosure confirmed that despite being on the board for the last 3 years, Gebbia owned only 111 shares in Tesla before the transaction.

That’s quite the show of confidence in Tesla.

Thie whole situation with the board is disappointing. Tesla’s core business is melting. The company reported its worst quarter in years last week, and the stock surged 20%.

None of it makes any sense.

The board is sitting on its hands while the most powerful force accelerating the advent of electric transport is being destroyed in favor of nonsensical predictions about the potential of solving self-driving and humanoid robots.

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Venmo revenue grows 20%, with debit card payment volume soaring

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Venmo revenue grows 20%, with debit card payment volume soaring

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Venmo, long a centerpiece of PayPal‘s growth story but often criticized for its lack of monetization, is becoming a bigger contributor to the business.

PayPal said Tuesday in its first-quarter earnings release that revenue at Venmo increased 20% year-over-year in the first quarter, though the company didn’t provide a dollar figure. PayPal acquired Venmo in 2013 through the acquisition of parent company Braintree.

While it’s long been a popular consumer service for sending money to friends, Venmo’s ability to drive meaningful revenue has been a major question mark for investors, especially as competition from rivals like Zelle and Square Cash has intensified.

Venmo’s total payment volume rose 10% from a year earlier, but revenue grew twice as fast, reflecting the business opportunity. Venmo only gets revenue from specific products like Pay with Venmo at online checkout, Venmo debit cards, and instant transfers, but not from peer-to-peer payments.

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Ahead of the earnings report, Jefferies analysts noted that Venmo revenue growth appeared to be “accelerating sharply” and flagged its rising contribution to branded checkout as a key area to watch. Compass Point analysts similarly said that while competition from Zelle and Square Cash remains fierce, Venmo’s traction with debit cards and online checkout could “open up new monetization avenues” if adoption trends continue.

The company added nearly 2 million first-time PayPal and Venmo debit card users during the quarter, and total debit card payment volume across PayPal and Venmo climbed more than 60%. Meanwhile, Pay with Venmo transaction volume surged 50% year over year, and Venmo debit card monthly active users grew about 40%.

PayPal reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter but missed on revenue. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, citing macroeconomic uncertainty.

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PayPal CEO Alex Chriss: Huge opportunity to deliver to consumers and help small business

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