First drive – RBW’s electric Roadster is a sporty modern take on British classics
RBW, a British handcrafted electric car manufacturer, brought its cute little Roadster out to Santa Monica and invited us up for a drive.
RBW has built cars in the UK for a few years now, but is about to set up US manufacturing in Virginia. Along with that comes a version of its Roadster modified for the US market, and we got a sneak peek with a short drive in Santa Monica.
The RBW Roadster is a small, hand-built, retro-style EV, meant as a modern take on British classics. But it’s not an actual classic itself – it’s a newly-built vehicle, with a new body, modern safety features, and even some electronics, like CarPlay and Android Auto (but not much else – there’s no huge, cockpit-defining screen, just a 9″ one, with retro gauges in front of the driver. But it does have a backup camera!).
Our drive was short, just a quick trip up and down the most trafficky part of Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, without much chance to really stretch the vehicle’s legs. So we can’t verify range or tell you how it handles on the limits, but we can tell you about the basic controls and feel of the vehicle.
On a mostly smooth road, the car offered a comfortable ride dynamic. We didn’t get a sense of chassis noise because the top was down (which I surmised was an intentional effort by the company – I’ve used the same trick when showing off my car before).
The steering is tight and has a good weight to it, and the retro-style steering wheel felt great in my hands.
Of particular interest to me, as a long-time EV driver, is how the throttle pedal is tuned. Lots of EVs add some intentional delay or smoothing to throttle inputs, which ends up making the pedal feel mushy and indirect, reducing the control you have over the vehicle.
For reference, the cars I drive most often are the Tesla Roadster and Model 3, which both have excellent direct pedal feel.
And I’m happy to report that the RBW Roadster’s throttle pedal feels very similar to the cars I love to drive. The car feels quick, and responds exactly to what I want it to do, when I want it to do it. But it’s not excessively “punchy” like some of the more absurdly-powered EVs can be (like the Tesla Model S Plaid or the Macan Turbo S).
It does not, however, have off-throttle regenerative braking, aka one-pedal driving. Pressing the brake pedal engages regen, but letting off the throttle lets you simply coast. I personally prefer one-pedal driving, but one consideration RBW had is that since the car does not have traction control, regenerative braking on the rear axle (where the motor is) could potentially present a safety issue on slippery roads. So, fair enough I guess, but I still do prefer one pedal.
Speaking of pedals, the brake pedal was placed quite far from the accelerator. This is a plus and a minus – a minus because it’s quite different from most vehicles these days, where the pedals are placed closer, for ease of reaching them with your right foot. A plus because higher separation might reduce the chance of “crossing the pedals” and accidentally pressing both with the same foot in an emergency situation, and because it enables left-foot braking, which is generally better for performance driving… in the hands of a trained driver, anyway.
That said, this isn’t exactly a performance car. It’s fun, it’s responsive, but it’s not powerful. The version we tested had a 0-60 time of only around 9 seconds, so it didn’t give you the “throw your head back” feeling that so many EVs on the road these days do. It’s responsive, but not fast.
RBW says the American version will have more motor power than the UK version, but it’s still trying to figure out exactly how to tune it. This should bring 0-60 times down by about a second. But we can’t help but think that it would be nice with even a little more power than that, which we think should be possible given the car’s 50kWh battery and ~2,900lb weight, specs that are similar to my similarly-sized Tesla Roadster (as you can see below – along with the GT version of the RBW, on the right).
Here’s an issue: all the specs we were given seem extremely fluid. While talking to the company, I got several different numbers for any given specification. It seems to me like the company is still figuring out exactly what changes it will make for its US models.
This is somewhat to be expected of a small, hand-built manufacturer, especially since buyers can ask for certain modifications or personalizations (seat height, for example, which is important in a small car like this). But it does make it tough to write an article about it.
Nevertheless, the car drives well, and RBW seems to have gotten a lot right about the dynamics of the vehicle. It executes well on its goal – a fun, small British-style roadster, a great weekend car for those who have the means.
As for the means, the RBW Roadster will start in the $140-150k range, so it’s not cheap. But if you’re looking for something like this, it’s just about the only game in town, and it’s a good execution of the feel of a nimble roadster for weekend cruising.
RBW is currently taking $1,000 reservations for 2026 builds, and you can have a look at configurations (paint, roof, interior, wheels) over on its website.
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The latest automotive numbers in Europe were released for August, confirming that Tesla’s decline is continuing, but it has slowed down, with the company “only” being down 22%.
However, the most worrying part for Tesla is that it is happening while battery-electric vehicle sales were up 30% last month.
Tesla’s decline in Europe has been well-documented for the last two years, but it has accelerated significantly in 2025, with Tesla experiencing a monthly decrease of 30-40% year-over-year.
In somewhat good news for the company, the decline has slowed in August.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) released its report for sales in August 2025.
It confirms that Tesla delivered 14,831 vehicles in Europe (EU + EFTA + UK) in August 2025, down 22% from August 2024.
In comparison, the decline is not as alarming as previous months, but it now brings Tesla’s total deliveries year-to-date to 133,857 vehicles compared to 198,474 vehicles in 2024. That’s down -32.6%.
Where things start to get more alarming for Tesla is when you compare it to the broader EV market.
ACEA reports:
The YOY variation in August 2025 showed a rise of 30.2% for battery-electric and 14.1% for hybrid-electric cars, while plug-in-hybrid electric recorded its sixth consecutive month of continuous strong growth with a 54.5% increase.
Here are the results for August and year-to-date in EU + EFTA + UK:
Electrek’s Take
It should be alarming when the world’s biggest electric automaker sees its sales decline 22% in a market where electric vehicle sales are surging 30%.
There’s certainly something wrong that should be addressed.
However, Tesla is not addressing the issue. In fact, Elon Musk even outright dismissed it when asked about it a few months ago. He doesn’t have to, because he has convinced Tesla shareholders that EV sales no longer matter, and it’s about autonomous driving and robots.
Musk even commented on this ACEA report. Reuters published it and claimed that BYD outsold Tesla in the EU. Musk retweeted and commented on a post claiming that Reuters was misleading:
Reuters is not being misleading. BYD outsold Tesla 9,130 units to 8,220 units in the EU last month.
If they had said “Europe” rather than the EU, it would have been misleading, but they didn’t.
Tesla did outsell BYD in broader Europe, if you include EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) and the UK: 14,831 to 11,455 units.
Either way, I don’t know why he would want to get into that conversation whatsoever because in EU+EFTA+UK, BYD was up 215% last month compared to Tesla being down 22%.
Year-to-date, BYD is up 280% compared ot Tesla being down 32%.
At this pace, BYD is likely to outsell Tesla for the entire year, and the Chinese automaker is operating under tariffs in Europe, a market where it has only been present for about three years.
Elon has fully lost the plot.
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Hyundai Motor is recalling nearly 8,000 2023-2025 Genesis GV60 EVs due to a potential issue with the molding at the top of the windshield that may cause it to fall off.
Why is Hyundai recalling Genesis GV60 EVs?
After issuing a recall for nearly 600,000 Pallisade, IONIQ 5, and IONIQ 6 vehicles last week, you can add a few more to the list.
Hyundai is recalling certain 2023-2025 model year Genesis GV60 EVs due to a potential issue with the molding at the top of the windshield, which may peel or even detach while driving.
Those with impacted vehicles may hear a wind noise or whistling coming from the upper part of the windshield. After running internal tests, Hyundai found the issue was due to insufficient adhesion from the supplier.
Although no crashes or injuries were reported, Hyundai is aware of 112 reports of molding detachment from October 26, 2022, through August 8, 2025.
Hyundai has since fixed the issue and estimates that only 1% of the 7,855 Genesis GV60 EVs being recalled actually have the defect.
The company expects to mail owner notification letters on November 17, 2025. GV60 owners can contact Genesis customer service at 844-340-9741 with questions. Hyundai’s recall number is 028G.
Owners can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit NHTSA.gov for more information. The NHTSA campaign number for the recall is 25V624.
According to Cox Automotive, Hyundai sold 3,400 Genesis GV60 models in the US in 2023, 2,866 in 2024, and another 1,192 in the first half of 2025. So, that would be just about all Genesis GV60s sold in the US from 2023 through the first few months of 2025.
After dropping the Electrified G80 from its lineup earlier this year, Genesis now sells just two EVs in the US: the GV60 and Electrified GV70.
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Environment
What we know about Rivian software update 2025.34 including highway assist upgrades [Update]
![What we know about Rivian software update 2025.34 including highway assist upgrades [Update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Rivian-sofwatre-update-2025.34jpg.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
A new software update from Rivian was sighted earlier this month, and it’s being prepared for a full rollout to Gen 2 R1S and R1T EVs. The latest Rivian update includes upgrades to the American automaker’s Enhanced Highway Assist driving, more energy-conscious home charging capabilities, and a slew of other improvements outlined below.
Update September 25, 2025: Rivian has confirmed the details of software update 2025.34 outlined below. However, we still do not have a concrete timeline for when the update will roll out to current R1S and R1T owners.
Like most software-defined vehicles, Rivian models like the R1S and R1T receive periodic updates over-the-air (OTA). As a Rivian owner and an enthusiast, software updates are often exciting news to report on, as they usually result in new features or abilities to existing technology or enable various efficiencies (and bug fixes fixes, of course).
Over the past six months, we’ve seen updates like 2025.10, which rolled out to the public in early April, and 2025.14, which updated the BEV’s Highway Assist feature. In late May, RivianTrackr shared that software update 2025.18 was rolling out internally before launching wide to Rivian owners, and it was one of the more robust rollouts we had seen for a while.
Most recently, a similar site called RivianRoamer has reported on a new software update, 2025.34, which has already been spotted before it makes its way out to the public
Rivian software update adds new “Co-Steer” feature
Per reports, Rivian software update 2025.34 is in the works in a beta version before it inevitably makes its way to the community of R1S and R1T owners. That being said, please note that any of these listed features or improvements could change or be removed altogether before the update goes out wide.
The first notable upgrade pertains to the Enhanced Highway Assist ADAS in Gen 2 Rivian models. Right now, the pending software update will enable a new assist feature called “Co-Steer,” which will allow a driver to adjust their given position within a lane using “gentle steering inputs” without the Enhanced Highway Assist disengaging.
Speaking of Enhanced Highway Assist, Rivian shared that the availability of the ADAS feature has increased by up to 50%, particularly on urban and suburban highways. Lastly, the 2025.34 update includes a new perception model that improves lane centering performance, especially on curves.
Additionally, Rivian’s latest pending software update will allow your vehicle to automatically charge itself during off-peak times at your home when electricity is cheaper, ensuring your vehicle is ready when you need it.
According to the report, “smart scheduling” can cut annual home EV charging costs by 20% or more and increase your use of clean energy. You can enable this feature and monitor everything through your account in the Rivian app (version 3.5 or later).
Other updates and big fixes from 2025.34 (subject to change)
- Audio improvements (Gen 2 Rivian models)
- Fine-tuned equalization and delays to make the bass feel richer and more impactful
- Soundstage improvements for better localization, separation, and layering
- Improved blending of Dolby Atmos content for all listening positions
- Performance improvements
- Updated and improved media apps, including increased touchscreen responsiveness
- Improved Navigation stability and responsiveness
- Improved responsiveness to mobile commands while vehicle is asleep
- Resolved rare issue that prevented users from accepting the terms of service for Rivian Navigation with Google Maps
- Fixed issue that kept Gear Guard video thumbnails from displaying properly on the Motion Cam and Incidents screens
- Resolved rare issue where the tonneau cover position is displayed incorrectly on certain screens of Gen 1 R1T models
- Resolved rare issue that caused fog lights to turn off and exterior lights to revert to Auto mode (Gen 1)
- Fixed issue that caused trip energy and efficiency data to fluctuate unexpectedly
- Improvements to the accuracy of battery range on arrival estimates, including adding location air density as a factor for locations at higher elevations
- Resolved rare issue that prevented the door handles from presenting for an unlock request while Car Wash mode is active (Gen 2 EVs)
- Reduced excessive blower noise during climate control start-up in mild conditions while maintaining cooling performance in extreme temperatures (Gen 2 EVs)
- Fixed rare issue that caused cabin conditioning requests initiated from the Rivian mobile app to fail on the first attempt (Gen 2 EVs)
- Additional improvements for 12V battery health detection, including in-vehicle and mobile app notifications to alert you when the 12V battery needs to be replaced (Gen 2 EVs)
That’s all for now. As a reminder, the above release notes pertain to a beta version of the software update, and 2025.34 could be different when it reaches Rivian owners in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for it!
In the meantime, I recommend scheduling a test drive with Rivian if you haven’t done so yet. See if you can get behind the wheel of an upcoming R2. It’s a winner!
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