Starting off today’s Green Deals is Anker’s SOLIX winter sale that will be running through the rest of the week and taking up to 56% off units, including the bundle on the F2000 Portable Power Station with a backup transfer switch for your circuit breaker at $1,449, among many others. We also have Lectric switching up its New Year savings after the recent flash sale ended, with its newest XPeak 2.0 Off-Road e-bikes and the XPedition 2.0 Cargo e-bikes seeing the biggest free gear packages up to $654 – all starting from $1,399. We also spotted the EGO Power+ 15-inch POWERLOAD Carbon Fiber Split-Shaft String Trimmer dropping to $179, with a roundup of the select discounts on other tools. Lastly, while it is not a “green technology,” Orbit’s Velo Advanced Bike Tracker can certainly be used to always know where your e-bike is – all at a $35 Amazon low. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals are in the links at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Rad Power e-bike sale offers, and more.
Anker SOLIX winter sale bundles F2000 LiFePO4 power station with backup transfer switch at $1,449
Anker has launched a SOLIX winter sale through January 26 that is giving folks up to 56% off its lineup of popular power stations, with a particular bundle unavailable elsewhere. You can score the brand’s F2000 Portable Power Station bundled with a transfer switch for your circuit breakers at $1,449 shipped. Down from the bundle’s normal $2,448 price tag, we only saw it fall lower once before during the short-term Cyber Monday sale when it was $50 less, with it otherwise keeping above $1,500. The 41% markdown here is striking $999 off the price tag for the second-lowest price we have tracked, which is all the better considering the discounted power station alone costs $1,099 (matching at Amazon) and the transfer switch would run you $449, saving you nearly $100. You also won’t find this combo outside of Anker, with it being unavailable most days at Amazon.
Whether you’re prepping to handle sudden blackouts over winter or just stocking up for adventures away from home, Anker’s SOLIX F2000 has your back with its 2,048Wh LiFePO4 capacity and 2,400W output power (surging up to 3,600W to tackle higher-power appliances). There are 12 versatile output ports to utilize here, including an exclusive RV port for those traveling by way of a motor home. It can reach an 80% battery recharge in 1.4 hours after being plugged into a standard wall outlet, or you can connect it to its 1,000W maximum solar input to get the same amount of juice in up to 2.5 hours. You’ll also get extra efficiency built right in as the smart AC ports work with its internal systems to switch into a power-saving mode for energy conservation that extends its lifespan and prevents waste.
If you’re grabbing the package with the included transfer switch, you’ll gain the addition of hooking the F2000 up directly to your breaker to cover up to six circuits, each rated for up to 15A single-pole. It even comes pre-wired for easier installation, with Anker assuring that there’s “no need to hire an electrician.”
More Anker SOLIX winter sale F2000 home backup bundles:
Anker SOLIX winter sale F2000 solar generator bundles:
Lectric’s latest XPeak 2.0 and XPedition 2.0 e-bikes are getting up to $654 in free gear starting from $1,399
Lectric’s flash sale has ended, and the brand’s New Year sale is switching around prices on its e-bike bundles, with its two newest models holding some of the biggest packages of free gear for the time being. You’ll find the latest releases, the XPeak 2.0 Off-Road e-bikes getting packages we last saw during their November releases, with the standard High-Step and Step-Thru models getting $316 in free gear at $1,399 shipped, while the Long-Range High-Step and Long-Range Step-Thru models come with $365 in free gear at $1,599 shipped. These bundles would normally run you $1,715 and $1,964, respectively, with them only beaten out by the short-term $404 packages we saw recently.
Coming in two colorways, Lectric’s four XPeak 2.0 e-bikes arrive with significant upgrades from the previous model, like the new torque sensor that pairs with the brand’s PWR+ tech for even more responsive PAS, which works alongside the 750W Stealth M24 rear hub-motor (which peaks at 1,310W) to support riders up to a max speed of 28 MPH. The standard models’ 15Ah semi-integrated battery provides a travel range of up to 60 miles on a full charge, while the long-range models’ new 20Ah battery extends that range up to 80 miles.
These e-bikes also come with structural upgrades, including a new hydroformed aluminum frame, a higher-end RST Renegade front suspension fork with blacked-out fork stanchions for a much sleeker and stealthier look, as well as lock-on hand grips, a larger 203 mm front disc for the hydraulic mineral oil brakes – plus, a new color LCD too. Continued features include the 8-speed Shimano Altus derailleur, puncture-resistant knobby tires, hidden cable routing, accessory mounting points, removable pedals, and a thumb-throttle for pure electric riding. With the included bundle packages, you’ll also have the option to add on a rear cargo rack, fenders over both wheels, an Elite 850-lux headlight, an accordion-style folding bike lock, and a suspension seat post for more comfort when heading off the beaten path.
Lectric’s new XPeak 2.0 standard e-bikes with $316 in free gear:
Lectric’s new XPeak 2.0 long-range e-bikes with $365 in free gear:
Lectric’s new XPedition 2.0 13Ah e-bike with $326 in free gear
Lectric’s new XPedition 2.0 26Ah e-bike with $505 in free gear
Lectric’s new XPedition 2.0 35Ah e-bike with $654 in free gear
While the other e-bike packages have mostly shrunk in size, you can still take advantage of the savings that do exist to score some solid add-on accessories for them by heading to the landing page here.
This EGO Power+ 15-inch carbon fiber split-shaft string trimmer replaces broken lines with button press at $179
We just spotted the EGO Power+ 15-inch POWERLOAD Carbon Fiber Split-Shaft String Trimmer with a 2.5Ah battery at Amazon for $179 shipped. Normally this tool would cost you $250 at full price, with discounts often keeping things at $199 or higher. Today’s deal brings you a 28% markdown that saves you $71 off the going rate while it is down among its lowest prices – just $6 above the all-time low from March.
This string trimmer from EGO Power+ comes designed for far easier and more convenient use around the home, equipped with the brand’s POWERLOAD tech that automatically winds your trimmer so that you can simply replace broken strings with the push of a button. It also comes sporting a carbon fiber shaft (that can also be separated to switch out with another attachment) for increased durability while providing a 15-inch cutting swath. What’s more, unlike other models, this one comes compatible with all of the brand’s EGO ARC batteries making it far more easy for folks with varying sizes to utilize all that they have – with the included 2.5Ah battery providing a 30-minute runtime here. Head below for more.
Other notable EGO Power+ deals:
Orbit’s discreet Velo advanced bike tracker with Apple Find My integration falls to $35 Amazon low
As a bicyclist, one of my biggest fears is losing my ride to theft or my own incompetence, but we just spotted the perfect support for those concerns with the Orbit Velo Advanced Bike Tracker at $34.63 shipped from reputable seller Bike A Mile at Amazon. Normally going for $40 in full, since 2023 it’s been seeing only trickles of savings, with the steepest drop being to the $35 low back in April. Today though, that price is getting beaten out here for a new Amazon low.
Bike security is a growing concern – especially for e-bike riders – but this tracker from Orbit should put your mind at ease thanks to the Apple Find My integration. It comes with specialized bolts and a unique tool thereby ensuring a solid attachment to either the bottle cage mount or below your bottle cage – plus, it has a IPX6 waterproof design so don’t worry about it splashes or even heavy rain you may get caught in. On that note – while it is designed for standard bikes, it can be placed on many e-bike models on the market – just be sure yours has screw points on the appropriate spot. After its secure, you’ll enjoy “up to 3 years of tracking with a replaceable battery.”
Heybike Mars 2.0 Folding Fat-Tire e-bike with free gear: $999 (Reg. $1,499)
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’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?
Musk had previously claimed that v13 would enable “a 5 to 6x increase in miles between disengagements compared to v12.5.”
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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.
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.
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BP logo is seen at a gas station in this illustration photo taken in Poland on March 15, 2025.
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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 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.
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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.
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 eTorojumped 29% in its Nasdaq debut last month, and crypto company Circle popped after hitting the market last week.
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.