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The SONDORS electric bicycle company infamously went bankrupt in 2023, yet it now appears to be attempting a rise from the ashes. The company’s founder and former CEO Storm SONDORS is back at the helm and pre-selling a new electric motorbike with a somewhat familiar name – the Meta AT.

But will riders be once bitten, twice shy?

SONDORS originally burst onto the scene way back in 2015 – the early days of the US e-bike scene – by offering a $500 fat tire electric bike via a crowdfunding campaign. Many called it a scam after the company was late to deliver, and the bikes that did eventually arrive didn’t quite live up to some of the loftiest claims, but the company did ultimately deliver. In the nearly decade afterward, SONDORS continued following that same game plan: promising the moon for an unbelievably low price, then delivering something that was almost what they’d claimed and almost on time. But they always delivered.

At least, until they didn’t.

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After finding success in the electric bicycle market, SONDORS ratcheted things up in 2021 with a groundbreaking design for a light electric motorcycle known as the Metacycle. But that’s where the wheels started to fall off the proverbial e-bike.

The project significantly overran its timeline and ultimately delivered just shy of 2,000 bikes that didn’t quite live up to their originally promised specs. Over several months, the deliveries began slowing to a trickle and ultimately ceased. More on that in a moment. For now though, the important thing to note is that was one of the key pieces that led to the company’s undoing (though some would say an expansion of SONDORS’ electric bicycles into big box stores forced tighter profit margins and didn’t help things either). Ultimately, SONDORS eventually overran its cash supply and failed to make payments to suppliers, prompting the company’s bankruptcy and entering into receivership.

That brings us to today, with Storm Sondors now telling Electrek that he has managed to buy the company back out of receivership and, with it, has launched the new Meta AT. Unlike the street-ready Metacycle, the new Meta AT is an off-road electric motorbike intended to compete with Sur Ron, Talaria, and other light electric dirt bikes.

The 4 kW peak-rated motor claims a top speed of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) and a range of up to 60 miles (96 km) from the bike’s 2.5 kWh lithium battery. Long travel front and rear suspension combined with extra knobby tires position the Meta AT for trail riding and general off-road shenanigans, which are familiar territory for Sur Ron riders.

While the bike is not street-legal, SONDORS will offer a “Street Legal Kit” including mirrors, lighting, and other components. It is unclear how far this will go toward true road-legal compliance. The company walks that tightrope by recommending that riders should “check with your local registration laws and authorities, as regulations vary by location.”

And with its claimed MSRP of $4,200 marked down to just $2,299 for those brave customers prepared to pay in full months ahead of production or delivery, SONDORS appears to be sticking to its low-cost pre-order playbook of “pay now and trust us that you’ll ride later.” Again, that always worked in the past, at least until it didn’t.

To some, the new bike and the offer it presents sounds dubious, at best. As SONDORS’ marketing emails went out, more than a few forwarded emails landed in my inbox from people expressing a range of emotions from confusion to shock to downright anger. With at least 500 paying customers having been left without Metacycles (plus an unknown number of SONDORS electric bicycle customers left out to dry), a SONDORS revival was bound to raise a few eyebrows… or furrow them.

And so to try and learn more about what happened since the big breakdown, and what could happen next with this supposed new Meta incarnate, I went straight to the source. I reached out to Storm Sondors, and wouldn’t you know it, he actually answered.

As I peppered him with questions, to his credit, he was quite forthcoming. He genuinely seems to express remorse for what happened at the end of SONDORS original run and explained that he has been “working relentlessly to find a resolution for those remaining backers.” The sentiment is nice, but it doesn’t make anyone whole again and there doesn’t yet appear to be any solid recourse in the works.

As for what went wrong at the end, Storm shared with me what he says is a list of payments totaling over US $11 million to the Chinese factory that produced the Metacycle. This helps corroborate much of the backstory that led to an expose I wrote in 2023 after I finally found an inside source at the factory, further illuminating a major disagreement between SONDORS and the factory it contracted to build its Metacycles.

As the factory told me back then, after several rounds of Metacycle production, Storm placed a large deposit for another major production round, which the factory used to buy thousands of components to build the bikes and prepare a new production line. But when financial problems hit SONDORS, he failed to pay the balance on existing production runs, which left hundreds of finished Metacycles gathering dust in the factory’s warehouse in China.

sondors metacycle motorcycle in factory
Hundreds of Metacycles still sit in a Chinese factory warehouse awaiting payment

Storm showed me a spreadsheet of payments he made to the factory and explained that he asked the factory to shift his deposit for future production towards paying off the balance on existing production, which would have allowed him to take receipt of hundreds of completed Metacycles. The factory says they resisted as the money had already been spent on components, additional staff, and tooling up a new production line, all to help accommodate SONDORS’ major new production order. Shifting the payment would have been a breach of contract, the factory claimed, and would have left them out millions of dollars without a guarantee that future production they have already begun investing in would ever be paid for.

The two parties have been at loggerheads ever since, and Storm shared that he has attempted to rope in QS Motors, a major Chinese manufacturer and the parent company of the factory that produced the Metacycle, into “stepping in to resolve this matter urgently for the benefit of SONDORS Metacycle customers.”

At this point, it doesn’t appear that either party has budged. Storm continues to say “I paid!” while holding up over US $2 million in deposit receipts, and the factory continues to say “Yes, but not for these bikes, you didn’t.”

That leaves the old SONDORS in a stalemate, with no resolution in sight. But that hasn’t stopped the newly reborn SONDORS from pushing forward with its Meta AT launch. “The Meta AT is a different machine entirely,” Storm explained. “Smaller, lighter, and built to be more agile. It leans toward the off-road category with a price and performance level that opens it up to a much wider audience. Yes, it’s intentionally closer to the Sur Ron segment, but with SONDORS styling and ride experience.”

With a lower performance, less complicated, and even less legal motorbike than the original Metacycle, the barrier for production will certainly be lower this time, but will that be enough to win over skeptical riders?

Storm thinks so, and claims to have received over 7,400 Meta AT reservations “through private channels, with early access offered to those individuals.” The bikes are now available to the public for pre-order through an Indiegogo campaign, which currently shows 36 backers. Storm says reservations are “converting in stages. As they do, you’ll see the numbers reflected on the campaign page.”

I asked Storm if he was worried about riders trusting SONDORS after the company’s abrupt closure in 2023. For him, there wasn’t any question. “I created this category. Before SONDORS, there was no mass market for electric bikes – now there is. I’ve shipped hundreds of thousands of units. I’ve built the factories, the tooling, the supply chains. This isn’t a side hustle or a new idea. This is what I do. And the Meta AT is the best machine I’ve ever built. You can question the industry. You can question the hype. But don’t question whether I deliver. I always have.”

And he’s right. SONDORS did always deliver. Until it didn’t.

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Lucid’s Gravity SUV just smoked the Corvette Z06 to 150 mph

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Lucid's Gravity SUV just smoked the Corvette Z06 to 150 mph

Lucid’s electric minivan can outsprint the Chevy Corvette Z06, and it has more interior space than a Ford Explorer. Is the Lucid Gravity really the “ultimate uncompromising SUV?”

Lucid Gravity SUV is faster than a Corvette Z06

Lucid’s electric SUV is impressive inside and out. The Gravity provides up to 450 miles of driving range, ultra-fast charging (200 miles in under 11 mins), and it even offers up to 120 cubic feet of cargo space. That’s more than the Ford Explorer (87.8 cu ft).

It’s also faster than most sports cars. The Grand Touring trim has up to 845 hp, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.4 seconds, but the Dream Edition takes it to another level.

Powered by dual electric motors, the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition boasts 1,070 hp. To see how Lucid’s minivan stacks up against the competition, Car and Driver nabbed one for testing.

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On the test track, the Lucid’s minivan covered a quarter-mile in just 10.6 secs, beating a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to 150 mph by nearly three seconds.

According to Car and Driver, the Gravity didn’t just impress in the quarter-mile, “it was a beast in every acceleration metric.” Lucid’s SUV hit 30 mph in 1.4 seconds, 70 mph in 3.7 secs, and topped 100 mph in just 5.9 seconds.

Lucid's-SUV-Corvette-Z06
Lucid Gravity Grand Touring (Source: Lucid)

Dave Vanderwerp, the testing director who took the Gravity for a spin, said the electric SUV “gets a sort of second wave of thrust starting around 60 mph.”

With a quarter-mile of just 10.6 secs, Lucid’s Gravity is the fastest SUV they have ever tested, beating out the Rivian Tri-Motor Max (11.1 secs), BMW iX M60 (11.5 secs), and Mercedes-AMG EQE53 SUV.

Lucid-Gravity-SUV
Lucid Gravity (Source: Lucid)

Although the Rivian’s 850 hp R1S Tri-Motor beat the Gravity to 60 mph, Lucid’s SUV sprinted ahead in the quarter-mile, traveling nearly 20 mph faster.

It was also faster than gas-powered super SUVs, including the Lamborghini Urus Performante (11.2 secs) and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT (11.2 secs). However, they have yet to test a Tesla Model X Plaid, so that could change the game.

Lucid Gravity Dream Edition vs Audi RS Q8 Performance, Range Rover Sport SV, Porsche Macan Turbo Electric, Rivian R1S Quad, and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (Source: Hagerty)

In what it called the “1,000 hp mom missiles” drag race, Hagerty recently pitted the Gravity Dream Edition against the Audi RS Q8 Performance, Range Rover Sport SV, Porsche Macan Turbo Electric, Rivian R1S Quad, and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.

The result was a three-way tie between Lucid’s Gravity, the Porsche Panamera Turbo, and Rivian R1S Quad hitting the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds.

The Lucid Gravity is available to order starting at $94,900 in the US. Later this year, Lucid is launching the lower-priced Touring trim, priced from $79,900.

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EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May

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EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May

Solar provided over 11% of total US electrical generation in May, while wind + solar produced over one-fifth, and the mix of all renewable energy sources generated nearly 30%, according to data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Solar continues to set new records

Solar continues to be the fastest-growing source of US electricity, according to EIA’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through May 31, 2025), which the SUN DAY Campaign reviewed.

In May alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar (>1-megawatt (MW)) increased by 33.3% year-over-year, while “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV increased by 8.9%. Combined, they grew by 26.4% and provided over 11% of US electrical output during the month.

For the first time ever, the mix of utility-scale and small-scale solar produced more electricity than wind: solar – 38,965 gigawatt-hours (GWh); wind – 36,907-GWh.

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Moreover, utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 39.8% while that from small-scale systems rose by 10.7% during the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 31.1% and was nearly 8.4% of total US electrical generation for January to May – up from 6.6% a year earlier.

Solar-generated electricity easily surpassed the output of US hydropower plants (6.1%). Solar now produces more electricity than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined.

Wind is also on the rise in 2025

Wind produced 12.2% of US electricity in the first five months of 2025. Its output was 3.9% greater than the year before, almost double that produced by hydropower.

During the first five months of 2025, electrical generation by wind + utility-scale and small-scale solar provided 20.5% of the US total, up from 18.7% during the first five months of 2024. Solar + wind accounted for nearly 21.5% of US electrical output in May alone.

During the first five months of this year, wind and solar provided 26.2% more electricity than coal, and 15.4% more than US nuclear power plants. In May alone, the disparity increased further when solar + wind outproduced coal and nuclear power by 55.7% and 22.1%, respectively.

All renewables produced almost 30% in May

The mix of all renewables – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal – produced 9.7% more electricity in January to May than they did a year ago (7.6% more in May alone) and provided 28.1% of total US electricity production compared to 26.5% 12 months earlier.

Electrical generation by all renewables in May alone provided 29.7% of total US electrical generation. Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second only to that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 5.9% during the month.  

“Solar and wind continue to grow, set new records, and outproduce both coal and nuclear power,” said Ken Bossong, the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director. “Consequently, the ongoing Republican assault against renewables is not only misguided and illogical but also a good example of shooting oneself in the foot.”

Read more: FERC: Solar + wind made up 96% of new US power generating capacity in first third of 2025


The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. 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. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% 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.

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Podcast: Tesla’s disturbing earnings, self-driving challenge, solid state batteries, and more

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Podcast: Tesla's disturbing earnings, self-driving challenge, solid state batteries, 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 Tesla’s disturbing earnings, a new self-driving challenge, solid-state batteries, and more.

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.

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:

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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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