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As we’ve been briefly mentioning the past month or so, we got an opportunity to attend the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show in… you guessed it, Shanghai. Aside from taking place in an event center larger than many cities in the US, this annual event featured some of the most advanced tech we’ve ever seen and a glimpse into the future of electric mobility as, a glimpse into the future of electric mobility, and well as some of the strangest yet entertaining design and presentation.

Table of contents

Reporting live from China (yes, right now)

It’s after midnight here local time, and after five days overseas, endless cups of coffee (and some Westlake tea), I can’t keep track of what day or time it is back in the States. So bear with me if my thoughts are a bit scattered. Just look at the pretty pictures, okay?

I’m sorry for the number of bystanders who photobombed most of these shots. A clean image of any BEV at the Shanghai Auto Show was impossible, given the number of people (primarily influencers and content creators) clamoring for the right angle and always managing to walk into Every. Single. Shot.

The recap is simple. Seth Weintraub and I walked the entire show, scoping everything out for you. Below, I have compiled images of some of the more noteworthy vehicles and adjacent technologies, sorted into four easy-to-follow groups: the interesting, the cool, the downright badass, and the weird. Let’s dig in.

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The Interesting

Buick and Nissan showcased some pretty sleek EVs for China

From a US perspective, Nissan is only beginning chapter two of its BEV journey. Chapter one was, of course, the long CHAdeMO-powered saga of the LEAF. The Ariya is quite adequate, but as we strolled around the floors of the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, the N7 caught our eye.

Its design is nothing groundbreaking but pretty sharp, and its front pixel illuminations below the headlamps are a lovely touch. Nissan also has several variants on display in some beautiful colors. I would love to see this one in the States.

Speaking of the US, Buick turned our heads with its Electra BEV lineup. The GM sub-brand has been selling BEVs in China for a bit now. Still, if some of the Electra models on display at the Shanghai Auto Show (like the SUV, Sedan, and GS Concept seen above) were to ever come to the US, they could perhaps help Buick become relevant again (Yes, Buick is irrelevant in the US, I said it, bring in the BEVs).

ZEEKR’s booth was packed with visitors and lineup of EV models

ZEEKR was one of the first Chinese automakers to hold a live event during day one of the Shanghai Auto Show, where it unveiled its new 9X MPV – it’s first ever PHEV. Like its BEV 009 counterpart, the 9X is an ultra-luxe multi-purpose vehicle with a giant rear screen and a mini fridge, not to mention new wheels.

But it’s a PHEV, so we found two more interesting things around ZEEKR’s floor. First was the number of models on display to auto show visitors. In addition to the 009 and 9X, ZEEKR showcased the MIX (which shares a lot of DNA with the Waymo BEV being developed for the US), the 001, 001FR, 007, 7X, X, and the recently unveiled 7GT.

Now remember that this Geely sub-brand was only founded four years ago. Wow.

The second thing we noticed was how grounded the ZEEKR area was all day in Shanghai. Many guests of the auto show explored each and every BEV inside and out, and there were plenty to peruse. Not to mention ZEEKR’s recently announced EV fast charger (more on that in a bit).

We got our first in-person look at NIO’s Firefly brand BEVs

We’ve been following the progress of NIO’s ultra-affordable Firefly sub-brand for three years now, so it was exciting to see the initial models in person during the Shanghai Auto Show. Honestly, there’s not much to say here except that they’re neat. Small, simple, unique—exactly what NIO set out to deliver.

The youngins’ of the show were all over these things, capturing tons of content. Given its size and affordability, Firefly could do well in Europe in addition to China if it can siphon some of NIO’s brand recognition.

Let’s move onto some stuff that we found to be slightly cooler.

The Cool

eVTOLs and flying cars aplenty

While this was the Shanghai Auto Show, there were no shortage of electric vertical, takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft prototypes, both scaled down and actual size. There were too many eVTOLs to count, but CATL’s (seen above) stood out because its CATL and it can actually innovate into reality.

Chery’s flying car/eVTOL combo was quite strange-looking but a cool idea nonetheless. The showstopper of the bunch, however, was the eVTOL/vehicle combo called the “Land Aircraft Carrier” from XPeng and AeroHT. I’ve been covering this thing for years, but this was my first time seeing it all in person.

I found the vehicle itself to be massive, but a tad underwhelming. It didn’t seem like a finished production-ready design to me yet, but I could totally be wrong. The eVTOL which can be stored onboard the vehicle was on display and completely unfolded. It looked awesome.

According to previous promises from XPeng, the Land Aircraft Carrier is supposed to reach production in 2026 and actually be delivered to Chinese customers. If and when that happens, I will be returning to China ASAP.

I didn’t know I wanted an iCAR V23 until this past week

I was at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show when I learned about iCAR for the first time. This is an all-electric subsidiary of Chery Automotive founded in 2023. These are fun, compact SUVs that look modular and hella customizable.

They’re almost like a more compact Chinese version of what Ford could have done with an all-electric Bronco, but I’m not salty about that at all. Instead, the V23 from iCAR has caught my gaze. They look so fun, I would love to own one of them in the US (except for one specific variant you’ll see below). What do you think?

We saw the Xiaomi SU7 in person, but where was the YU7 SUV?

If we weren’t already aware, Chinese tech manufacturing giant Xiaomi is moving fast after seemingly knocking it out of the park with its first-ever vehicle, the SU7. Xiaomi gives us a stinging feeling of what may have been if Apple had ever actually one day possibly maybe made an electric car.

Instead, we have Xiaomi – and I think the SU7 and SU7 Ultra are a lot sexier that anything Apple would have done. Usually, one is front and center, but Xiaomi kept it low-key in a smaller booth on the second level of the event center, displaying several colors of the SU7 variants.

Many surmise it was due to the recent unfortunate accident in a Xiaomi SU7 in China, killing three passengers. That’s understandable in virtually all degrees, but I wondered, “Where’s the YU7?” Xiaomi has already shared images of its second model, which will be an SUV, so I was disappointed I couldn’t see it in person, even if it had only been for display purposes only.

That new model is supposed to officially launch this summer.

On to the most exciting stuff we saw at the Shanghai Auto Show 2025.

The Downright Badass

ZEEKR’s 1,300 kW charger was on display (sorry no demos)

While it wasn’t doing any actual charging, ZEEKR’s presence at the Shanghai Auto Show also included its new 1,300 kW (1.2 MW) DC fast charger, announced less than a month ago.

“Sure, it’s just a picture of a non-functioning EV charger on a wall in Shanghai, so what?” What gets this EV tech onto our most badass list of Shanghai 2025 is its potential and what it represents. Most BEVs in the US can’t handle more than 250 kW of charging power, 350-400 kW tops.

Now we’re looking at 1,300 kW from ZEEKR?!? They don’t even make a BEV that can handle that much power. Even at a lower rate, ZEEKR and BYD have recently introduced charging technology that can finally deliver visits that resemble a gas station stop.

I also prefer that the charging technology is ahead of the BEV architecture and not vice versa. This is exciting stuff… at least for EV owners in China *begins to cry in a Rivian R1S Standard that tops out charging at 200 kW.

The Yangwang U9 stole the show as the most breathtaking BEV

This! This was the BEV that truly stole my heart at the Shanghai Auto Show. It’s sleek, sporty, sharp, and unique. It’s the U9 from BYD luxury sub-brand Yangwang. Like many of these Chinese vehicles that I have been covering for months or even years, this was the first time I got to see the U9 in person, and just wow.

Walking around, I saw a lot of copycat BEV designs around the halls, but not the Yangwang models. In my opinion, the U8 SUV is ugly, but at least it’s different. The U7 is super luxe and perfect for a long ride to the airport, but the U9 looks like a monster

We went toe-to-toe with XPeng’s Iron humanoid robot [Video]

XPeng makes our list again for live demonstrations of its humanoid robot, called “Iron.” As you can see from the video I captured below, Iron interacted with guests of the Shanghai Auto Show, waving and following their movements. Eerie times, but still badass as well.

Despite the technical accomplishments, it will likely be a while before we see an army of Iron robots building XPeng BEVs.

The Weird

Last but not least, here is some of the weirder stuff we saw walking around the Shanghai Auto Show. Some of it was cultural, some was experimental, but all of it was entertaining.

Fuzzy cars were aplenty at the Shanghai Auto Show

I’m not sure if this is a China thing, or perhaps adds to the appeal for content creators, but we spotted several fuzzy, furry, or diamond-studded models. Seth and I’s favorite was the hamster (or guinea pig?) themed MiniEV. At first we thought it was the shaggin’ waggin’ from Dumb and Dumber. “Chicks dig it!”

The new Firefly already modded out in the most obnoxious way

Remember everything I said about Firefly being simple and minimalist? They threw all that out the window with this body kit that is so over the top that I’d imagine Hot Wheels would even say to reel it back in a little. Universal, PLEASE put this in the final (maybe?) Fast & The Furious Film. PLEASE!

Shanghai Auto Show

BYD did something similar with this… thing

I have no words. A clear nod to Chinese history and culture in design. Cool idea for an auto show floor I suppose, but you’d never catch me in this vehicle.

Equal opportunity objectification at Shanghai Auto Show 2025

Something prevalent at the Shanghai Auto Show we don’t see at US shows anymore was females modeling in front of the cars. Aside from being a bit strange and awkward (The 12-foot teddy bear didn’t help), it was the fact that the models would find your lens and stare directly at it and for a second there you’re just lost.

Say what you will about using beautiful women to promote cars. Still, Chinese brand Baojin also had a handsome, muscular man up there, staring daggers into my soul as I tried to take a simple pic of the vehicle he was guarding over. See above.

Signing off from the Shanghai Auto Show

I have more thoughts, I’m sure, and perhaps I’ll add them later, but I am out of bad jokes and need to sleep. For now, at least. Stay tuned for more footage and impressions captured this past week during the Shanghai Auto Show

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Podcast: Trump/GOP go after EV/solar, Tesla, Ford, GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more

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Podcast: Trump/GOP go after EV/solar, Tesla, Ford, GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Trump’s Big Beautiful bill becoming law and going after EVs and solar, Tesla, Ford, and GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more

Today’s episode is brought to you by Bosch Mobility Aftermarket—A global leader and trusted provider of automotive aftermarket parts. To celebrate Amazon Prime Day July 8th through 11th, Bosch Mobility is offering exclusive savings on must-have auto parts and tools. Learn more here.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

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After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:

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Tesla prototype sparks speculation: a Model Y, maybe slightly smaller

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Tesla prototype sparks speculation: a Model Y, maybe slightly smaller

A new Tesla prototype was spotted again, reigniting speculation among Tesla shareholders, even though it’s likely just a Model Y, potentially a bit smaller, and the upcoming stripped-down, cheaper version.

Over the last few months, there have been several sightings of what appears to be a Model Y with camouflage around Tesla’s Fremont factory.

It sparked a lot of speculation about it being the new “affordable” compact Tesla vehicle.

There’s confusion in the Tesla community around Tesla’s upcoming “affordable” vehicles because CEO Elon Musk falsely denied a report last year about Tesla’s “$25,000” EV model being canceled.

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The facts are that Musk canceled two cheaper vehicles that Tesla was working on, commonly referred as “the $25,000 Tesla” in early 2024. Those vehicles were codenamed NV91 and NV92, and they were based on the new vehicle platform that Tesla is now reserving for the Cybercab.

Instead, Musk noticed that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y production lines were starting to be underutilized as the Company faced demand issues. Therefore, Tesla canceled the vehicles program based on the new platform and decided to build new vehicles on Model 3/Y platform using the same production lines.

We previously reported that these electric vehicles will likely look very similar to Model 3 and Model Y.

In recent months, several other media reports reinforced this, and Tesla all but confirmed it during its latest earnings call, when it stated that it is “limited in how different vehicles can be when built on the same production lines.”

Now, the same Tesla prototype has been spotted over the last few days, and it sent the Tesla shareholders community into a frenzy of speculations:

Electrek’s Take

As we have repeatedly reported over the last year, the new “affordable” Tesla “models” coming are basically only stripped-down Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

They might end up being a little smaller by a few inches, and Tesla may use different model names, but they will be extremely similar.

If this is it, which is possible, you can see it looks almost exactly like a Model Y.

It’s hard to confirm if it’s indeed smaller because of the angle of the vehicle compared to the other Model Ys, but it’s not impossible that the wheelbase is a bit smaller – although it’s hard to confirm.

Either way, the most significant changes for these stripped-down, more affordable “models” are expected to be cheaper interior materials, like textile seats instead of vegan leather, no heated or ventilated seats standard, no rear screen, maybe even no double-panned acoustic glass and a lesser audio system.

As previously stated, the real goal of these new variants, or models, is to lower the average sale price in order to combat decreasing demand and maintain or increase the utilization rate of Tesla’s current production lines, which have been throttled down in the last few years to now about 60% utilization.

If this trend continues, Tesla would find itself in trouble and may even have to close its factories.

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Ethereum is powering Wall Street’s future. The crypto scene at Cannes shows how far it’s come

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Ethereum is powering Wall Street's future. The crypto scene at Cannes shows how far it's come

Ethereum succeeded beyond anyone's expectations, says network co-founder Vitalik Buterin at EthCC

CANNES — Wall Street’s new plumbing is being built on Ethereum and this week its architects took over the same French Riviera villas and red carpet venues that host the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The Ethereum Community Conference, or EthCC, took over the beachside town that was swarming with crypto founders, developers, and some of the institutional giants now building atop the infrastructure.

The crypto elite climbed the iconic red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals — a cinematic landmark now repurposed as the stage for Ethereum’s flagship European event.

“The atmosphere this year was palpable in Cannes,” said Bettina Boon Falleur, the powerhouse behind EthCC for the past seven years. “The prestige of the location, combined with the quality of talks, has reinforced Ethereum’s stature and purpose in the wider ecosystem.”

Private parties sprawled across cliffside estates and exclusive resorts, but the conversations were less about price action and more about the blockchain’s evolving role as the back-end of global finance.

EthCC, now in its eighth year, has tracked Ethereum’s trajectory from scrappy experiment to institutional backbone.

“That impact was unmistakable this year,” Falleur said. “From Robinhood embracing decentralized finance infrastructure via Arbitrum to local governments like the City of Cannes exploring deeper integration with the crypto economy.”

Indeed, one of the boldest moves came this week from Robinhood, which became the first publicly traded U.S. company to launch tokenized stocks on-chain.

At a product showcase held inside a Belle Époque mansion overlooking the sea, Robinhood unveiled a sweeping new crypto strategy — including the ability for European users to trade tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs via Arbitrum, a Layer 2 network built on Ethereum.

The announcement helped push Robinhood stock past $100 for the first time, capping off a week of fresh all-time highs and a more than 30% rally since being snubbed by the S&P 500 during a recent rebalance.

Inside the Palais des Festivals, ETHCC draws founders, developers, and institutions into the same halls that host the world’s biggest film premieres — this time, for the future of finance.

MacKenzie Sigalos

Ether, the token native to the Ethereum blockchain, was up nearly 6% on the week and several public equities tied to the blockchain have rallied alongside it.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, a company that mines bitcoin, gained more than 1,200% since announcing it would make ether its primary treasury reserve asset. Bit Digital, which recently exited bitcoin mining to “become a pure play” ethereum staking and treasury company, gained more than 34% this week. And SharpLink Gaming, which added more than $20 million in ether to its balance sheet this week, jumped more than 28% on Thursday.

Ether ETF inflows are rising again too — a sign that institutional investors are warming back up.

Ether is still down more than 20% this year and lags far behind bitcoin in market cap and adoption. But funds tracking ETH have seen two straight months of mostly net inflows, according to CoinGlass data. Still, ether ETFs total just $11 billion — compared to $138 billion in bitcoin ETFs.

Institutions aren’t betting on Ethereum for hype — they’re betting on infrastructure.

Even as prices stall and the network faces headwinds from slower base layer revenues and faster rivals like Solana, the momentum is shifting toward utility.

“Ethereum is getting plugged into these core transactional systems,” Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at EY, told CNBC on the sidelines of EthCC. “Investors, savers, people moving money — they are going to start shifting from some of the older mechanisms of doing this into Ethereum ecosystems that can do these transactions faster, cheaper, but also very importantly, with significant new functionality attached to it.”

Crypto founders and developers climb the iconic red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals — a familiar backdrop for the Cannes Film Festival, now repurposed for Ethereum’s flagship European event.

MacKenzie Sigalos

Deutsche Bank recently announced it’s building a tokenization platform on zkSync — a faster, cheaper blockchain built on top of Ethereum — to help asset managers issue and manage tokenized funds, stablecoins, and other real-world assets while meeting regulatory and data protection requirements.

Coinbase and Kraken are also racing to own the crossover between traditional stocks and crypto.

Coinbase has filed with the SEC to offer trading in tokenized public equities, a move that would diversify its revenue stream and bring it into more direct competition with brokerages like Robinhood and eToro.

Kraken announced plans to offer 24/7 trading of U.S. stock tokens in select overseas markets.

BlackRock‘s tokenized money market fund, BUIDL — launched on Ethereum last year — offers qualified investors on-chain access to yield with redemptions settled in USDC in real time.

Stablecoins, meanwhile, continue to serve as the backbone of Ethereum’s financial layer.

Circle’s USDC — the second-largest stablecoin — still settles around 65% of its volume on Ethereum’s rails. According to CoinGecko’s latest “State of Stablecoins” report, Ethereum accounts for nearly 50% of stablecoin market share.

“The builders and contributors at EthCC aren’t chasing the next bull run,” Falleur said, “they’re laying the groundwork to make Ethereum home for the next billion users.”

Even as newer blockchains tout faster speeds and lower fees, Ethereum is proving its staying power as a trusted network.

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, told CNBC in Cannes that there is an assumption that institutions only care about scale and speed — but in practice, it’s the opposite.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin delivers a keynote at ETHCC, laying out the network’s next steps — and its values test — as institutional adoption accelerates.

EthCC

“A lot of institutions basically tell us to our faces that they value Ethereum because it’s stable and dependable, because it doesn’t go down,” he said.

Buterin added that firms often ask about privacy and other long-term features — the kinds of concerns that institutions, he said, “really value.”

Tomasz Stańczak, the new co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, said institutions are choosing Ethereum for the same core reasons.

“Ten years without stopping for a moment. Ten years of upgrades, with a huge dedication to security and censorship resistance,” he said.

He added that when institutions send orders to the market, they want to be “absolutely sure that their order is treated fairly, that nobody has preference, that the transaction actually is executed at the time when it’s delivered.”

Those guarantees have become increasingly valuable as stablecoins and tokenized assets move into the mainstream.

The Senate’s recent passage of the GENIUS Act, along with Circle’s IPO, gave the industry a regulatory tailwind and helped reinforce Ethereum’s role as the infrastructure layer for tokenized finance.

Ethereum’s core values — neutrality, security, and censorship resistance — are emerging as competitive advantages.

The real test now is whether Ethereum can scale without losing its values.

“We don’t just want to succeed,” Buterin said from the mainstage of the Palais this week. “We want to be something that is worthy of succeeding.”

He said the hope is that future generations will look back and see a network that truly delivered openness, freedom, and permissionless access to the masses.

White-clad guests dance poolside at the rAAVE party in Cannes.

MacKenzie Sigalos

But the week didn’t end in the conference halls, it closed with tradition. On the balcony of Villa Montana, overlooking the Bay of Cannes, the rAAVE party lit up.

White-clad guests sipped cocktails as the DJ spun by the pool, haze curling from smoke machines.

This year, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov and DeFi icon Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, stood atop the balcony overlooking the crowd and the light-dotted skyline of Cannes.

It was a fitting snapshot of the momentum behind Ethereum’s institutional rise and symbolic of Web3’s shift from niche experiment to financial mainstay.

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