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Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog.
By Mitchell Bernard

Today’s unemployment numbers out of Washington affirm what the country’s experiencing on Main Street: a grinding climb from a devastating pandemic that’s taking a continuing toll on the economic security of our people. It’s great news that unemployment is falling. But 9.3 million Americans remain out of work.

President Biden has proposed the right remedy — the American Jobs Plan, a comprehensive package of strategic public investment that weds climate action to equitable recovery and puts people back to work in every community.

This is a bold vision for strong, lasting, and broad-based recovery. It sets the table for a generation of prosperity and progress. It means cleaner, healthier communities, both urban and rural. As the plan makes its way through Congress, it’s time for all of us to rally around it.

The American Jobs Plan is a stirring vote of confidence in the nation’s future. It’s built on the belief that U.S. workers can out-compete anyone in the world when given a fighting chance. That’s what this plan does.

It sets us on the path to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 — wiping out nearly a third of the dangerous carbon pollution that’s driving the climate crisis — by helping to clean up the nation’s power sector.

It speeds the transition to electric cars and trucks with zero tailpipe emissions, expands sustainable transit options for those who need them most, and reconnects urban neighborhoods divided for decades by misguided highway routes.

It protects our communities from the risks and toxic pollution from more than 3.1 million abandoned oil and gas wells and coal mines, by capping and cleaning up these idled fossil fuel sites as we shift to cleaner, smarter ways to power our future.

And it ends the ongoing and unacceptable exposure to hazardous drinking water in as many as 10 million American homes, by replacing lead pipes and service lines with safe and modern alternatives, while upgrading wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater systems nationwide.

These are essential national priorities. Cleaning up our dirty cars, trucks, and power plants. Capping abandoned wells and mines. Getting the lead out of our drinking water.

Combined with other vital work, such as rebuilding aging bridges, roads, and ports, this investment will create or sustain 15 million jobs over the coming decade, a Georgetown University analysis shows, including 8 million for workers that require only a high school education or less.

These are good-paying jobs for welders, carpenters, truck drivers, electricians, steelworkers, and others, including those who want the collective bargaining opportunities that come from belonging to a union.

The clean energy sector offers multiple advantages: It pays 25 percent more than the average job for some 3 million workers who help to make our homes, cars, and workplaces more efficient; it builds electric and low-emission cars, trucks, and parts; it gets more clean power from the wind and sun; and it modernizes the grid and storage system we depend on for reliable power.

That’s core work in the American Jobs Plan. It’s how we roll up our sleeves and make good on Biden’s pledge to cut the U.S. carbon footprint in half by 2030, so we can stop adding carbon pollution to the atmosphere altogether by 2050.

That’s what the science tells us must happen — at home and abroad — if we’re to avert the worst of a climate crisis that last year alone inflicted more than $95 billion in damage nationwide, while combining with fossil fuel pollution to impose another $820 billion in health-care costs on our people.

Confronting this costly crisis will be the economic play of our lifetime, with clean energy investments set to attract more than $11 trillion in global capital in the space of this generation alone.

The American Jobs Plan will help make the United States a clean energy superpower — and make U.S. companies and workers the winners in the global clean energy sweepstakes.

The plan includes investments to plus-up research and investment in critical new technologies; support innovation to make U.S. factories more efficient; strengthen the domestic supply chain for the next generation of wind, solar, and battery technology; and expand training for workers looking to transition out of fading industries like fossil fuels and into more promising opportunities elsewhere.

Strengthening our economy. Putting our people back to work. Cleaning up toxic pollution that threatens our health. Standing up to the mounting costs and growing dangers of climate change.

These are the pillars of the American Jobs Plan — strategic investment that’s paid for by asking fossil fuel companies, other corporations, and those earning more than $400,000 a year to pay their fair share to support the kind of progress that’s enabled them to thrive. Investing in efficiency, meanwhile, will enable us to do more with less waste in our homes, workplaces and cars, cutting energy costs for our families and businesses.

Small wonder, then, that the plan is supported by nearly two-thirds of the country.

The American Jobs Plan accomplishes one thing more: It addresses what the pandemic has made all the more urgent.

A modern plague that has killed 600,000 people across the United States alone, the coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of us all. No one is surprised to learn who’s suffered most: primarily the same low-income communities and people of color for whom the pandemic has only worsened long-festering inequities in education and employment opportunities, housing, and health care.

The American Jobs Plan is designed to address those inequities head-on. It’s tailored to deliver 40 percent of the economic, environmental, and health benefits of this strategic climate and clean energy investment to the same historically disadvantaged communities that bear a disproportionate share of the burden of environmental hazard and harm.

The American Jobs Plan is the grand strategy the country needs — and we need it now. The 2022 federal budget Biden proposed last week includes a down payment on this eight-year investment plan, with early investment to jump-start the progress it’s meant to ensure.

Now, it’s our turn to rally around this hopeful vision of a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future for a nation united behind the climate action that can power a strong, just, and equitable recovery for every family, in every community, across this land.

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Toyota’s 1,850-acre EV battery plant is live, but the company says this is just the start

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2 hours ago

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November 17, 2025

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Toyota's 1,850-acre EV battery plant is live, but the company says this is just the start

Toyota-EV-battery-plant-bigger

Toyota’s $14 billion US battery plant is now up and running. The mega site spans 1,850 acres, or about 121 football fields, but Toyota is saying it will be even bigger.

Toyota’s new US battery plant is set for an expansion

The first batteries rolled off the production line at Toyota’s new battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina, last Wednesday, marking a “pivotal moment” in the automaker’s nearly 70-year history in the US.

Toyota’s new plant houses 14 battery production lines, which will be used to power battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrids (HEVs), and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

At full capacity, the battery plant can produce 30 GWh per year. The plant is phasing in batteries imported from Japan through a joint venture with LG Electronics, which will power the Camry HEV, Corolla Cross HEV, and RAV4 HEV. It also ships hybrid battery modules to its Kentucky assembly plant and to another plant in Alabama, which it co-owns with Mazda.

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Toyota’s battery plant is already massive, spanning about 121 football fields, but company executives are saying it will likely be even bigger than expected.

Toyota-EV-battery-plant-bigger
2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV (Source: Toyota)

“Our plans are to go 70% electrified by 2030. So obviously that could fuel additional expansion here at the plant,” David Christ, head of the Toyota brand in North America, said during a media briefing on Wednesday (via Triad Business Journal) following a tour of the facility.

Building on its commitment, Toyota announced an additional $10 billion investment over the next five years in electrified mobility.

Toyota-first-EV-battery-plant-US
Toyota US battery plant (Source: Toyota)

Toyota didn’t say exactly how it plans to invest the $10 billion, but the new battery plant is likely to see some of it. The battery modules that Toyota produces at the plant vary from hybrid to EV, but the cells are the same, enabling it to adjust based on demand.

It can also adapt to different battery types, which could possibly include solid-state batteries, according to Toyota’s plant president, Don Stewart.

Toyota-new-EV-SUV
2026 Toyota C-HR electric SUV (Source: Toyota)

Toyota, which has been one of the biggest laggards in the shift to all-electric vehicles, will continue pushing hybrids as it aims to overcome the new US tariffs.

The plant can supply batteries for around 600,000 hybrid vehicles a year while Toyota builds capacity for another 74,000 PHEVs and 45,000 EVs, including its first three-row electric SUV.

Starting next year, Toyota’s best-selling vehicle, the RAV4, will be sold exclusively as a hybrid. Toyota is also launching several new BEVs, including the C-HR and BZ Woodlands electric SUVs, as well as the 2026 electric Lexus ES.

Electrek’s Take

It’s not a surprise to see Toyota standing by hybrids at this point. What will be interesting is to see how Toyota’s new electric vehicles sell.

After solving many of the issues with its first EV, the bZ4X, will Toyota’s upcoming models sell? Several EVs, like the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Chevy Equinox EV, have proven that an affordable electric car with enough range and features will sell.

With longer driving ranges, faster charging, and an improved interior and exterior design, Toyota’s upcoming electric vehicles are already a significant upgrade over the outgoing bZ4X. If Toyota sees EV sales improve, we could see production plans at the facility shift once again.


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Bluetti launches Elite 400 ‘luggage’ power station starting from exclusive $1,409, Rad Power RadWagon 4 e-bike at $1,299 low, more

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3 hours ago

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November 17, 2025

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Bluetti launches Elite 400 'luggage' power station starting from exclusive ,409, Rad Power RadWagon 4 e-bike at ,299 low, more


We’re kicking off this week’s Green Deals with the launch of Bluetti’s Elite 400 Portable Power Station and bundles with exclusive savings, starting from $1,409. Right behind it, we have Rad Power’s RadWagon 4 Cargo e-bike dropping back to its $1,299 low for the first time since its 2020 launch, as well as EcoFlow’s latest early Black Friday flash sale that is offering the new DELTA 3 Max Plus Portable Power Station with a FREE TRAIL 200 DC Power Station at $1,099, among other offers (all ending tonight). We also have tools from Worx, Greenworks, and SKIL, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals from last week that are collected together at the bottom of the page, rounded up in our latest edition of Electrified Weekly.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Bluetti launches new Elite 400 ‘luggage’ power station with up to 53% exclusive savings starting from $1,409

Running alongside its ongoing early Black Friday Sale, which includes returning exclusive lows on the Pioneer Na(Sodium) power station and others, we’ve now secured exclusive savings on Bluetti’s next big release, the Elite 400 Portable Power Station starting solo at $1,409.06 shipped, after using the code 9TO5TOYS6OFF at checkout. This new modular power solution will cost $2,999 at full price after these savings go, with this being quite the combined 53% markdown that saves you $1,590 off that rate and sets an impressive bar for future discounts down the line. Head below to learn more and/or browse the lineup of exclusive bundle offers we’re seeing too.

The new Bluetti Elite 400 power station is similar to Anker’s SOLIX F3800 series, but lacks the expansive capabilities at this time. Still, it brings quite the punch at its starting 3,840Wh LiFePO4 capacity, with nine output ports to connect devices and appliances for up to 3,900W of steady power delivery, surging as high as 5,200W. And it’s nice to see it come in a convenient, wheeled-and-handled design “that fits like luggage,” making it more manageable when taking it camping, on roadtrips, and more.

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Like most of the Elite 400 power station’s counterparts and competitors these days, you’ll get a full array of in-app smart controls, as well as four primary means to top off the station’s battery after depletion. Using an AC outlet alone will have you back to 80% in about 1.9 hours, or you can wait 2.5 hours to reach full. There’s a max 1,000W solar input to top things off in up to six hours, while connecting that much solar input and using an AC outlet simultaneously can recharge to 80% in 70 minutes, and full in up to 1.8 hours. Picking up the bundle with the alternator charger gives you on-the-go juice-ups in 7.5 hours from empty.

***Note: Make sure to use the exclusive code 9TO5TOYS6OFF at checkout to score these prices below!

Bluetti Elite 400 launch deals:

As I mentioned, Bluetti has some really good early Black Friday deals right now, especially consider that the initial discounts of up to 55% are getting up to an additional 10% with our exclusive codes – all starting from $209. You’ll find deals like the brand’s other recent launch, the Pioneer Na(Sodium) power station back at its launch pricing starting from a $735 low with exclusive 8% savings.

mother driving kids on Rad Power RadWagon 4 Cargo e-bike

Rad Power drops RadWagon 4 cargo e-bike to $1,299 Black Friday low for first time since launching (Save $500)

As part of its ongoing Black Friday Sale, Rad Power Bikes has given us the largest price cut on its RadWagon 4 Cargo e-bike that we haven’t seen since it launched back in 2020. You can now hop on this cargo-hauling commuter at $1,299 shipped for as long as supplies last. Normally priced at $1,799, we’ve mostly been seeing it get minor $100 or $200 discounts over 2025, or else just getting bundled gear at full price. The deal here gives you a $500 markdown that only matches its original pre-sale launch pricing from 2020, returning it to the all-time lowest rate we have ever tracked.

If you want to learn more about this cargo-hauling e-bike, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

family making dinner in kitchen powered by EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus power station

EcoFlow offers new DELTA 3 Max Plus power station with a FREE TRAIL 200 DC unit at $1,099 in flash sale, more (ends tonight)

As part of its ongoing early Black Friday Sale, EcoFlow has another short-term flash sale that is ending tonight at midnight PST, providing up to 62% discounts on four offers for that timeframe, including the new DELTA 3 Max Plus power station that comes with a FREE Trail 200 DC 60,000mAh power station at $1,099 shipped, which sadly can’t use any of the extra savings codes from the overall sale. While it carries an $1,899 MSRP since releasing in September, it launched and has been regularly dropped down to $1,099 in the time since when apart of sales, which is where Amazon currently has it priced, though you won’t be getting the FREE Trail 200 DC station with it (valued at $200). We’ve only seen this rate beaten by its $1,044 launch deal (with a bonus savings code), so you’re looking at the next-best price here, especially bundled with the extra power station, giving you a total $1,000 in savings.

If you want to learn more about this all-new power station, or the other offers, be sure to check out our original coverage of this flash sale here before it ends tonight at midnight PST.

man using Worx mini chainsaw to cut branch off tree trunk

Make up to 100 cuts on one charge with Worx’s 20V 5-inch cordless mini chainsaw at $72.50 (Reg. up to $130)

Amazon is offering the Worx 20V 5-inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw at $72.50 shipped. While it carries a $160 MSRP direct from the brand, it has more often gone for $90 to $130 at Amazon this year, with other discounts over 2025 having mostly kept costs above $84, though there was a one-time fall to its $63 low in mid-September. Aside from that pricing, you’re looking at the next-best rate here today while this deal lasts, giving you $57.50 off the full price and allowing you to manage pruning and cutting in tighter spaces. You can also find its boosted 20V Nitro counterpart down at $109.99 shipped right now.

If you want to learn more about this handy compact tool, or its Nitro counterpart, be sure to check out our original coverage of these deals here.

man using Greenworks string trimmer to cut grass

Attachment-capable 40V Greenworks cordless string trimmer at best 2025 off-season price of $135 (Reg. $159, tool-only)

Amazon is offering the Greenworks 40V 16-Inch Attachment-Capable Cordless Gen 2 String Trimmer (tool only) at $135.30 shipped. It would normally cost you $180 at full price direct from the brand, though at Amazon, it’s been spending the time since May down at $159, with discounts only having gone as low as $146. Today’s deal gives you a $24 markdown off the going rate ($45 off the MSRP), landing it at the best price of the year and among its lowest rates overall – just $2 above the all-time low. Sadly, the battery-bundled package is keeping higher at $205.44 shipped right now.

If you want to learn more about this string trimmer, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

SKIL PWR CORE 40 14-inch chainsaw sitting on top of cut log next to trees

Tackle storm cleanup, firewood, and more with SKIL’s PWR CORE 40 14-inch cordless chainsaw kit at $142 (Reg. $199)

Amazon is offering the SKIL PWR CORE 40 14-inch 40V Lightweight Cordless Chainsaw at $142.40 shipped. Normally fetching $199 at full price, discounts over the year have almost entirely dropped costs to $149, though we did see it fall to its $139 low once during July’s Prime Day event. Today’s deal gives you a 28% markdown that cuts $57 off the going rate for the second-lowest price we have tracked – just $3 above the one-time low.

If you want to learn more about this chainsaw, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

Best Fall EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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Tesla settles another lawsuit over Autopilot crash, 4th since losing first trial

Published

4 hours ago

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November 17, 2025

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Tesla settles another lawsuit over Autopilot crash, 4th since losing first trial

Tesla Autopilot

Tesla has settled another lawsuit involving its Autopilot driver-assist system, which is alleged to have caused a crash. This time, a 2020 Model Y on Autopilot crashed into a stationary police vehicle in Texas.

This is Tesla’s fourth known settlement in lawsuits involving Autopilot crashes since losing its first trial earlier this year.

The case, James Tran vs. Tesla, Inc., was filed in Harris County, Texas, after an incident on November 15, 2020.

According to the lawsuit, James Tran was traveling on the I-10 freeway in his 2020 Model Y with the Autopilot feature engaged. Up ahead on the same road, three Harris County Constable (police) vehicles were blocking several lanes of traffic for a prior accident.

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Tran’s Model Y, while operating on Autopilot, collided with one of the stationary constables’ vehicles.

In his petition, Tran alleged that Tesla’s “Autopilot… system safety features failed to detect” the emergency vehicles or “function in any way to avoid or warn of the hazard”. His lawyers claimed the system had a “failure to warn” about its known “inability to detect emergency cars with flashing lights” and sought over $1 million in damages.

As it almost always does, Tesla’s defense centered on blaming the driver. In a March 2024 “No-Evidence” motion, Tesla’s lawyers alleged that Tran had been “gambling and drinking at a casino” before the 2:40 a.m. crash and “dozed off” behind the wheel.

From the beginning of the case, Tesla’s legal strategy was to argue that Tran was the “sole cause” of his injuries. By 2024, they argued he had “no evidence” and, crucially, “no experts” to prove Autopilot was at fault.

Tesla sought dismissal, but the judge allowed it to proceed, and the case was set for trial on November 11.

Despite this aggressive defense, Tesla didn’t let a jury decide the case.

Days before the trial was set to start, Tesla’s lawyers quietly filed a “Notice of Settlement” on November 6, 2025. The document simply states that “the parties in the above-captioned case have reached a settlement”. The terms, as usual, are not disclosed in the filing.

Shortly after Tran’s crash, Tesla was investigated by NHTSA regarding Autopilot-equipped vehicles crashing into emergency vehicles. The federal agency found 11 incidents that resulted in 17 injuries and one death.

NHTSA eventually concluded that Tesla’s driver monitoring system for Autopilot was “inadequate” and Tesla had to issue a recall.

However, NHTSA launched another investigation into the recall fix itself, and other similar crashes have occurred since, including one into a police car last month.

The floodgates are open

As we reported, the floodgates of lawsuits related to Tesla Autopilot/FSD crashes are open after Tesla lost its first case that went to trial earlier this year.

For the first time, a case went to trial before a jury, and they assigned a third of the blame for the crash to Tesla for the role Autopilot played. The rest of the blame was put on the driver, who had already settled with the victims and their families before the Tesla trial began.

The jury awarded the plaintiffs $243 million. The automaker has made clear its intentions to appeal the verdict.

Before the trial, the plaintiffs offered Tesla a $60 million settlement, but the company refused.

The trial was costly for Tesla, not only because of the more than $240 million award, but also because of the information that came out during the trial, which didn’t make Tesla look good.

There are dozens of other cases currently going through the court process, and now they can take advantage of what was learned through the trial.

To avoid further discovery, Tesla appears to be increasingly willing to settle these cases.

With the Tran case, it now marks at least Tesla’s fourth known settlement of lawsuits involving Autopilot/FSD crashes since losing the trial in August.

Electrek’s Take

As I have been highlighting over the last few months, this is just the beginning. We are just now starting to see cases that come from crashes that happened in 2018-2019-2020 go to trial.

It’s a long process, but we know that the number of crashes involving Autopilot and FSD significantly ramped up in 2021-2025 due to higher volumes and the launch of FSD.

All these accidents, many of them unfortunately fatal, are going to go through the legal process, and Tesla will have to settle for billions of dollars when everything is said and done.

Simply blaming the driver for abusing Tesla’s ADAS system is not working anymore. Tesla is consistently taking at least part of the blame for misleading drivers into believing its ADAS systems are more than they are or for their monitoring system’s lack.

In fact, there’s another similar lawsuit in the same county as the Tran lawsuit, which is about to go to trial unless Tesla settles it soon. It involves a drunk driver on Autopilot crashing into 5 police officers, injuring them in the process. The officers are suing Tesla with a similar approach to that of Tran in this case.


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