Foils aren’t necessarily a new technology. I remember taking a Hydrofoil passenger ferry from Hong Kong to Macau every few weeks when I lived in Asia in the late 90s. By knifing through the water rather than riding on top of it, the foils are much faster, more efficient and also, as a byproduct, are much smoother (no seasickness!).
How does that translate to the latest eFoil surf technology from Lift foil surfboards? The company flew me out to their Puerto Rican HQ, factory, and testing grounds to find out…
As a background, Lift is a Puerto Rican-based maker of foil surfboards and electric foil (eFoil) surfboards. From my snowboarding background, they are kind of like Burton was in the 90’s. The company is pushing the industry forward, not just for recreational ease and innovation but also at the professional sporting level.
The Lift5 board is a huge step in the development of eFoil boards, making setup and riding an extremely quick operation. Instead of a complicated mess of wiring hookups and assembly, the Lift5 2.2kW battery (smaller, less expensive batteries will be offered) just snaps in. It is the same with the mast and the electric foil wing, a few quick snaps and the board is together.
That brings the setup time down quite a bit to just a few minutes tops and makes assembly of the surfboard near the water so much easier.
That’s something else to consider. These electric surfboards can take the place of the much bigger, noisier, petroleum-powered jet skis for many uses. At a 30mph top speed, these can be used for around an hour and can fit in the trunk of a car rather than a trailer, which needs a boat dock. It’s a true game-changer in the world of personal water transportation.
Blowfish Accessory
Then consider the specialized inflatable “Blowfish” accessory (above) that not only makes training on a Lift eFoil easier but also opens up the platform for specialized activities like fishing, diving, and multiple-passenger travel. What’s great is that once you are on the Foil, the inflatable ring is out of the water and only affects the efficiency of travel slightly. Otherwise, it can operate like a little dingy boat and can be used to bring people back and forth from shore to bigger boats docked out at sea. Versatility is key here.
LIFT5
The LIFT5 represents a complete reimagining of eFoil technology, built from the ground up to enhance performance, user experience, and reliability. With a focus on surf-inspired innovation, the LIFT5 introduces:
All-New Design: A lighter, streamlined board featuring a double concave bottom for smooth touchdowns and sharper chine rails for crisp transitions.
Simplified Setup: Tool-free assembly with Lift Connect System (LCS) for effortless attachment of wings, mast, and propulsion.
Enhanced User Experience: Wireless connectivity, one-touch startup, and redesigned accessories like ergonomic board bags and a battery backpack.
Unmatched Safety: A robust double-walled battery with real-time monitoring, tilt detection, and water ingress prevention for maximum reliability.
“The LIFT5 is not just a progression, it’s a revolution,” said Nick Leason, Co-founder and CEO of Lift Foils. “We have taken everything we’ve learned over years of engineering, testing, and riding, and built the most refined eFoil yet. The LIFT5 is not only the quietest eFoil available, but it’s the first of its kind to come standard with a click-in battery, toolless and wireless assembly, and touch-free, integrated in-line cooling – an evolution of the liquid cooling technology we first introduced with the world’s first commercially available eFoil.”
LIFTX
There’s one more thing in this announcement, and with a nod to Apple’s naming, Lift also introduced the LiftX, which is a lighter, more professional sports board with a key retractable propeller technology that allows the rider to go from electric propulsion to wave/wind/pumping propulsion seamlessly. It is a true hybrid board.
The Lift foil surfboard experience (LiftX and Lift5)
As a background, I’ve never hydrofoiled in my life outside of the aforementioned boats. I have done some very basic surfing and skateboarding and am an avid snowboarder.
Lift first let us try out the Lift4 foil boards on a river with very little waves. Initially, they were outfitted with the blowfish attachment, which made the learning process more fun. Getting up on the board was super easy for my 50-year-old body, and I was standing on the Lift4 within minutes. From there, I experiemented with the speed controls that go from 0-15. At about 6 or 7, my 200lb body would start to lift the board out of the water and foil.
That experience is incredible. The bumping of the waves and the sound disappear almost entirely. You are floating above the water magically.
Interestingly, because the foil is so much more efficient, once you get out of the water, you not only speed up considerably, but you also require a lot less power to go the same speed. I was told that foiling takes half the energy of just cruising like a traditional board (and that is why you can ride on foils for so much longer than an electric surfboard or boat).
Foiling did take some getting used to but I did get up and stay up for quite some time on the river.
The next day we went onto the ocean using the new Lift5 boards and without the Blowfish. There was a steeper learning curve to get used to the changing dynamics. That said, I was able to get foiling within an hour of jumping on the Lift5. The challenge for me wasn’t turning necessarily but keeping the board flat in the water. Too much forward-leaning, and you’d push the front into the water. Leaning back too much and the foil pops out of the water in front of you. A little time is all one needs to figure out these dynamics.
I never got 100% stable in the 2 hours of training but I was so close. I will say this: I really wanted to play on these more and more as time ended. The foiling experience compared to riding on the waves is singular and I would say akin to the experience when sailing when you turn off the motors and just begin using the wind power. Magical.
Electrek’s take
What an experience! Lift’s whole vibe of being a proud Puerto Rican company building and developing its industry-leading products on the island just feels so right. The fact that the company is pushing this nascent industry forward is huge.
Sure, there are some drawbacks to foiling. The big price points – these new products are expected to retail for north of $12,000 – but also safety is a big concern. At 30mph top speed, these things are knifing through the water and could be dangerous to snorkelers or other swimmers in the area. Wildlife could also be impacted.
That said, Lift5 and LiftX represent huge innovations in the eFoil industry and coupled with accessories like Blowfish and leading edge controllers, snap-together assembly, and long-range integrated batteries, will make this the next big leap in the eFoil surfboard industry.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Over the next two years, homebuilder Lennar is outfitting more than 1,500 new Colorado homes with Dandelion Energy’s geothermal systems in one of the largest residential geothermal rollouts in the US.
The big draw for homeowners is lower energy bills and cleaner heating and cooling. Dandelion claims Lennar homeowners with geothermal systems will collectively save around $30 million over the next 20 years compared to using air-source heat pumps. Geothermal heat pumps don’t need outdoor AC units or conventional heating systems, either.
Geothermal systems use the sustained temperature of the ground to heat or cool a home. A ground loop system absorbs heat energy (BTUs) from the earth so that it can be transferred to a heat pump and efficiently converted into warmth for a home. Dandelion says its ground loop systems are built to last for over 50 years and should require no maintenance.
Dandelion’s geothermal system uses a vertical ground closed-loop system that is installed using well-boring equipment and trenched back into the house to connect to a heat pump. The pipes circulate a mixture of water and propylene glycol, a food-grade antifreeze, that absorbs the ground’s temperature. A ground source heat pump circulates the liquid through the ground loops and it exchanges its heat energy in the heat pump with liquid refrigerant. The refrigerant is converted to vapor, compressed to increase its temperature, then passed through a heat exchanger to transfer heat to the air, which is circulated through a home’s HVAC ductwork.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Daniel Yates, Dandelion Energy’s CEO, called the partnership with Lennar a “new benchmark for affordable, energy-efficient, and high-quality home heating and cooling.” By streamlining its installation process, Dandelion is making geothermal systems simpler and cheaper for homebuilders and homeowners to adopt.
This collaboration is happening at a time when Colorado is pushing hard to meet its clean energy targets. Governor Jared Polis is excited about the move, calling it a win for Coloradans’ wallets, air quality, and the state’s leadership on geothermal energy. Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, said that “ensuring affordable access to geothermal heating and cooling is essential to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and we’re excited to be part of such a huge effort to bring this technology to so many new Colorado homes.”
And it’s not just about cutting emissions – geothermal heat pumps help reduce peak electric demand. Analysis from the Department of Energy found that widespread adoption of these systems could save the US from needing 24,500 miles of new transmission lines. That’s like crossing the continental US eight times.
Colorado is making this transition a lot more attractive through state tax credits and Xcel Energy’s rebate programs. These incentives slash upfront costs for builders like Lennar, making geothermal installations more financially viable. The utility’s Clean Heat Plan and electrification strategy are working to keep energy bills low while meeting climate goals.
Now is a great time to begin your solar journey so your system is installed in time for those sunny spring days. If you want to make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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. –trusted affiliate partner
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Polestar has removed the Polestar 2 from its US website header in an early sign of how new tariffs will restrict choice and competition for American consumers, thus increasing prices.
The Polestar 2 is Polestar’s first full EV – the original Polestar 1 was a limited-edition plug-in hybrid.
It started production in 2020 in Luqiao, Zhejiang, China, where Polestar and Volvo’s parent corporation, Geely, was founded.
Unfortunately, that interacts with some news that has been getting a lot of play lately: tariffs.
The US has been gradually getting stupider and stupider on the issue of tariffs, apparently determined to increase prices for Americans and decrease the competitiveness of American manufacturing in a time of change for the auto industry.
It is widely acknowledged (by anyone who has given it a few seconds of thought) that tariffs increase prices and that trade barriers tend to reduce competition, leading to less innovation.
It started with 25% tariffs on various products from China, implemented in the 2018-2020 timeframe. Then, in 2024, President Biden implemented a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, effectively stopping their sale in the US. These tariffs included some exceptions and credits based on Volvo’s other US manufacturing, which Polestar had used to keep the most expensive versions of the 2 on sale in the US, while restricting the lower-priced versions from sale. Nevertheless, they were a bad idea.
Now, in yet another step to make America less competitive and inflate the prices of goods more for Americans, we got more tariff announcements today from a senile ex-reality TV host who wandered into the White House rose garden (which he does not belong in). These tariffs do not include the same exceptions as the previously-announced Biden tariffs.
Apparently this has all been enough for Polestar, as even in advance of today’s tariff announcements, the company suddenly removed its Polestar 2 from its website header today.
The change can be seen at polestar.com/us, where only the Polestar 3 and 4 are listed in the header area. On other sites, like the company’s Norwegian website or British website, the car is still there. The Polestar 2 page is still up on the US website, but it isn’t linked to elsewhere on the site (we’ll see how long it stays up).
We reached out to Polestar for comment, but didn’t hear anything back before publication. We’ll update if we do.
It makes sense that the Polestar 2 would still be for sale elsewhere, as it only started production in 2020. Most car models are available for at least 7 years, so this is an earlier exit than expected.
So it’s likely that all of the tariff news is what had an effect in killing the Polestar 2.
Then again, this is also just the second day of a new fiscal quarter. Perhaps the timing offers Polestar an opportunity to make a clean break – especially now that the lower-priced version of its Polestar 3 is available.
Despite the lower $67.5k base price of the new Polestar 3 variant, that represents a big increase in price for the brand, which had sold the base model Polestar 2 for around $50k originally, before all of these tariffs.
Update: Polestar got back to us with comment, but understandably, it doesn’t say much:
Polestar is a three-car company and Polestar 2 is available for customers now. There are a select number of Polestar 2s in stock at retailers that can be found on Polestar.com, but Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 will be the priority in the North American market.
Volvo decided to build the car in Belgium and export it to the US, but now that new tariffs apply to the EU as well, maybe that low-priced, awesome, fast, small EV will instead stay in Europe instead of being shipped overseas.
This shows how mercurial tariff fiats from an ignoramus are bad for manufacturing, as they mean that companies can’t make plans – and if they can’t make plans, eventually, they’ll probably just write the country making the random decisions out of their plans so they don’t have to deal with the nonsense.
And we’ve heard this from every businessperson or manufacturer representative we’ve talked to at any level of the automotive industry. Nobody thinks any of this is a good idea, because it objectively is not. All it does is make business harder, make the US less trustworthy, make things more expensive, and overall just harm America.
Yet another way that Americans are getting screwed by this stupid nonsense. 49% of you voted for inflation, and 100% of Americans are now getting it. Happy Inflation Day, everyone.
Charge your electric vehicle at home using rooftop solar panels. Find a reliable and competitively priced solar installer near you on EnergySage, for free. They have pre-vetted installers competing for your business, ensuring high-quality solutions and 20-30% savings. It’s free, with no sales calls until you choose an installer. Compare personalized solar quotes online and receive guidance from unbiased Energy Advisers. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Lucid Motors (LCID) has now had six straight quarters with higher deliveries. The delivery record comes just as Lucid prepares to begin delivering its first electric SUV, the Gravity, to customers by the end of this month.
Lucid sets sixth straight delivery record in Q1 2025
Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles in the first quarter, up 58% from last year and topping its previous record of 3,099 set in Q4 2024.
The company also produced 2,213 vehicles at its Casa Grande, Arizona, plant in the first three months of 2025, an increase of 28% from last year. Another 600 vehicles were in transit to Saudi Arabia, where they will be assembled at its new AMP-2 plant, Lucid’s first international manufacturing facility.
At this pace, Lucid will easily top the roughly 10,200 vehicles it delivered last year in 2025 at around 12,500. Lucid will likely see even more growth this year, with customer deliveries of its first electric SUV starting soon.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
During the Gravity SUV’s “celestial arrival” last week in NYC, Lucid’s interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said the EV maker is “nearly finished building all the vehicles that we wanted to build to put them into our studio and for test drives.”
Q4 2022
Q1 2023
Q2 2023
Q3 2023
Q4 2023
Full-year 2023
Q1 2024
Q2 2024
Q3 2024
Q4 2024
Full-year 2024
Q1 2025
Lucid EV deliveries by quarter
1,932
1,406
1,404
1,457
1,734
6,001
1,967
2,394
2,781
3,099
10,241
3,109
Lucid (LCID) EV deliveries by quarter 2023 to Q1 2025
Winterhoff added, “by the end of April, we will resume customer deliveries of the Gravity.” Lucid delivered the first models in December, but they were for employees, friends, and family.
Lucid calls the Gravity a “no compromise” SUV with a range of up to 450 miles, 120 cubic feet of interior space, advanced technology, and sports car-like performance. The Gravity Grand Touring starts at $94,900, while the Touring model will arrive later this year at $79,900.
Lucid Gravity Grand Touring in Aurora Green (Source: Lucid)
The new delivery record comes after Winterhoff told Fox Business last week that Lucid has seen a “dramatic uptick over the past two months” in orders from former Tesla drivers.
Currently, “50% of all the orders we have are from former Tesla owners,” Lucid’s CEO said. Winterhoff added that many are “looking for an option to not continue having a Tesla.”
Will we see the trend continue? Tesla announced earlier today that it delivered 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter, far less than the 390,000 Wall Street analysts expected.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.