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This week’s Green Deals are starting with Bluetti’s New Year sale that is seeing up to 57% discounts across a solid lineup of on-the-go and at-home power station setups, with the AC180 1,152Wh LiFePO4 Power Station hitting a new $455 low, among others. MOD’s new and improved Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike that is perfect for riders with furry companions is back down at its $3,499 low. We also have Goal Zero’s Yeti 500 and Yeti 700 Power Stations returning to their lowest rates of $337 and $450, as well as a one-day-only discount on the Greenworks 80V 10-inch Cordless Electric Pole Saw with a 14.5-foot reach at $230. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals can be found in the links at the bottom of the page, like the New Year savings from EcoFlow, Jackery, Rad Power, and more all collected within our Electrified Weekly coverage 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.

Bluetti is celebrating New Years with a massive sale through January 20 that is saving folks up to 57% off its lineup of backup power solutions, complete with the usual flash sale offers, select members-only pricing, and a 5% sitewide coupon code. With a focus towards travel needs, we spotted the popular AC180 Portable Power Station down at $455.05 shipped, after using the code AFF5OFF at checkout for the additional 5% off. Normally carrying a $999 price tag here, discounts have mainly kept costs between $549 and $649 on average for the last year, with September seeing a drop lower to $499 while October’s Prime Day event saw things go further to the $459. Thanks to the sitewide coupon, you’re standing to save $544 at a new all-time low price.

One of the brand’s most popular units for portable backup power needs, the AC180 brings a 1,152Wh LiFePO4 capacity into the equation that is ready to cover devices and appliances with an 1,800W output that surges up to 2,700W when needed. It offers 11 port options to achieve these means: four ACs, four USB-As, one USB-C, one DC, and even a wireless charging pad. Recharging takes as little as 45 minutes to reach an 80% battery when plugging the station into a wall outlet, or you can get that same recharge in 2.8 to 3.3 hours when utilizing 500W of solar input. You’ll find solar generator bundles for this model starting from $664.05 (using the coupon code) for a 100W panel, with other options for 200W, 350W, and 400W panels on the same page.

***Note: The prices below have not had the 5% sitewide coupon factored in – be sure to use the code AFF5OFF at checkout to score the most savings!

Bluetti New Year sale on-the-go power station deals:

Bluetti New Year sale RV travel bundle deals:

Bluetti New Year sale member-only deals:

Bluetti New Year sale new arrival deals:

There’s plenty more to check out during Bluetti’s New Year sale – particularly the brand’s home backup and accessory deals, as well as the short-term flash sale offers – which you can browse in full on the landing page here.

MOD Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike

MOD’s new and improved Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike is the ultimate ride for those with furry companions at $3,499 low

MOD Bikes’ New Year savings are lasting through January 31, with up to $400 being taken off its lineup of e-bikes. The largest discounts of this sale are hitting the Sidecar-specific models, with the brand’s new Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike coming in at $3,499 shipped. Down from its usual $3,899 rate, we saw it first drop this low back during early Black Friday sales when it first released, with December seeing a slightly higher $3,509 rate. The $400 markdown is returning costs back to the lowest we have tracked, which offers upgraded features over the Easy 3 SideCar model that is matching in price. You can learn more about these e-bikes below or by checking out our hands-on review from last month.

The first big difference you’ll notice on MOD’s new Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike is the new sand-beige colorway that has been inspired by the classic 1940 BMW R 75 Sahara motorcycle, complete with an upgraded dual-crown motorcycle-style suspension on the front fork. The aluminum frame houses a 750W geared hub motor (1,000W peak) paired alongside a 720Wh battery with five levels of torque-sensing PAS supporting the rider.

This combination provides top speeds of 28 MPH and carry you for up to 50 miles on one charge. It shares plenty of stock features with its predecessor, like the 7-speed Shimano ALTUS derailleur, a wide beam LED headlight and integrated LED taillight with brake lighting, hydraulic disc brakes, multi-terrain tires with fenders over each, a snap-on rear cargo rack (that is child seat friendly with a 65-pound payload), a wide saddle, a thumb throttle, a bell, and an S3 smart color display with a USB port.

MOD Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike
MOD Easy SideCar Sahara e-bike

One of the biggest changeups with this model is the expansion upon its sidecar, with things being extended slightly further from the bike’s frame, as well as being equipped with two headlights, a taillight, a detachable seat/seatbelt, and a small cargo rack on top. Pet owners will appreciate the continued effort made for animal companions, as the backside of the sidecar has been given a doggie door, allowing easier loading and unloading of your furry passengers, especially older animals who may struggle to climb over the sides.

More MOD New Year sale e-bike discounts:

goal zero yeti 500 and yeti 700 power stations

Get Goal Zero’s 499Wh Yeti 500 or 677Wh Yeti 700 power stations at return Black Friday lows from $337

Through its official Amazon storefront, Goal Zero is offering its Yeti 500 and Yeti 700 Portable Power Stations back at their lowest prices for $336.89 shipped and $449.89 shipped. These two models at full price would normally cost you $450 and $600, respectively, with these same low rates last seen during Black Friday sales. Today, you’ve got an opportunity to score $113 off the Yeti 500 and $150 off the Yeti 700 at the all-time lowest prices we have tracked. There’s even an option to bundle the Yeti 700 with a 100W solar panel for $587, down from $800.

With these sixth-generation power stations from Goal Zero you’ll ensure personal devices and small appliances get the power they need during camping trips, tailgating parties, and much more. While they share most of the same designs and features, the difference between these models comes in their battery capacities (Yeti 500 offers 499Wh, Yeti 700 offers 677Wh) and output power levels (Yeti 500 provides 500W surging to 1,000W and the Yeti 700 provides 600W surging to 1,000W).

They’ve been equipped with fast-charging tech, allowing a wall outlet to recharge the Yeti 500 in 90 minutes while the Yeti 700 takes a little longer at under two hours. Your small appliance and device charging needs are covered by the two AC ports, two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, plus the bonus car port – and both can be hooked up to a solar panel with a max input level of 200W, with recharging ranging from 2.9 hours to 4 hours, depending on your model.

greenworks 80V 10-inch cordless electric pole saw

As part of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Greenworks 80V 10-inch Cordless Electric Pole Saw for $229.99 shipped through the rest of the day only. It normally posts up at its $300 price tag most of the time, but until midnight tonight, you can score $70 off that going rate. We last saw it at a lower price back in December 2023 when it fell to the $200 low, but you can score it today for your lawncare arsenal at the second-lowest price we have tracked.

Light and heavy-duty trimming jobs are made easier with this Greenworks 80V 10-inch pole saw. Thanks to the three-piece shaft, it provides a 14.5-foot reach and comes with a TRUBRUSHLESS motor that is the equivalent of a 25cc gas motor. The included 2Ah battery ensures up to 90 cuts on one 30-minute charge and can be interchanged with the brand’s other batteries for extended use. The trigger start tosses out the hassle of dealing with pull strings, with speed controls for comfortable cutting at your preferred pace and an automatic oiler to keep the chain lubricated and running.

Best ongoing holiday 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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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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