Own an electric bike and prepping for a hurricane? Do this right away
As Hurricane Milton heads towards Florida’s Gulf Coast threatening a lethal combination of high winds, storm surge, and heavy downpouring rain, here’s a reminder of what to do if you own an electric bike and expect to be in the path of a powerful hurricane.
First things first: electric bikes can be both a benefit and a liability in a storm situation. E-bikes can be an important form of transportation and their large lithium-ion batteries store critical electricity that can keep your phone and other electronics charged for days or weeks, but that battery may be prone to water damage and should be protected from potential flooding.
As we’ve already covered, electric vehicles of all types have a unique risk in flooding scenarios, especially when the flooding is caused by sea water from storm surge. That salty water can wreak havoc with electrical connections in submerged batteries.
If you have an e-bike and live in an area expected to see flooding, it is best to park the bike indoors and somewhere elevated. Bring the entire bike upstairs if you can. Even though e-bikes are often waterproof these days, flying debris can damage an e-bike locked outdoors during a storm.
If the bike is too heavy to carry upstairs, remove the battery and bring it to a higher floor. If you live on the ground floor and don’t have an attic or upper floor, put the battery as high as you can, such as on an upper shelf or in a tall kitchen cabinet.
As part of pre-storm preparations, it’s a good idea to check your tire pressure and perform any other maintenance that you’ve been putting off.
Electric bikes can be critical forms of transportation after a hurricane. When roads are blocked by downed trees, e-bikes can simply be lifted over or slide under the obstacle, allowing them to overcome obstacless that cars can’t. A ride of just a few miles to a water distribution center or medical facility can save hours of walking and conserve critical energy.
Caution should be taken for hazards such as downed power lines and other debris, but the ability to navigate roadways that are temporarily impassable by car or motorcycle can prove invaluable when obtaining supplies, reaching medical help, or evacuating from a disaster zone.
Many e-bikes have a USB charging port built directly into their e-bike batteries. If yours doesn’t, your e-bike may still have a USB port on it, often somewhere near the display on the handlebars. During normal rides, this can be useful for keeping your phone charged. When power is lost after a heavy storm, this can be a critical lifeline to charge electronics like phones, flashlights, and radios.
Before the storm hits, be sure to charge your battery up all the way since you likely won’t have access to electricity in the immediate aftermath of the storm, then store the battery in a safe location. If you lose power and your battery and/or e-bike are still accessible, you can use the USB outlet to keep your devices charged. The LED headlight on your e-bike can also be used for emergency lighting when the power goes out. The headlight uses very minimal electricity and can likely run for many days from the e-bike battery. To conserve battery further, the tail light may be able to be unplugged when using the headlight for nighttime lighting.
If you are handy with electronics, you may be able to power other devices with an e-bike battery. While visiting my parents in Florida during Hurricane Irma several years ago, I was able to combine a 48V golf cart inverter with several e-bike batteries to power fans and other 120VAC devices in their home while we waited five days for power to be restored.
Solar chargers for e-bikes are also available, though they are still fairly rare their higher prices mean most owners don’t own one. If you do have a solar e-bike charger, it can come in very handy when using your e-bike for emergency power.
If you have a portable power station, it can be a great way to recharge your e-bike even when the power is out.
Combining a portable power station with a set of solar panels can turn it into a solar generator, which can keep your e-bike and other devices charged up and ready to go. Compared to gasoline or diesel generators, you won’t need to keep a supply of fuel around or worry about whether the fuel cans were flooded in the garage.
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.
Handout | Via Reuters
Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.
The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.
In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”
In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.
Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.
Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.
Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.
PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.
While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.
WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street
The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024
- Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
- China: 5.5 million (+32%)
- Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
- North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
- Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)
Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025
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Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.
The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan
The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.
It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.
That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.
According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.
Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.
Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.
Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.
Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.
And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.
Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.
Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.
The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.
Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.
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