Today I bought an electric bike that I don’t need and that I will never ride. But this isn’t about me. It’s about the company that makes the bike. More specifically, it’s about how today, on Giving Tuesday, the e-bike company Lectric eBikes is setting an example not just for the entire e-bike industry, but for modern capitalism as a whole with a philanthropic program that speaks to the core of the company’s values.
Lectric eBikes has a well-documented history of philanthropy as a key aspect of the company’s business model. After soaring to success with a growing line of affordable and popular electric bicycle models, the e-bike brand has dedicated a significant chunk of its yearly profits to charitable causes, giving away millions of dollars in donations and millions more in free e-bikes to worthy causes.
Last year alone, Lectric Ebikes donated over US $2.5 million to support a variety of charities.
Each holiday season, the company explores a new form of charitable contributions on Giving Tuesday, a global generosity movement held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, encouraging people to give back through donations, volunteering, and acts of kindness.
For example, in past years the company has allocated thousands of dollars for each of its employees to donate to worthy causes of their choice. In a new twist on that model, this year Lectric eBikes has partnered with its community of test riders and content creators to help expand the giving message further. The e-bike brand is committing $250,000 and partnering with content creators across the country to support charities close to their hearts with donations of $5,000 or a collection of five e-bikes.
As Lectric eBikes co-founder and CEO Levi Conlow says of the brand’s partners and riders everywhere, “What’s important to you is important to us. The experts and enthusiasts who we work with celebrate the benefits and joys of electric transportation through their fun and informative video channels every day. We’re excited to see these efforts help people in communities across those fan bases while raising awareness for many important causes.”
In addition to the charities selected by its content partners, the Phoenix-based e-bike maker is pledging $250 from each e-bike sold on Giving Tuesday to one of its preferred organizations, Arizonans for Children. This charity creates opportunities to address challenges and improve the vulnerable lives of abused, abandoned, and neglected children in foster care, working to guide each child toward a brighter future.
And that’s where I come in. Well, I should back up and say that first of all, I’m also proud to have been requested to take part in Lectric’s content partner campaign, having selected a charity that helps rehabilitate survivors of terror attacks after seeing that trauma firsthand. But beyond merely throwing around Lectric’s money, I think it’s important to also put my own skin in the game. So in support of Lectric’s generous pledge of $250 donated to charity for every e-bike sold today, I’m buying an e-bike.
It won’t be for me, but rather, I’ll donate it as part of my own charitable program I started called Ebikes For Good. For around 18 months now, I’ve run the program on my personal YouTube channel, giving away one free e-bike at the end of each of my videos to someone in need of a form of independent transportation but who can’t afford an e-bike themself.
Lectric eBikes’ own generosity has inspired me to use the resources and platforms available to me to encourage others to do good in their own way. And I believe in leading by example. I’ve been fortunate enough in the past to partner with awesome companies like Lectric to give out e-bikes to those in need, but have also bought several e-bikes myself in cases where I see someone who I know an e-bike can make a drastic change in their life. For many people, an electric bike can give them the independence to reach the grocery store, arrive at medical appointments, begin a journey back into good health, or just sometimes go for a refreshing bike ride for their own mental health.
There are a lot of people hurting out there, and so the following message is only meant for those who are fortunate enough to be in a position where they can afford something like this. If you’ve been on the fence about getting a new e-bike (and haven’t yet taken advantage of huge sales this season), then today would be a great day to get an electric bike and have $250 of that purchase go to charity at the same time.
I don’t take for granted my position as a trusted voice in the e-bike industry. I’ve long covered, reviewed, and promoted e-bikes that I feel are good buys based on their performance and value (and slammed a few along the way where it was deserved). While I’ll never tell you that Lectric eBikes is the best e-bike brand in the absolute sense, I’ve long described them as likely the best value anywhere in the US e-bike market. A $4,000 e-bike is great, but a $999 e-bike that can do 80% of the same job is often a better value proposition for many people on tighter budgets.
The quality and performance for the price point here is simply unmatched. So if I can support a company I believe in, and also have that support help others in need, then that’s the epitome of a win-win in my book.
So, in summary, that’s why I just bought an electric bike that I don’t need and will never use. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Your next camping trip is about to get an upgrade. Kia just dropped two new electric van concepts based on the PV5. With AI-powered home appliances like a refrigerator and microwave, and even a wine cellar, Kia’s new PV5 “Speilraum” is an electric van built for camping and more.
Meet the Kia PV5 Spielraum: An electric van for camping
Kia wasn’t lying when it said its first electric van would offer something for everyone. At the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show on Thursday, Kia and LG Electronics unveiled two new electric van concepts based on the PV5.
The Spielraum electric vans are built for more than just getting you from one place to another. With LG’s AI-powered home appliances, custom interiors, and a wine cellar, the Speilraum models take the PV5 to the next level.
Kia unveiled two new concept vans, the Spielraum Studio and Spielraum Glow cabin. For those wondering, the term Spielraum is German for “Play Space” or leeway. In other words, Kia is giving you more freedom to move.
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The Studio version is designed as a mobile workspace with LG appliances like smart mirrors and a coffee pot. Using AI, the system can actually determine how long your trip will take and will recommend when to use the appliances.
Even more exciting (at least for the vanlifers out there), the Glow cabin converts the PV5 into a mobile camper van.
With a refrigerator, microwave oven, and added wine cellar (you know, for those long trips), Kia’s electric van is sure to upgrade your next camping trip.
Kia PV5 Spielraum Glow cabin electric camping van concept (Source: Kia)
Kia and LG signed an MOU and plan to launch production versions of the Spielraum electric vans in the second half of 2026. The South Korean companies are also developing a new series of advanced home appliances and other AI solutions that could be included in the vans when they arrive.
The PV5 will initially be available in Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis Cab setups. However, Kia plans to introduce several new versions, including a Light Camper model.
Kia and LG Electronics unveil two new PV5 Spielraum concepts (Source: Kia)
At 4,695 mm long, 1,895 mm wide, and 1,899 mm tall, the Kia PV5 passenger electric van is slightly smaller than the European-spec Volkswagen ID.Buzz (4,712 mm long, 1,985 mm wide, 1,937 mm tall).
With the larger 71.2 kWh battery pack, Kia’s electric van offers up to 400 km (249 miles) of WLTP driving range. It can also fast charge (10% to 80%) in about 30 mins to get you back on the road.
Kia will launch the PV5 in Europe and Korea later this year, with a global rollout scheduled for 2026. Ahead of its official debut, we got a closer look at the PV5 on public roads last month (check it out here).
Would you take the PV5 Spielraum Glow cabin for camping? Or are you going with the Studio version? Let us know in the comments.
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Tesla Cybertruck owners are starting to get the fix for the truck’s recent recall related to a falling trim. The fix is ridiculous for a $80,000-$100,000 vehicle as it leaves a weld burn and a panel gap.
While the reason was not confirmed at the time, we reported that we suspected that it was a problem with the cantrail, a decorative trim that covers the roof ledge of a vehicle. For the Cybertruck, it consists of the highlighted section below:
A week later, Tesla announced that it recalled all Cybertrucks ever made over an issue with the cantrail: it is falling off the Cybertruck.
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Now, some Tesla Cybertruck owners are starting to receive the “fix” for the recall, but it is quite disappointing for what is a $80,000 to $100,000 vehicle.
A Cybertruck owner in New Jersey was already having issues with his cantrail and had to have his tent system installed, so his truck was already at the service center when the recall happened. He was given back his truck with the fix, but he was disappointed with the results, which left a mark on the cantrail and a significant panel gap. He shared pictures via the Cybertruck Owners Club:
According to the recall notice, the fix is as simple as removing the trim, applying some butyl patches, and reapplying the trim with two new nuts to secure it.
In the case of this Cybertruck, the new nut is leaving a significant gap on the chassis that Tesla should never have felt acceptable to deliver to a customer.
As for the burn or rust mark, the owner speculated that it was a weld mark as they weld the new nut, but there’s no welding required in the fix. Therefore, it’s not clear what happened, but there’s clearly a mark where the new nut is located.
Here’s a video of the process:
Electrek’s Take
Tesla is lucky. Many of its owners, especially with newer vehicle programs, like the Cybertruck, are early adopters who don’t mind dealing with issues like this.
However, this is a $80,000 to $100,000 vehicle, and most people expect a certain level of service with those vehicles.
You can’t have a remedy for a manufacturing defect that results in panel gaps and marks like this. It shouldn’t be acceptable, and Tesla shouldn’t feel good about giving back a vehicle like that to a customer.
On top of all of this, this is a pain for Cybertruck owners with wraps. They are going to have to rewrap the trim and it doesn’t look like Tesla is going to cover that.
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As crypto prices rallied to record highs last year, venture investors piled into new bitcoin-related startups.
The number of pre-seed transactions in the market climbed 50% in 2024, according to a report published Thursday from Trammell Venture Partners. The data indicates that more entrepreneurs entered the bitcoin arena despite a cautious funding environment for the broader tech startup universe.
Bitcoin more than doubled in value last year, while ethereum rose by more than 40%. Early in the year, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange-traded funds that invest directly in bitcoin and then extended the rule to ethereum, moves that brought a wider swath of investors into the market. The rally picked up steam in late 2024 after Donald Trump’s election victory, which was heavily funded by the crypto industry.
The early-stage startup boom dates back several years. According to the Trammell report, the number of pre-seed deals in the bitcoin-native category soared 767% from 2021 to 2024. Across all early-stage funding rounds, nearly $1.2 billion was invested during the four-year period.
“With four consecutive years of growth at the earliest stage of bitcoin startup formation, the data now confirm a sustained, long-term venture category trend,” said Christopher Calicott, managing director at Trammell, in an interview.
Venture capital broadly has been slow to rebound from a steep drop that followed a record 2021. Late that year, inflation started to jump, which led to increased interest rates and pushed investors out of risky assets. The market bounced back some in 2024, with U.S. venture investment climbing 30% to more than $215 billion from $165 billion in 2023, according to the National Venture Capital Association. The market peaked at $356 billion in 2021.
Trammell’s research focuses on companies that build with the assumption that bitcoin is the monetary asset of the future and use the bitcoin protocol stack to develop their products.
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The numbers weren’t universally positive for the industry. Across all rounds as high as Series B, the total capital raised declined 22% in 2024.
But Calicott said he’s looking at the longer-term trend and the increase in the number of pre-seed deals. He said the renewed interest in building on blockchain is largely due to technical upgrades and increased confidence in bitcoin’s long-term resilience.
“Serious people no longer question whether bitcoin will remain 15 or 20 years into the future,” he said. “So the next question becomes: Is it possible to build what the founder is trying to achieve on bitcoin? Increasingly, the answer is yes.”
Trammell has been investing in bitcoin startups since 2014 and launched a dedicated bitcoin-native VC fund series in 2020. Its portfolio includes companies like Kraken, Unchained, Voltage and Vida Global.
Recent reports show momentum in crypto startup funding more widely. In February, crypto VC deals topped $1.1 billion, according to data and analytics firm The Tie.
PitchBook forecasts that crypto VC funding will surpass $18 billion in 2025, nearly doubling the $9.9 billion annual average from the 2023 to 2024 cycle. The firm expects greater institutional engagement from firms like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs to deepen investor trust and catalyze further capital inflows.
Joe McCann, a former software developer, is launching his third venture fund, and said this one will be “exclusively focused on consumer apps in crypto.”
He draws a direct parallel to the internet’s early days.
“In the 1990s, VCs were investing in physical infrastructure,” said McCann, who runs Asymmetric, a digital asset investment firm managing two hedge funds and two early-stage venture capital funds, with $250 million under management. “Ten years later, it was Groupon, Instagram, Facebook — apps built on top. That’s where we are with Web3 right now.”