We’ve known for years that the electric truck maker Rivian has been working on smaller, two-wheeled electric vehicles. After spinning out a micromobility startup, ALSO, to develop and market the vehicles, we’ve been counting the days until the company’s apparent unveiling next month. But now the wait may be over early as leaked images reveal the e-bike expected to be unveiled by the new electric startup.
The images come from a behind-the-scenes marketing video released by ALSO, sharing their eclectic, bohemian approach to filming what appears to be their big upcoming launch video. In a cheeky move, they included several scenes with the unreleased model, though they blurred the bike beyond recognition.
Apparently, they weren’t quite cheeky enough, though, as when I scrubbed frame-by-frame through the video, I could see multiple frames with partial images of the bike and at least five frames that fully reveal the bike before the censoring effect was added in the editing stage.
The images show a silver-colored electric bike with what appear to be 20″-ish wheels, front and rear suspension, and a large enclosure above the bottom bracket, giving the bike an appearance somewhere between a traditional electric bicycle and a more modern moped or motorbike.
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A large rear rack hovers over the rear wheel, seemingly disconnected from the rear, further strengthening the argument that the blurry chainstay is actually a rear swingarm providing full suspension. The front suspension appears to be an inverted fork, which would usually indicate a higher tier of componentry.
It’s unclear if the battery is removable, but if so, it may be the shoe-sized protuberance at the front of the enclosure. A large headlight approximately matching the proportions of one seen in ALSO’s teaser videos can be seen on the bike’s headtube, conveying a bit of the Rivian design theme that still runs through ALSO’s veins.
The images reveal the likely physical design of the bike, speaking to a unique frame and comfort-oriented, higher-end road-worthy components. But what we can’t see from these images is the tech that has gone into the bike, which is likely to be substantial considering the support that ALSO receives from electric automaker Rivian’s engineering prowess.
The current video, now available on the company’s blog page, appears to have the frames in question removed, potentially revealing that the company has since discovered the mistake and updated the video to remove the incriminating frames. Whoops.
Electrek’s Take
Well, this is interesting. I feel a bit bad spoiling the launch, but I don’t work for ALSO, I work for my readers. And the details we get here are fascinating. ALSO, there is so much more to the story of this e-bike.
It definitely looks like ALSO went with an innovative design approach, which we were all expecting. This isn’t some run-of-the-mill electric bike with a pile of parts selected à la carte from a catalog. This looks like a purpose-built commuting machine, which is exactly what ALSO said they were trying to do from the beginning – to build new vehicles.
That being said, I’m a bit worried about the path to profitability for ALSO with a bike like this. Assuming this is a street-legal Class 3 e-bike, which would seem likely as we can see bicycle pedals in multiple frames, then this is going to be a high-end (i.e., expensive) bike that requires pedaling to reach 28 mph (45 km/h), or could perhaps be throttle-limited to 20 mph (32 km/h). The throttle would be a good bet for a bike launched in the US, since if it doesn’t have a throttle, then story over. It’s dead on arrival. Thank you for playing, ALSO. Sorry, Americans just don’t buy throttle-less electric bikes en masse.
The bike’s design shows that it uses a lot of custom componentry, and the fact that it is also likely brimming with neat, innovative technology from ALSO’s engineering team further pushes that price tag up. I love that ALSO has taken their own approach and built something unique. But what scares me is that this smacks of VanMoof, CAKE, and other premium electric two-wheeler companies that ultimately folded. They, too, came in with big funding, tech-forward innovation, and slick-looking designs. None of that prevented their ultimate demise (though yes, I know they are both brands are now clawing their way out of bankruptcy under new ownership).
And it’s not that bikes like those from VanMoof and CAKE weren’t good. They were great – at least with service issues from VanMoof aside. They were full of refreshing innovation. It’s what made them special. But it’s also what made them expensive, pricing them out of accessibility for the masses and leaving them unable to sustain the burn rate of startups carrying large payrolls. And even in those cases, the companies had the advantage of launching in Europe, a market where riders are accustomed to spending thousands of dollars more on their bikes and using them as true car replacements.
But the US isn’t Europe. There’s a reason that the best-selling electric bike in the US is a $999 folding e-bike from a scrappy, lean startup that rose to become the largest e-bike company in the US while carrying a fraction of the workforce of the bigger guys. Lectric eBikes taught Americans that good e-bikes could cost less than a grand and get them anywhere in their city without breaking the bank. Sure, ALSO’s bikes will be nicer. But will they be 4-5x nicer?
It’s impossible to say how much ALSO will charge, but I’d bet we’re looking at a bike that falls somewhere in the $3.5-5.5k ballpark. The lower end of that range would mean ALSO knows it can’t price out its customers or it won’t succeed. The higher end of that range would mean the company is basically competing against premium e-bike brands like Riese & Müller. But the problem is that premium brands have been leaving the US because the market just isn’t there, at least not for the volume to make them sustainable.
And perhaps that’s ok for ALSO. Maybe the deep pockets from Daddy Rivian mean that ALSO can float for years without making a profit, helping them roll out more models in wider price ranges across multiple styles and markets. It’s too soon to tell and I’m basing this conjecture on a few pixelated screengrabs from a quirky behind-the-scenes video shoot.
But hey, we’re barely a month away from finding out for sure. I’ll see you guys back here on October 22nd with hopefully as many answers as we still have questions.
Note: AI seems to have wanted to replace the belt with a chain and added a derailleur that isn’t really there…
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Texas-based tuning firm Vigilante 4×4 is known for its wild, high-horsepower Jeep SJ Hemi restomods – but they’re more than just a hot rod shop. To prove it, they’ve developed a bespoke, all-electric skateboard chassis designed to turn the classic Jeep Grand Wagoneer into a modern, desirable electric SUV.
The scope of the Vigilante 4×4 electric chassis project is truly impressive. More than just a Jeep SJ frame with an electric drive train bolted in, the chassis is a completely fresh design that utilizes precise 3D scans of the original SJ Wagoneers, Grand Wagoneers, and J-Trucks to establish hard points, then fitted with low-slung battery packs to give the electric restomods superior weight balance, a lower center of gravity, and objectively improved ride and handling compared to its classic, ICE-powered forefathers.
The result is a purpose-built platform that delivers power to the wheels through a dual-motor system – one mounted in the front, and one at the rear – to provide a permanent, infinitely variable four-wheel drive system that offers both on-road performance and the kind of off-road capability that made the Grand Wagoneer famous in the first place.
Vigilante 4×4 electric Jeep SJ
“This isn’t a replacement for our Vigilante HEMI offerings,” reads the official copy. “It’s a total revisit of the Vigilante platform under electric power.”
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The company emphasizes that its new chassis is still in the prototype stages. As such, there are no specs, there is no pricing, there are no range estimates. Despite it all, the response from Jeep enthusiasts has already been strong. “Keep in mind this is our first prototype,” a spokesperson said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done – but the journey has begun.”
Electrek’s Take
Electric SJ chassis; Vigilante 4×4.
Retro done wrong – think the Dodge Charger Daytona EV or VW ID.Buzz – is a disaster. Always. If that nostalgic tone is just a little bit off, the song doesn’t work. The heartstrings don’t pull. Done right, however, the siren song of nostalgia will have you putting a second mortgage on your house to put a Singer Porsche or ICON Bronco in your garage.
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EQORE, a distributed battery storage startup based in Somerville, Massachusetts, has raised $1.7 million in seed funding to help industrial buildings tackle rising electricity costs. The round was oversubscribed and includes backing from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Henry Ford III of Ford Motor Company, and Jonathan Kraft of The Kraft Group.
The timing couldn’t be more relevant. Data centers are booming, and that demand is slamming an already stressed grid. Big, utility-scale batteries help at the grid level, but they can’t fix the bottlenecks happening on local distribution networks. That’s where onsite storage steps in — storing energy when demand is low and discharging it when demand spikes, which helps stabilize costs for both the grid and the businesses using it.
MassCEC’s head of investments, Susan Stewart, said, “What excites us the most about EQORE’s technology is the dual impact: grid support and customer savings.” She noted that commercial and industrial buildings are ideal hosts for battery storage, but haven’t gotten much attention until now. “EQORE is closing that gap.”
Investor Randolph Mann highlighted what makes the company stand out: “By uniting advanced controls with high‑resolution metering and true end‑to‑end service, EQORE finally makes commercial behind-the-meter storage effortless and financially compelling for businesses.”
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EQORE comes out of MIT’s Sandbox program and delta v accelerator and is currently part of the Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle incubator. CEO and cofounder Valeriia Tyshchenko, a third‑generation engineer from Ukraine and MIT graduate, said the new funding will help the company scale alongside its existing revenue.
With the seed round closed, EQORE plans to grow its team and ramp up battery deployments at energy-intensive manufacturing facilities. The company doesn’t just install batteries; it operates them. Its autonomous software shifts when a facility uses power based on market conditions and utility incentives, reshaping load in real-time without disrupting operations.
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Hyundai took the sheets of its new off-road electric SUV, the Crater Concept, at the LA Auto Show. Here’s our first look at the compact off-roader.
Meet Hyundai’s new off-road SUV, the Crater Concept
We knew it was coming after Hyundai teased the off-road SUV earlier this week, hidden under a drape. Hyundai took the sheets off the Crater Concept at the LA Auto Show on Thursday, giving us our first real look at the rugged off-roader.
Hyundai refers to it as a compact off-road SUV that’s inspired by extreme events. The concept was brought to life at the Hyundai America Technical Center in Irvine, California.
The off-road SUV draws design elements from Hyundai’s Extra Rugged Terrain (XRT) models, such as the IONIQ 5 XRT, Santa Cruz XRT, and the new Pallisade XRT Pro.
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Although it’s a concept, Hyundai said the Crater Concept is a testament to its commitment to designing future XRT vehicles that are more functional, more capable, and more emotional.
The Hyundai Crater off-road SUV Concept (Source: Hyundai)
“CRATER began with a question: ‘What does freedom look like?’ This vehicle stands as our answer,” Hyundai’s global design boss, SangYup Lee said.
The off-road SUV features Hyundai’s new Art of Steel design theme, first showcased on the THREE concept at the Munich Motor Show in September.
The Hyundai Crater Concept (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai said the design team was guided by one clear goal: To create a rugged and capable vehicle that’s designed to go anywhere. The Crater Concept embodies that vision with added wide skid plates, 33″ off-road tires, limb risers, rocker panels, and a roof platform.
Hyundai designed the interior for “tech-savvy adventure seekers,” with a singular design centered around a high-brow crash pad that stretches across the dashboard.
The Hyundai Crater Concept (Source: Hyundai)
The concept also swaps the traditional infotainment setup for a head-up display that spans the entire front window, which Hyundai said includes a live rearview camera.
Hyundai’s off-roader includes a new Off-Road Controller for front and rear locking differentials, as well as a terrain selector with modes including Sand, Snow, and Mud. Other off-road features include downhill brake control, trailer brake control, a compass, and an altimeter.
Although Hyundai said it was electric, it didn’t reveal any further details about the powertrain. The off-road SUV could be a battery-electric or fuel-cell-electric vehicle.
Like the new Nexo, Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the concept features “HTWO” lamps exclusive to its FCEVs.
Earlier this week, the design team at Hyundai Design North America also introduced its new design and ideation studio codenamed “The Sandbox.” The creative design studio is set to serve as a global hub for future XRT vehicles and gear.
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