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Your EV might show 40% charge left, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll make it over that mountain pass with the heater blasting at 65 mph. Engineers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have built a new tool designed to replace that uncertainty with real range confidence.

Their new diagnostic tool, State of Mission (SOM), gives a more useful answer than a simple state of charge. Instead of just showing how full the battery is, SOM tells you whether your EV can safely and reliably complete a specific trip, factoring in elevation, traffic, temperature, and your driving style. Details of this research have been published in the journal iScience.

“It’s a mission-aware measure that combines data and physics to predict whether the battery can complete a planned task under real-world conditions,” said Mihri Ozkan, a UCR engineering professor who helped develop the system.

Smarter than today’s battery gauges

Today’s battery management systems rely on either rigid physics equations or opaque AI models. UCR’s SOM combines both approaches, blending the adaptability of machine learning with the reliability of electrochemistry and thermodynamics. The hybrid model “learns” from how batteries behave over time – how they charge, discharge, and heat up – but stays grounded in physical reality so it can handle surprises like sudden cold snaps or steep climbs.

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“By combining them, we get the best of both worlds: a model that learns flexibly from data but always stays grounded in physical reality,” said Cengiz Ozkan, UCR engineering professor and co-lead researcher.

Tested with NASA and Oxford data

The team tested SOM using NASA and Oxford University public datasets that included real-world battery performance. These contained charge and discharge cycles, temperature shifts, voltage data, and long-term trends. Compared to conventional diagnostic tools, SOM slashed prediction errors by 0.018 volts for voltage, 1.37C for temperature, and 2.42% for state of charge.

“It transforms abstract battery data into actionable decisions, improving safety, reliability, and planning for vehicles, drones, and any application where energy must be matched to a real-world task,” Mihri Ozkan said.

The system is still in development, and one of its main challenges is that it requires more computing power than typical lightweight EV battery systems can currently handle. However, the UCR team is confident that with optimization, SOM could be integrated into EVs, drones, and grid storage.

They’re also exploring how SOM can work with new battery chemistries like sodium-ion, solid-state, and flow batteries.

“The same hybrid approach can improve reliability, safety, and efficiency across a wide range of technologies from cars and drones to home battery systems and even space missions,” said Cengiz Ozkan.

Read more: 6 ways to get the best range from your EV in winter


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After 300 years of innovation, Husqvarna definitely dreams of electric sheep

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After 300 years of innovation, Husqvarna definitely dreams of electric sheep

Founded in 1689, Husqvarna was a musket maker for the king of Sweden – but now, the company best known for quirky motorcycles and commercial riding mowers is becoming an innovator in the field of robotics, and its latest fleet of electric autonomous mowers are eager to get grazing.

Husqvarna’s autonomous lawnmowers made history earlier this year at the AIG Women’s Open, when they became the first autonomous groundskeeping solution to see duty during a UK Major golf week.

“At the AIG Women’s Open, the Husqvarna portfolio is helping us deliver this goal through improved resource management, regular lightweight mowing and reduced carbon usage,” explains Royal Porthcawl’s Course Manager, Ian Kinley, who has championed the use of robotic technology at the course. “With the AIG Women’s Open set to be the largest-ever women’s sporting event in Wales, we know there’s tremendous pressure to produce playing surfaces that are worthy of such a high-profile event.”

The robots themselves operate a bit differently than Husqvarna’s traditional line of big, bad, zero-turn riding mowers that whip through thick grass once or twice a month with heavy, whirling blades. Instead, they employ a series of tiny razor blades that gently nibble at the grass daily – just like little electric sheep grazing on the turf.

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“That cutting system, developed by Husqvarna engineers, has then become the basis for the entire robot mower industry, of which we’re the market leader,” Nick Rawson, VP of Strategy and Business Development at Husqvarna told Forbes.

Events like the AIG Women’s Open are proving that the little robot Huskies can get the job done quietly, sustainably, and with significantly less operator input. As such, you’d think everyone at Husqvarna would be excited about them.

You’d be wrong. The company’s franchise dealers have been hesitant to push them forward, effectively putting the parent company in the position of going B2C, or going home.

“Dealers live and breathe the previous technology,” said Yvette Henshall-Bell, Husqvarna’s President of its Forest and Garden division for Europe, in that same Forbes piece. “They want to protect that servicing, that aftermarket revenue. Whereas if they really thought about what the customer’s problems are and the job to be done, they would be looking at a completely different solution.”

A solution, frankly, that looks a lot like a little robot mower.

The things, themselves


Autonomous mowers at Women’s Open; via Husqvarna.

Husqvarna offers three types of autonomous electric mowers aimed at commercial golf courses, but the Husqvarna CEORA for large-area mowing, and Husqvarna Automower, for smaller, steeper and more complex areas, are the models relevant to this story.

The bigger CEORA can handle up to 18 acres of ground twice each week, while the Automower, with its 80V battery and pinpoint precision EPOS (Exact Positioning Operating System) software, can handle another 2.5 acres. Both are fully electric, and can guide themselves back to their pens to recharge as needed.

Prices aren’t public, but the Husqvarna CEORA and Automowers are available as part of a custom lease package through Husqvarna Finance that will include access to the company’s customizable back end and ongoing support. Check with your local dealer for more.

Electrek’s Take


As a typically pro-union, pro-labor type of guy, I am hesitant to heap praise upon a robot taking away anyone’s job. That said, it does seem to be difficult for landscapers and construction crews to keep and find good labor at rates they can afford (and, let’s face it – the current Trump Administration isn’t going to be making that any easier). As such, if companies like Husqvarna and John Deere and Einride and others can build a demonstrably better mousetrap at a compelling price point … good for them. (?)

Let us know what you think in the comments.

SOURCES: Forbes, Golf Monthly; images by Husqvarna.


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Podcast: Apple CarPlay in Tesla cars, VW on Superchargers, Toyota electric pickup, and more

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Podcast: Apple CarPlay in Tesla cars, VW on Superchargers, Toyota electric pickup, 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 Apple CarPlay possibly coming to Tesla cars, VW getting access to Superchargers, a Toyota electric pickup, 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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October EV sales slid, but deals and rebates are still in play

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October EV sales slid, but deals and rebates are still in play

US EV sales declined in October following the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit on September 30, and the average transaction price (ATP) edged up, according to initial estimates from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand. However, there are still deals to be had.

Kelley Blue Book’s initial estimates show that US EV sales fell to 74,835 in October, down 48.9% from September, which was a record month, and 30.3% year-over-year.

Prices also ticked up. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new EV climbed 1.6% month-over-month to $59,125, which is 2.3% higher than a year ago.

Tesla didn’t escape the downturn, but it held up better than the overall EV market. The company’s ATP fell 1.1% from September to $53,526, and its prices are 5.5% lower than they were in October 2024. Sales of the Model 3 and Model Y both declined month-over-month, and overall Tesla sales decreased by 35.3% from September and 23.6% year-over-year, which are smaller declines compared to the broader EV segment.

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Cox Automotive senior analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty said the shift wasn’t surprising:

We expected this shift in the electric vehicle market. With the IRA-backed sales incentives gone, lower-cost EV volume was hit hard, pushing the mix toward more luxury and driving October’s EV ATP to a 2025 high of $59,125 – now $9,359 above the industry average. Affordability has always been the core challenge with EV sales, and this reset only underscores how critical it is to bring more attainable EV options to market.

Electrek’s Take

September was a record-breaking month for both EV deals and sales. Dealers were offering all sorts of sweet incentives to stack with the federal tax credit to move cars off the lot. October’s sales drop was entirely anticipated, like a pounding headache after a big blowout party.

We didn’t know what the post-federal tax credit EV market would look like. As Valdez Streaty rightly states, EVs do have a higher ATP than the industry average. But it turns out that, so far, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the federal tax credit isn’t the only incentive in town.

Every month, I compile great EV lease deals, and for the last few months, some EVs’ monthly lease payments have been cheaper than before the federal tax credit expired. Many states are still offering rebates on EV purchases, and dealers still have really good deals. While cheaper models would definitely be welcome, there are good deals available right now.

And let’s not forget the fact that EVs are much cheaper to drive than gas cars, with or without that tax credit.

Read more: From $189 a month: 5 of the best EV lease deals in November [Updated]


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