Connect with us

Published

5 months ago

on

Our Green Deals coverage this week kicks off with a short-term sale through Friday from Jackery which is seeing its Explorer 2000 v2 Portable Power Station drop to its $999 low, among other savings. Velotric has provided a second chance to hop aboard its well-rounded Go 1 Utility e-bike for a $999 low, with some notable discounts/bundle offers on other popular models. We also spotted a discount for today only on Anker’s SOLIX F3800 Portable Power Station that is taking costs to $2,449 alongside its expansion battery also seeing a one-day-only fall to $1,799. Lastly, Goal Zero’s Alta 50 Portable Fridge/Freezer is down at $550, with its larger counterpart sitting at its second-lowest rate. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals are in the links at the bottom of the page, collected together in our Electrified Weekly roundup – and don’t miss out on the Lectric and Rad Power flash sales that are ending tonight!

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.

Jackery sale drops new Explorer 2000 v2 LiFePO4 power station to $999 low

Jackery is running a four-day sale through January 24 that is offering up to 47% off on some of the brand’s best power stations for home backup needs, DIY work, and outdoor enjoyment. One of the latest releases, Jackery’s Explorer 2000 v2 Portable Power Station, is dropping down to $999 shipped. Today’s deal is following Black Friday trends with a 33% markdown off its usual $1,499 full price, with $1,099 being the more average discounted rate we’ve seen. With today’s deal, you’ll be getting the maximum savings we’ve seen at $500 off, which returns costs to the all-time lowest price we have tracked. You’ll also find this model matches the price from Amazon.

Looking for a compact power station that can not only cover devices you’ll take along on trips, but also appliances in times of both leisure and emergency? Jackery’s Explorer 2000 v2 stuffs it all into one convenient and affordable unit, with a 2,042Wh LiFePO4 capacity, seven port options, and a 2,200W power output that surges up to 4,400W. It’s been designed with exclusive CBT tech and a honeycomb build for a smaller and lighter size, while the ChargeShield 2.0 tech provides 62 forms of protection while it is charging and its silent charging mode keeps the noise under 30dB for when you’re trying to relax or sleep.

There are four ways to recharge Jackery’s Explorer 2000 v2, with an 80% battery achieved via a wall outlet in around 66+ minutes – and it also boasts a supercharge feature for last-minute needs that will refill the entire battery in 102+ minutes. Your car’s auxiliary port is also an option taking about 24 hours, or you can invest in some of the solar panels to take advantage of its solar charging capabilities (discounted bundles available from Amazon)

Jackery deals for DIY support

Jackery deals for outdoor exploration

Jackery deals for home backup

You’ll also find some select discounts by way of Jackery’s official Amazon storefront, with this flagship Explorer 3000 Pro solar generator bundle that comes with a transfer switch for your breakers down at its second-lowest price.

Velotric Go 1 Utility e-bike

Second chance at $700 savings on Velotric’s Go 1 Utility e-bike with Apple Find My at $999 low

Velotric has ongoing New Year savings happening across its e-bike lineup, with the brand’s Go 1 Utility e-bike even seeing a drop to $999 shipped. More recently fetching $1,699 in full after falling from its original $1,799 MSRP earlier in 2024, this model has been regularly dropping to $1,299 during sales, with things only hitting $999 once last month for a three-day flash sale. It’s coming back again here with $700 struck from its going rate for a second chance at the lowest price we have tracked.

Velotric’s Go 1 e-bike is a model built for versatility, bringing far more to your table than a standard commuter, especially at its lowest price. The 692Wh battery delivers 55 miles of pedal-assisted support (five levels) on a single charge, with a throttle for pure electric action at the cost of higher mileage. The 500W hub motor (peaking at 900W) will have you moving at 20 MPH speeds, with its maximum 25 MPH speed unlockable through the companion app.

Speaking of the smart controls, one notable feature is the Apple Find My inclusion, providing you with some added peace of mind should it be misplaced or stolen. There’s also the hydraulic suspension (with lock-out), hydraulic disc brakes, puncture-resistant tires, a 7-speed Shimano derailleur, the integrated LED headlight, a rear rack with an integrated taillight that delivers brake lighting, and a 3.5-inch LCD display that sports a USB port to charge your devices on the go.

Most notable Velotric e-bike deals:

  • 2024 Discover 1 Plus Comfort e-bike: $1,199 (Reg. 1,599)
    • 28 MPH for up to 65 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • T1 ST Plus Lightweight e-bike: $1,299 (Reg. $1,549)
    • 28 MPH for up to 70 miles
    • 30% off accessories with e-bike purchase
  • Nomad 1 Plus Step-Thru e-bike: $1,399 (Reg. $1,799)
    • 28 MPH for up to 55 miles
    • comes with free double-spring comfort saddle
  • Discover 2 e-bike: $1,749 (Reg. $1,899)
    • 28 MPH for up to 75 miles
    • comes with free suspension seatpost 2.0
  • And much more…
Anker SOLIX F3800 portable power station

Save $1,050 on Anker’s SOLIX F3800 3,840Wh LiFePO4 power station at $2,449 (Today only)

By way of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Anker SOLIX F3800 Portable Power Station for $2,449 shipped until midnight tonight (January 20). Today’s deal is benefitting from a 30% markdown off its $3,499 rate here (with a higher $3,999 rate direct from Anker). We’ve seen it go lower twice before with Cyber Monday seeing it $50 lower while an exclusive Black Friday deal at Wellbots saw it fall to the $2,099 low. You’ll be saving $1,050 today ($1,550 when considering its direct rate), giving you the means to power anything at the third-lowest price we have tracked. It’s even beating out Anker’s own site right now that has it discounted to $2,699.

Anker’s SOLIX F3800 power station boasts a larger (and expandable) capacity with far more versatility, coming in with a 3,840Wh LiFePO4 battery that can be bumped up to 26.9kWh with added expansion batteries (see the deal below). With a 6,000W power output that surges to 9,000W, its 15+ port options allow it to power virtually anything – with hook-ups for your RV and electric car too. It can even cover your home’s circuit breaker with either a Home Backup Kit for sectional support or the Home Power Panel for whole-home coverage on top of connection capabilities with your roof panels (check out direct Anker deals for those here).

For the rest of the day, Best Buy is also offering the expansion battery for the above power station at its second-lowest price of $1,799 shipped. By adding this add-on battery to your F3800 setup, you’ll gain an additional 3,840Wh worth of capacity – bumping things to 7,680Wh+ and allowing for longer periods of backup power, especially in emergencies.

Goal Zero Alta 50 Portable refrigerator and freezer

Goal Zero’s portable fridge/freezer down at lowest price starting from $550 (Save $250+)

Goal Zero’s official Amazon storefront is offering its Alta 50 Portable Fridge/Freezer at $549.95 shipped, after clipping the on-page $250 off coupon. Coming down from its full $800 price, today’s deal is saving you a sizeable 31% off its going rate. You’ll save $250 here at the second-lowest price we have tracked, which comes in just six pennies higher than its all-time lowest rate, beating out plenty of same-sized competitors that tend to keep near $750 and up.

Goal Zero’s Alta 50 (and its larger Alta 80 counterpart) makes a great portable refrigeration/freezing option for job sites, camping trips, or even at-home use in garages, sheds, and more. Able to hold as low a temperature as -4 degrees, it switches between refrigeration or freezing capabilities with a 53L capacity that can hold up to 75 twelve-ounce cans at once. Keep in mind though, this model doesn’t have its own battery and needs either an outlet or one of the brand’s power stations to keep it running.

Right now, you might also want to consider the larger and more dual-purposed Alta 80 model which is down at $699.89 from its usual $1,000 rate. You won’t have to choose which function to go with here, as its larger 78L capacity is split between dual zones for simultaneous refrigeration and freezing. It holds an impressive 130 twelve-ounce cans, with runtimes of up to 12+ days depending on which of the brand’s power stations are running it.

Best New Year 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.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Environment

Tesla Full Self-Driving hasn’t improved all year and Musk points to more wait

Published

60 mins ago

on

June 12, 2025

By

Tesla Full Self-Driving hasn't improved all year and Musk points to more wait

Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta Hero

Tesla’s ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ (FSD) in customer vehicles hasn’t improved all year, based on the best available data previously praised by CEO Elon Musk.

Now Musk points to having to wait until later this year, but wait for what?

Tesla’s last major FSD update, v13, was released in December 2024.

Musk had previously claimed that v13 would enable “a 5 to 6x increase in miles between disengagements compared to v12.5.”

Advertisement – scroll for more content

The automaker never released any disengagement data to prove any improvement. Therefore, we have had to rely on crowdsourced data. There is a particular dataset that Musk himself previously shared positively, suggesting that the limited dataset is somewhat reflective of what Tesla is seeing in its own data.

Based on this dataset, v13 on Tesla’s HW4 vehicles was a real improvement, but it only brought a 2x improvement in miles between critical disengagement – nowhere near the claim “5 to 6x” increase.

As we previously reported, HW3 vehicles are still stuck on v12, and Musk has admitted that the hardware will never support the promised unsupervised self-driving capability, with no plans to rectify the situation in sight.

Now, six months after Tesla released v13, the program has stagnated as the automaker shifted all its efforts to a “robotaxi” pilot program in Austin, Texas.

Tesla has released a new version, v13.2.9 (left), but it has been performing worse than the previous update (v13.2.8 – right) after over 5,000 miles of data:

The latest data on Tesla FSD v13.2.9 points to 371 miles between critical disengagements.

As we previously reported, the robotaxi pilot program in Austin is a moving of the goalpost for Tesla, which has been promising that all its customer vehicles built since 2016 would become capable of unsupervised self-driving with future software updates.

It operates only in a geo-fenced area of Austin, where Tesla is specifically training its neural nets to be optimized for the area. Furthermore, it is using “plenty of teleoperation” to support the fleet, something that can’t scale to customer vehicles.

The hope is that Tesla’s optimization and focus on this pilot project in Austin will ultimately result in Tesla improving FSD in customer vehicles.

Musk has now commented on this effort:

It’s a new version of software, but will merge to the main branch soon. We have a more advanced model in alpha stage that has ~4X the params, but still requires a lot of polishing. That’s probably ready for deploy in a few months.

Quickly after claiming a 4x increase in parameters, Musk said that this would be coming “later this year”:

~4.5X increase in params should be ready for wide release later this year. Super frugal use of memory bandwidth, caching exactly what is needed & squeezing microseconds out of everything are needed to maintain the frame rate. And the whole system needs to be retrained.

It’s worth noting that Musk’s timelines for FSD releases have historically been extremely late.

The better question is what this long-awaited update will bring to Tesla owners?

Electrek’s Take

The promised and paid-for unsupervised self-driving? No. The “unsupervised” self-driving that Tesla is launching as part of the pilot program in Austin is not transferable to the customer fleet. It is geofenced in a small area around Austin, Texas, and it relies on teleoperation, which doesn’t scale to millions of vehicles like Tesla promised.

It’s also important to note that it’s not the first time that Musk has promised a significant increase in parameters. The CEO said that FSD v12.5 on HW4 was a “5x increase in parameters” and that was quite disappointing.

FSD v12.5 on HW4 (left) only brought a 22% increase in miles between critical disengagement compared to v12.3 (right):

In fact, the miles between critical disengagements plummeted with other v12.5 point updates, and it ultimately ended at 184 miles between critical disengagements, significantly below v12.3:

Therefore, it’s hard to get too excited about a new “~4.5x increase in parameters” when that’s what happened the last time Musk called for it.

Additionally, at that time, Musk stated that HW4 could support an “8x increase in parameters,” and it was around this time that he began to express less confidence in his comments about HW3.

It took another 6 months before he finally admitted that HW3 would not support unsupervised self-driving, and Tesla basically stopped making any significant updates on the hardware since.

Tesla is also quickly approaching the limits of HW4 with recent updates.

I think it’s becoming clear that the robotaxi launch in Austin is just another distraction from the fact that Tesla can’t deliver on its promise of making millions of vehicles delivered since 2016 capable of “unsupervised self-driving.”

I’m sure that the effort is going to result in improvements in FSD in customer vehicles later this year, but it won’t be to the level needed to achieve unsupervised self-driving without teleoperation, which again is not scalable.

If Tesla can get closer to 1,000 miles between critical disengagements, it would be nice, but 99% of the value of FSD lies in level 4-5 unsupervised self-driving, and we won’t be even close to that. And that’s what people paid for.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

BP takeover speculation heats up as UAE oil giant ADNOC enters the fray for gas assets

Published

2 hours ago

on

June 12, 2025

By

BP takeover speculation heats up as UAE oil giant ADNOC enters the fray for gas assets

BP logo is seen at a gas station in this illustration photo taken in Poland on March 15, 2025.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

UAE oil giant ADNOC has joined the fray of firms said to be circling some of BP‘s highly prized assets, as takeover speculation for the embattled energy major kicks into overdrive.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is thought to be weighing up a move for some of the London-listed firm’s assets, should the oil major break up or seek to divest more units, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

ADNOC is reportedly most interested in BP’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets, although it is also said to have considered a full takeover of the company. It is understood by Bloomberg that any prospective deal would likely take place via ADNOC’s international unit, XRG.

Spokespeople at BP, ADNOC and XRG declined to comment on the speculation when contacted by CNBC.

A protracted period of underperformance relative to its industry peers has thrust BP into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. British rival Shell, as well as U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are among some of the names that have been touted as possible suitors.

Any potential deal between ADNOC and BP is seen as far from a foregone conclusion, but analysts point out that the two companies share a long-standing relationship across hydrocarbons and renewables over a range of geographies, most notably in Abu Dhabi and most recently in Egypt.

Former BP CEO Bernard Looney, who left the company after less than four years in the job in September 2023, sits on the XRG board alongside ADNOC CEO Sultan al-Jaber.

Maurizio Carulli, global energy and materials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said ADNOC’s purported interest in some of BP’s assets is a “significant” development — albeit one that is somewhat expected, given ADNOC is a growing, cash-rich business looking to expand further into gas.

“That said, it seems unlikely that Adnoc would consider a full bid for BP as a whole given the company would not be strategically interested in BP’s oil assets. A few other listed oil majors might, though,” Carulli told CNBC by email.

“BP’s discrete assets, both upstream and downstream, will no doubt capture large interest from a number of both energy and private equity players,” he added.

Strategic reset

Last month, BP reportedly attracted interest from a number of possible buyers for its Castrol lubricants business, a unit thought to be one of the “crown jewels” of its portfolio.

Energy companies including India’s Reliance Industries and Saudi Arabia’s oil behemoth Aramco, as well as private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Lone Star Funds, were all previously touted as suitors for BP’s Castrol unit, Bloomberg reported on May 28, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apollo Global Management and Lone Star declined to comment on the report. CNBC has also contacted Reliance Industries and Aramco.

BP’s future is bright — if it can get through the next 6 months, analyst says

BP is seeking to fend off a prospective takeover by restoring investor confidence. The company launched a fundamental strategic reset earlier in the year and, despite posting weaker-than-expected first-quarter profit, CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC in late April that the firm was “off to a great start” in delivering on its new direction.

Shares of BP have stabilized in recent weeks, following a sharp fall in early April, as trade war volatility rocked financial markets. The stock price is down more than 4% in the year to date.

Allen Good, director of equity research at Morningstar, said it is unlikely BP will be prepared to split with significant pieces of its upstream portfolio, given the firm’s recent green strategy U-turn to double down on hydrocarbons.

Cars are seen at ADNOC gas station in United Arab Emirates on November 26, 2023.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

As part of BP’s strategic reset, the company announced plans to increase annual oil and gas spending to investment to $10 billion through 2027, while slashing spending on renewables. It is also targeting $20 billion in divestments over the coming years.

“Activist pressure has been more on further cost and capital reductions, not necessarily core divestitures. Breaking up the company is unlikely to be the solution shareholders are looking for,” Allen told CNBC by email.

‘A global energy and chemicals leader’

For XRG, which ADNOC launched last year, reports of interest in some of BP’s assets come as the investment company seeks deals on gas and chemicals assets to help it reach an enterprise value of $80 billion.

“We are committed to delivering long-term value for our stakeholders and reinforcing Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s role as a global energy and chemicals leader,” ADNOC’s al-Jaber said at the time.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and president of COP28, during the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said any potential transactions between ADNOC and BP were likely to be hard-driven, with each party striving to defend its own interests.

“BP is under pressure to deliver on its goal to reduce debt, through improved organic cash flow and asset disposals,” Mould told CNBC.

“ADNOC will be well aware of this, and how the clock may be ticking so far as BP management is concerned, and it will therefore look to drive a hard bargain in the process, should it indeed be interested in some of BP’s assets, as reports suggest,” he added.

Continue Reading

Environment

Chime prices IPO at $27 per share, valuing fintech company at $11.6 billion ahead of Nasdaq debut

Published

10 hours ago

on

June 11, 2025

By

Chime prices IPO at per share, valuing fintech company at .6 billion ahead of Nasdaq debut

Chime Visa Credit Card

Source: Chime

Chime priced its IPO at $27 per share on Wednesday, above the expected range, in an offering that values the provider of online banking services at $11.6 billion

The company raised roughly $700 million in the IPO, with another $165 million worth of shares being sold by existing investors. The stock is expected to begin trading Thursday under ticker symbol CHYM.

The offering comes after a years-long freeze in the fintech IPO pipeline, as rising interest rates and valuation resets kept many late-stage companies on the sidelines. The market has started to loosen. Trading platform eToro jumped 29% in its Nasdaq debut last month, and crypto company Circle popped after hitting the market last week.

Online lender Klarna, meanwhile, has delayed its IPO plans and last month reported steep quarterly losses.

Read more CNBC tech news

Chime’s decision to go public — even after a steep cut from its last private valuation of $25 billion — marks a major test of investor appetite for consumer-facing finance companies. SoftBank, Tiger Global, and Sequoia all invested in the 2021 round at Chime’s private market peak.

The company’s top institutional shareholders are DST Global and Crosslink Capital, which owned 17% and 9.5%, respectively, of shares before the offering.

Chime’s core business — offering no-fee banking services, debit cards, and early paycheck access — draws most of its revenue from interchange fees. The company competes in various areas with fintech incumbents PayPal, Square and SoFi.

Revenue in the latest quarter climbed 32% from a year earlier to $518.7 million. Net income narrowed to $12.9 million from $15.9 million a year ago.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are leading the IPO.

WATCH: Chime files to go public

Chime files to go public on NASDAQ under CHYM

Continue Reading

Trending