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BYD Explorer No 1 unloading cars in Brazil (Source: BYD)

In 2024, the world sold 3.5 million more EVs than it did in the previous year, according to a new report by Rho Motion. This increase is larger than the 3.2 million increase in EV sales from the previous year – meaning that EV sales aren’t just up, but that the rate of growth is itself increasing.

However, an entire year of false political, media and industry statements might have had you thinking otherwise.

You’ve probably heard this lie many times over the course of more than a year: that, supposedly, EV sales are in trouble, and are slowing drastically.

This myth has been pushed by many, in many forms, with varying levels of wrongness. The position has been so pervasive that it might as well be universal – it has been taken as accepted fact that EV sales are down, even though they simply aren’t.

Sometimes it has been an intentional distortion from actors who oppose the growth of clean-air vehicles, but the attitude has become so pervasive that many have repeated it unthinkingly, without actually looking at the data. And thus this misinformation has become oft-repeated common knowledge, despite being incorrect.

But today, Rho Motion, an electric vehicle research consultancy, is out with a new report showing what we knew all along – that EV sales are still growing strongly.

No, EV sales didn’t slow

One form of this misinformation says that EV sales are down – which is to say that fewer people are buying EVs now than were in the past. This is phenomenally untrue – per the data at the end of the year (and quarterly data mid-year as well, as we pointed out), EV sales grew and set records in every territory around the world in 2024 except Europe, where they were down just 3%.

Rho Motion’s report, out today, shows that EV sales increased in all regions other than Europe, and across the globe as a whole. China experienced the largest growth at 40%, with North America growing by 9% and the “rest of the world” growing at 27%.

But even the European numbers are misleading, given that European EV sales were mostly up outside of its largest country Germany, which saw a decrease due to the country ending EV incentives in late 2023, leading to a pull-forward in demand and subsequent drop in sales.

But outside of that one region, driven largely by an end in incentives in one country, the rest of the world’s regions, and the globe itself, saw a drastic increase in EV sales.

This rise happened despite the world’s largest EV maker, Tesla, seeing its first sequential decline in sales since 2011, dragging down a market that may have otherwise risen even faster. Tesla’s sales drop was driven less by overall EV disinterest, as proven by continued EV growth across the world, and more by stale models and an incompetent CEO who has abandoned the mission of the company and cozied up with anti-EV interests, thus turning away customers.

No, EV sales growth didn’t slow, either

Another, lighter form of misinformation repeated throughout the last year stated that EV sales growth has slowed. There’s a difference between this statement and saying that sales are down – many headlines described EV sales as falling, cooling, slowing, etc., but those words would apply to a decrease, when in fact EV sales increased.

EV sales “growth” is different, and after so many people lied saying that EV sales were going down, some instead took the lighter position that EV sales would simply not grow as much in 2024 as they had in 2023. The suggestion here was that the rate of change of EV sales (that is, the second derivative of sales numbers) would reduce, and that that signaled trouble.

But we now know that even that assertion is wrong.

Looking into Rho Motion’s data for the last couple years, the world sold 17.1 million plug-in cars in 2024. In 2023, the world sold 13.6 million, and in 2022, the world sold 10.4 million. Rho Motion’s numbers do include both BEVs and PHEVs, but not cars without a plug.

Let’s look at the difference between those numbers. In 2023, EV sales grew by 3.2 million units across the world. But in 2024, EV sales grew by 3.5 million, which for those in the back is in fact a bigger number than 3.2 million.

This means that not only did EV sales grow in 2024, but the rate of growth even went up on a unit basis.

This rise in growth is obscured by using percentages rather than raw numbers (showing 31% growth in 2023, but 25% in 2024, as these numbers do), because any number that starts small and rapidly grows will inevitably experience lower percentage growth over time.

If, for example, your company sold 100 units in one year, then 1,000 units in the next, then 9,000 units in the next year, you would clearly understand that the third year is your best year in sales, and your biggest year of growth, as you added +8,000 unit sales compared to the previous year’s +900 unit sales growth.

But if you look at it on a percentage basis, your growth just went down from +900% to +800%. Even though your company is clearly doing increasingly better, you’ve added far more employees than ever before, your revenues are at an order of magnitude they’ve never reached before, etc., someone who is looking for impossible, infinitely-continuing exponential growth could try to look at this and claim that your company is doing worse than it was.

So, even these arguments focusing on slower sales growth are misleading. EV sales went up in 2024, and they went up by more than they did in the previous year. Some of us thought at the beginning of 2024 that this may end up being the case, even in the face of all this disinformation from anti-EV forces in media, industry and politics. Those of us who predicted that are vindicated, now that all the cards are on the table.

Gas car sales are in long-term decline

Meanwhile, one thing that all of these headlines ignore is that gas car sales are in long-term decline.

Among all the false focus on EV sales throughout the year, relatively fewer headlines have noted that global gas car sales hit their peak in 2017, have not hit that peak again, and likely will never hit that peak again. They’re down about a quarter from that peak, and show no signs of recovering, as it’s likely that any increase in vehicle sales will be taken up by growth in EV sales, not gas car sales.

So the growth in EV sales should look even stronger when compared to the long-term weakness of gas car sales.

This is great news for the world, and for everyone’s health, as gas cars create pollution that damages every organ in the body, kills millions of people per year, and is a primary driver of climate change which is already causing an uptick in natural disasters and threatens to displace over a billion people.

Of course, cars themselves, regardless of powertrain, still have numerous other negative environmental effects, and a shift to micromobility and mass transit would be even more environmentally preferable. But as long as gas cars are unfortunately still being made, seeing them trend downward and be replaced by vehicles that don’t spew poison from their tailpipes during every second of operation should be cause for celebration for all living things on Earth.

But what isn’t great is that, even with today’s news showing how false all of these headlines have been throughout the year, we’re not sure any of this is going to stop in our current post-truth era. The lies have not just been proven wrong today, but were wrong all along – EV sales weren’t down at any point over the course of the last year, but people kept ignoring the data and saying it.

Why does it matter? These lies influence policy – and cause more pollution

All of this matters because these constant incorrect statements have caused changes in plans for both automakers and governments who are pulling back their EV targets, and because it contributes to incorrect consumer perceptions which in turn actually can affect demand, all of which dooms humanity to worse health and climate outcomes.

Early on as this pattern of lies started to show itself in the media, David Reichmuth of the Union of Concerned Scientists suggested that one motivation behind the false headlines could be to influence regulations. The idea goes that, by pretending EV sales were “cooling,” despite that they were not, automakers could convince governments to pull back on their future commitments, thus allowing them to continue business as usual instead of having to put in effort to make actually good cars that don’t poison everything around them.

But those regulations already passed and timelines were loosened after automaker whining, so congratulations, you got what you wanted. You get to do little to change, you left open the door for new entrants to take over your industry, and you get to poison people a bit more for a few more years. You can stop lying now.

And yet, the headlines continued, and so many outlets continued to push the same false narrative that they had for more than a year claiming that EV sales are down. Some number of consumers who hear these constant falsehoods may have their EV buying decisions delayed as a result, which could in turn have suppressed EV sales below the even higher level that they might have been at without so much incorrect reporting.

And yes, higher EV sales growth rates would be preferable to the current status quo and are needed to meet climate targets. Or rather, a faster decline in gas car sales is what’s truly needed – and would be beneficial to all living beings on this planet.

The environment cannot wait, and humans can’t spend the next 10-20 years breathing down the poison coming out of the tailpipe of each gas-powered vehicle sold today. This needs to end and it needs to end now. The faster we act, the easier it will be for the world to reach carbon reductions that are objectively necessary to achieve.

But overall, the point of this article is that media headlines and political statements suggesting a slowdown in EV sales are simply incorrect. And it’s hard to imagine that these headlines, which continued for more than a year, were not intentional.

Each journalist, politician, or auto company CEO who perpetuated the myth of an EV sales slowdown could have read any one of our articles, or googled a single number showing year-over-year EV sales in any region or for most countries and most brands, and found that outside of a few outliers, they are still going up. The information is out there and easy to find.

Today’s report ought to be the final nail in the coffin that gets people to stop repeating this nonsense. Thankfully, we’ve seen it less in the last couple months, so hopefully it’s petering out by now, but we expect this falsehood will still linger on in some realms. But if you hear it, now you know the truth: EV sales are up, and they were up more in 2024 than they were in 2023.

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Waymo outlengths Tesla: Elon’s phallic Robotaxi map backfires in Austin’s expansion battle

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3 hours ago

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July 17, 2025

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Waymo outlengths Tesla: Elon's phallic Robotaxi map backfires in Austin's expansion battle

Tesla started a dick measuring contest with Waymo, and it is losing. The Alphabet company is expanding its service area in Austin beyond Tesla’s recently updated penis-shaped service area.

Waymo is taking a few shots at Tesla in the announcement, too.

Last month, Tesla launched its ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin.

As we have often reported in the last few months, the service is primarily for optics after years of being wrong about Tesla launching unsupervised self-driving in its consumer vehicles, CEO Elon Musk needed a “win” and therefore, Tesla launched a limited service in a small area of Austin, Texas with Tesla employees being in the cars at all-times ready to stop the vehicles.

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The service falls short of the promise that all Tesla vehicles built since 2016 would achieve unsupervised self-driving capabilities, and it’s also not comparable to Waymo’s service, which operates in Austin and several other cities without supervisors inside the vehicles.

Despite the situation, Tesla shareholders are hoping that the automaker is going to be able to scale faster than Waymo and eventually catch up.

They claimed victory when Tesla expanded its service area in Austin this week, but we noted that the expansion, which Tesla intentially made penis-shaped without any practical benefit, did more to illustrate the seriousness of the effort than anything else.

With the joke, Tesla inadvertently start a dick measuring context that it is now losing.

Today, Waymo announced its own service area expansion in Austin and it now covers 90 square miles:

After a successful four months serving riders together, Waymo and Uber are expanding our service territory in Austin – spanning North Austin to South Austin. Starting tomorrow, riders can take fully autonomous rides across 90 square miles of the city, including new neighborhoods like Crestview, Windsor Park, Sunset Valley  Franklin Park, and more, as well as popular destinations like The Domain and McKinney Falls State Park.

Waymo’s service area (blue) is now much bigger than Tesla’s (black):

But more importantly, Waymo’s service operates completely autonomously without any supervisor with a finger on a killswitch inside the vehicle like Tesla.

Waymo is well aware of the difference and poke Tesla in its announcement of the service area expansion:

We’re proud to offer the only fully autonomous, 24/7 experience for anyone in Austin, and are excited to offer more destinations across the city – no waitlists or caveats. In Austin, customers have been enjoying their experience, giving their Waymo trips 4.9 out of 5 on average. There are more than 100 Waymo vehicles on Uber in Austin, and that number will continually grow to hundreds over time.

By “fully autonomous”, Waymo means that it doesn’t have employees inside the vehicles. It also mentions “24/7” as Tesla’s service closes at midnight and also doesn’t operate in some weather conditions.

Waymo now serves more than 700 sq mi across the US, and it continues to expand fast.

Electrek’s Take

Waymo keeps doing its thing. It’s going to take some time, but at one point, Tesla shareholders are going to have to admit that Tesla has the same limitations in expanding its robotaxi service as Waymo does.

The main difference is that Waymo is already way ahead as it completed the phase with in-car supervisors years ago and already operates in a 10x bigger area than Tesla in the US.

It also has about 100x more vehicles.

The idea that Tesla will catch up by mid next year, which is what CEO Elon Musk claimed, is completely ludicrous.

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Exclusive $2,038 savings on EcoFlow’s DELTA Pro Ultra station at new $3,761 low + four 48-hour flash sale offers, Rad Power, more

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3 hours ago

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July 17, 2025

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Exclusive ,038 savings on EcoFlow's DELTA Pro Ultra station at new ,761 low + four 48-hour flash sale offers, Rad Power, more

Leading our Green Deals today is an exclusive deal we’ve secured for our readers with $2,038 savings on the EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra Portable Power Station at a new $3,761 low. We’ve also got a spotlight back on Rad Power’s RadExpand 5 Folding e-bike at its $999 low, as well as EcoFlow’s final four 48-hour flash sale offers that are apart of the soon-to-end Phase 3 Prime Day Sale, with units like the DELTA 2 Max station bundle that comes with an 800W alternator charger and protective bag at its $1,049 low. Lastly, we have a one-day-only sale on the Greenworks 80V 10-inch Cordless Pole Saw kit at $218, which comes in under its Prime Day pricing. Plus, there’s all the hangover Prime Day savings in our Prime Day Green Deals hub at the bottom of the page, as well as yesterday’s ALLPOWERS R1500 LITE power station preorder launch, and more.

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.

Our readers can score EcoFlow’s most expansive DELTA Pro Ultra station with $2,038 in exclusive savings to new $3,761 low

We’ve secured a great new exclusive deal from Wellbots for our readers on the EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra Portable Power Station for $3,761.10 shipped, after using the exclusive code 9TO5DPU10 at checkout. While it normally goes for $6,098 in full direct from EcoFlow, its starting rate at Wellbots is lower at $5,799. We last secured a similar exclusive cut to $3,799 back in April, which is getting beaten out by the combined $2,038 markdown here, landing down at a new all-time low price for this expansive whole-home backup solution from one of the most popular brands in the game.

EcoFlow’s DELTA Pro Ultra power station is the brand’s best option to gain whole-home backup support due to its modular design that allows you to bolster its capabilities with expansion over time. This unit starts with a 6.1kWh LiFePO4 battery capacity and max 7,200W output ability, which can be expanded upon with added equipment up to a massive 90kWh capacity and 21.6kW output. For context on what this starting setup can do – you’ll get up to two days of essential appliance backup power, which can climb up to 15 straight days when its been invested into a full expanded setup – and that’s not even taking solar charging equipment into mind, which only extends its coverage for even longer with regular sunlight exposure. There’s also the smart home integration that comes once you’ve added the brand’s Smart Home Panel 2 to your home setup, allowing for smart power analysis and roof panel connections.

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The DELTA Pro Ultra station’s solar input is also an expandable feature, as it can go from 5.6kW to 16.8kW, or you can recharge it to full via a wall outlet in just two hours, while also having hook-ups for EV piles and generators too. As a note for future plans, investing in its fully expanded system (three Ultra Pro stations + expansion batteries) while also having the maximum solar setup recharging it would give you the power you need to run your entire home for a single day off just one hour of sunny conditions. It also comes with a dust-proof and splash-proof IP54 construction, as well as the durability to stand against severe temperatures from -4 degrees to 113 degrees, making it ready for travel plans to campsites, on RVs, and more.

woman approaching e-bike with coffee in hand

Don’t miss Rad Power’s space-saving RadExpand 5 folding e-bike while at its $999 low

As part of Rad Power’s extended Prime Day promotions running through July 23, which include the ongoing second-ever savings on its new Radster Road Commuter and Radster Trail Off-Road e-bikes, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the continued low pricing on its RadExpand 5 Folding e-bike at $999 shipped. Before June saw the pricing come down this low, it was regularly keeping to its $1,599 full price and only dropping regularly to $1,299 during sales. Of course, since Father’s Day, we’ve been seeing this massive $600 markdown hang on so fans can score it at the best price to date, giving you a solid commuting option and versatile utility companion for errands and such.

If you want to learn more about this model, be sure to check out our original coverage here, as well as our full coverage of the Rad Power Sale running through July 23 here.

EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max power station sitting on countertop next to toaster oven

Save up to 59% on four EcoFlow flash bundles like the DELTA 2 Max with alternator charger and bag at $1,049 low

As part of its ongoing Phase 3 Prime Day Sale, EcoFlow has launched the last of its 48-hour flash sales that are taking up to 59% off four different bundle offers. Among the units we’re seeing included – three of which give you power stations and one allows you to expand an existing setup – things start with the DELTA 2 Max Portable Power Station bundle that includes an 800W Alternator Charger and a free protective bag for the station at $1,049 shipped, which you won’t currently find in stock at Amazon. It’s coming down from its full $2,577 price tag, with this same flash offers having appeared in last week’s Phase 2 Sale. Through July 18, you’ll have another chance at the biggest savings of $1,528, landing the costs back at the best price we have tracked. Head below for more on this bundle and the others we’re seeing discounted in this sale.

If you want to learn more about this power station’s capabilities, as well as the three other flash offers, be sure to check out our original coverage of the sale here.

Greenworks pole saw cutting through tree branch

You’ll get 14.5-feet of reach with Greenworks’ 80V 10-inch cordless pole saw at $218 (Today only)

As part of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Greenworks 80V 10-inch Cordless Pole Saw for $217.99 shipped, which currently beats out Amazon where it’s sitting at full price. Normally going for $300, for the rest of the day, you can pick it up here with $82 taken off the tag. After spending January and the first half of February at $225, we’ve mainly seen discounts dropping the costs between $240 and $270 since then, with last week’s Prime Day event dropping things to $220. While we have seen it go lower in the past, you’re looking at a solid 27% markdown to one of the lowest prices we’ve spotted this year.

If you want to learn more about this electric lawn care solution, be sure to check out our original coverage here.

Best Summer EV 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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Rivian announces new East Coast Headquarters coming to Atlanta, Georgia

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3 hours ago

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July 17, 2025

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Rivian announces new East Coast Headquarters coming to Atlanta, Georgia

Rivian headquarters

American automaker Rivian has shared its second release outlining expanded offices this week. Earlier today, Rivian shared plans for a new East Coast Headquarters coming to Atlanta, Georgia. The headquarters will operate near its massive new EV production facility being erected outside the city.

We’re almost having déjà vu on the Rivian news beat this week.

Just yesterday, we shared news that Rivian was planning to open a new international office in London, UK, which will become an AI-centric development hub.

At the time, we pointed out that Rivian currently operates out of a headquarters in Palo Alto, California, alongside its main production facility located in Normal, Illinois. Furthermore, the American automaker is currently in the process of building a second production footprint capable of housing 7,500 employees, located about 40 minutes outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

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Other US locations currently include offices in Irvine and Carson, CA, Wittmann, AZ, and Plymouth, MI. Outside of the US, Rivian operates out of offices in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Belgrade, Serbia.

Today, Rivian announced a further investment in Georgia, making Atlanta the new home of its East Coast Headquarters.

Rivian headquarters
Rending of Rivian’s future East Coast headquarters / Source: Rivian

Rivian’s new headquarters to open in late 2025

Rivian’s second headquarters was announced this afternoon alongside Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

The new office space, which is expected to support 500 employees, will occupy the lobby and top floor of the Junction Krog District building, located at 667 Auburn Ave NE, near the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline. The new headquarters will enable Rivian to operate closer to its pending production facility in Stanton Springs North, outside Atlanta.

With a growing footprint and investment in the Peach State, Rivian has already shared intentions to develop relationships and partnerships with universities, technical colleges, and local, regional, and state institutions. Governor Kemp spoke:

Georgia is a prime location for any company headquarters, and we’re glad to see Rivian will soon join the growing list of brands not only operating in our state but also wholly or partially based in our capital city. They recognize the unmatched value of Georgia’s talent and the location of their East Coast Headquarters in Atlanta is the latest demonstration of their commitment to the Peach State. I look forward to that commitment translating to new jobs and opportunities for hardworking Georgians.

Per Rivian, the new East Coast Headquarters is expected to officially open in late 2025 and employ around 100 people before expanding to 500 employees when fully built and operational.

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