How to get a free $2,000 from California to buy an e-bike, starting tomorrow
Last week, we shared the news of California’s long-awaited electric bicycle rebate program finally preparing to kick off in the Golden State. The rebate program opens to the public tomorrow, and here’s how you can try and snag up to $2,000 to buy your own e-bike.
The program took a circuitous path to implementation, overcoming serious mismanagement issues along the way.
But now it is finally here, helping Californians afford an electric bike that could serve as a key form of alternative transportation or as an investment in improving health and fitness. More e-bikes replacing cars on the roads also helps contribute to lighter traffic, reduced air pollution, and improved road safety – especially for cyclists and pedestrians.
The incentive is surely to be popular, as evidenced by similar programs in other states. So if you’re a California resident and been hoping to score one of only a few thousand coveted rebates to make an electric bike more affordable for you, make sure you’re prepared and know the requirements.
To qualify, Californians will need to first check if they’re in the eligible income bracket.
The cutoff is 300% of the Federal Poverty Line, which varies depending on the number of members in a household according to the chart below. Applicants who make less than 225% of the FPL are able to receive the full rebate amount of US $2,000, while applicants making between 225-300% of the FPL are eligible to receive the base incentive of US $1,750.
Both are enough to fully cover a number of highly capable electric bikes, or a significant portion of most e-bikes on the market.
Next, applicants will have to complete the online application form. There are several steps in the application, and they can only be completed once the application window opens on December 18 at 6PM PST.
First, create login credentials, followed by entering the basic contact details.
Next, complete the California residency verification and age verification step by uploading a picture of a valid driver’s license or state identification card.
The next step is verifying income eligibility by uploading your most recent federal tax return transcript. For those who many not have filed taxes, it is also possible to upload different income verification documents. There’s a list of acceptable documents that can be used to complete this step.
Lastly, applicants will need to watch a series of e-bike safety and climate impact training videos before being able to submit the application.
According to the program’s website, “Applicants whose applications are deemed ineligible will receive an email detailing this information and instructions on how to either resubmit required information or a notification that the information provided is not eligible under the program requirements.”
Those fortunate enough to be approved for an e-bike voucher (which can take up to 60 days to select and notify) will then have 45 days to use the voucher to purchase an eligible e-bike.
An extension of 45 days can be received if the desired e-bike is not currently in stock.
Eligible e-bikes must be new, conform to the 3-class system used by California, have an integrated front light as well as some type of rear light, come with at least a 1-year warranty, and be fully-assembled. The incentive also covers certain biking accessories such as safety gear, locks, etc.
A list of eligible electric bicycles is provided by the program officials here, though it hasn’t been updated in a month and is likely to change as additional qualified e-bikes are added.
While the California program isn’t the same as Denver’s, that successful program has proven to exhaust its new supply of vouchers in mere minutes each time a new round is opened.
This is only the first of several expected rounds of vouchers to be dismeninated through the California program, so if you aren’t lucky enough in the first round, there’s still likely going to be more chances next time.
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California finally got its act together this month, rolling out an electric bike incentive program yesterday that had been in the works for years. But while the noble program was designed to help low-income riders afford a sustainable, independent form of longer-range transportation, it was exhausted in less than an hour and left many more people frustrated with its inaccessibility.
The program began its initial round with a US $3 million budget, enough for around 1,500 e-bike vouchers. The application opened Wednesday night at 6:00 PM, with widely-anticipated high demand for the relatively few vouchers.
But as several state residents soon bemoaned, even with advanced preparations made before the application opened, it was nearly impossible to finish the application in time.
Several Electrek readers reached out to share their experiences. Some indicated that they found the online application unresponsive as little as 16 minutes after the application window opened, though in actuality, it very well could have been closed even quicker considering the wide demand for the limited number of vouchers.
“I have been an avid bike rider for 30 years, I live on a fixed income (I did public and non-profits of various sorts for my career), and fit the lowest income bracket for qualification for the rebate,” explained one reader.
“I, like many, waited a year or more for California to finally get this going. Tonight was the night. I prepared myself in advance, income verification, drivers license, watched the videos, got online an hour before the opening bell, and then was automatically put in the queue. After 45 minutes it was over, and the application window was closed.”
The program organizers claim that there is another US $4.5 million in funding remaining, or enough for around 2,300 more vouchers. But there is no confirmation regarding details on future rounds of vouchers, nor an indication of when such rounds could open.
“I’m glad there was so much interest, and because of this hopefully more people will be on bikes on the road. But I have to say, for all its hype, this ‘event’ was a little demeaning and a real letdown for me, as I’m sure for probably many other deserving folks out there. It’s simply ridiculous to have 1,500 or so vouchers available in a state of 40 million people, putting us all in a lottery that ends almost before it started.”
Electrek’s Take
I want to start by saying that I’m incredibly supportive of this initiative and any others like it. Public funding absolutely should be used to benefit the public, and e-bikes have been proven to benefit society in so many ways. Not only are they a major leg up in transportation independence and health improvements for e-bike owners, but they benefit everyone by helping replace cars from the road, reducing traffic, and making an impact in the amount of air pollution in our cities.
However, considering California had years to get this right, it seems like the program left a lot to be desired. I know money doesn’t grow on trees, but California is the richest state in the country and has a state budget of over US $300 billion. I think we can find a little more change under the couch cushions to help some folks achieve transportation independence. With the massive budget available to California legislators, 1,500 of these vouchers feels like a drop in the bucket.
Making matters worse is that these programs are often designed in a way that the fastest fingers win. If you can fill out the application quickly enough at the precise minute and second it opens, you just might have a chance at getting an elusive voucher. If your fingers aren’t as spry as an 18-year-old’s, then tough luck. We’ve seen how Denver’s popular program can literally run out of vouchers in just 60 seconds each time a new round is opened. As an Electrek reader pointed out in a comment on my last article about the California incentive program, “Mad rushes can be avoided if they open up the applications year round and have a lottery system every X months.” While that doesn’t solve the scarcity issue, it certainly seems like a fairer method than a 40 million-way sprint to the submit button.
There’s a lot to like about these programs, and they should be replicated far and wide as they have a much bigger impact on more lives than electric car tax rebates. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still significant room for improvement.
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The refreshed Model Y, codenamed Juniper, expected to have similar features as the refreshed “Highland” Model 3, is will start mass production in China next month, according to local media.
The news was reported by local news site LatePost, and brought to the English world by CnEVPost.
The original report mostly discussed the departure of Song Gang, the former director of Tesla’s Shanghai factory, which we reported on earlier today.
But in addition to that, it said that mass production will begin on the new Model Y in January.
The refreshed Model Y has been expected for some time, and is expected to include many of the improvements of the 2023 Model 3 refresh. The headline features of that vehicle are a new front-end, more efficiency, and a quieter cabin. But there were a lot of other interior improvements as well (and one big de-provement, the deletion of steering column stalks).
And we know that it’s coming soon, because there have been plenty of sightings and leaks lately (including a 2-second video taken last week in San Jose). In October, Chinese social media said the refresh was about to enter trial production, and just days later we saw a photo of the refreshed Model Y outside the Shanghai factory.
So it’s not surprising that more information would leak about upcoming production again.
The report also suggests that the rumored 6-seat Model Y will start production in Shanghai in the fourth quarter of 2025 – so it’s still quite a ways out.
As for delivery times, the report doesn’t specify when that might happen. But there may be some time to wait, especially here in the US.
When the Model 3 refresh first came out, it started deliveries overseas and then took about 5 months for deliveries to start in the US. If the Model Y is on the same schedule, it might not be seen in the US until halfway through the year.
In terms of official comment from Tesla, all we’ve heard is that there will be no Model Y refresh “this year” – but that’s over in two weeks, so the doors are wide open for the Model Y to enter the market any time now.
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Environment
Honda teases two 0 Series EV prototypes to be unveiled at CES and hit the global market in 2026
Honda announced it will be back at CES this year, unveiling the next phase of its new 0 Series line of EVs. At this year’s event in Las Vegas, Honda intends to unveil two prototype EVs based on the concepts that debuted a year prior. This will be our next look at Honda’s 0 Series progress as it looks to bring these two initial models to market in 2026.
While Honda is a household name in automotive and other motor-powered vehicles, its presence in the EV space has been limited but growing. The company currently sells the Prologue EV, built atop GM’s Ultium Platform, but it has yet to deliver US consumers an entirely bespoke model.
That era will begin with Honda’s upcoming 0 Series line of all-electric vehicles. We got our first public view of Honda’s new 0 Series design language during CES 2024 this past January when the Japanese automaker unveiled two EV concepts called “Saloon” and “Space-Hub.”
At the time, Honda said the two concepts represented a design precursor to Honda’s next-generation EVs. This past October, I visited Honda’s design center in Japan, where I saw the Saloon concept inside and out. I even got to test drive the automaker’s new 0 Series EV platform. However, it was implemented on an Accord body, so it was difficult to get a feel for how its upcoming bespoke models, like the Saloon, will drive.
Honda has previously stated that the Saloon will be one of two passenger EVs to hit the market in the 0 Series, and the automaker has taken the next step in that process, moving from concepts to prototypes, which it is now teasing ahead of their reveal at CES 2025.
Honda to unveil two 0 Series prototypes, new tech at CES
Honda posted the two teaser images above today, along with the date and location of their official reveal at CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 7. According to Honda, these prototypes represent the next models in the Honda 0 Series, which are slotted to hit global market in 2026.
Honda has yet to share many more details about the EV prototypes, but they are clearly evolutions of the Saloon and Space-Hub concepts that debuted at least one year ago. It seems these two bespoke BEVs will be the first in Honda’s 0 Series lineup to hit the market and offer very different designs for consumers. Per the release:
In January at CES 2024, Honda premiered the Honda 0 Series and its ‘Thin, Light and Wise’ development approach. At CES 2025, Honda will provide further details on this approach with a focus on the ‘Wise’ value.
The “Thin, Light, and Wise” approach was at the core of all of Honda’s presentations and demonstrations during my five days in Japan earlier this year, and I learned a lot about the company’s goals and philosophy as it looks to catch up in a an exciting and ever-evolving global EV market.
That being said, the Honda team kept most of its cards to its chest and was extremely vague about what technologies that we were shown would actually make their way into bonafide production EVs. I found Honda’s unique production and assembly techniques most fascinating, especially since it was some of the only concrete tactics we could confirm.
Equipment like 6,000-ton megacasting machines—six of which will go into operation at Honda’s US production facility in Ohio—and Honda’s proprietary Constant DC Chopping (CDC) welding technology will help the automaker reduce the number of individual parts and overall vehicle weight while increasing passive safety performance.
In terms of the specs of Honda’s 0 Series EVs, however, we are still very much in the dark. In addition to unveiling its two EV prototypes, Honda said it would introduce a new vehicle OS and automated driving technologies that will be implemented in the 0 Series models. So, we will get more insight into what these future BEVs can do (finally).
At CES 2025, Honda will also provide an overview of the System on Chip (SoC) that will support the Honda 0 Series models and the Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), which is “at the core of the ‘Wise’ value.” All eyes will be on the Honda booth on January 7, 2025, when we will follow up with a full recap.
Honda CES 2025 press conference details:
Date/Time: Tuesday, January 7, 2025, 10:30 – 11:00 AM (local time)
Venue: Honda booth (West Hall, booth #4640) at Las Vegas Convention Center
Livestreaming URL: https://youtube.com/live/3M87dqNbY3U
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