Micromobility America returned to the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this month to showcase the latest micromobility products, highlight new releases, offer test rides, hear from insightful company leaders and politicians, and basically nerd out about electric mobility.
From new e-bikes and e-scooters to innovative electric roller skates and even electric micro-cars, there was a bit of everything under the sun.
And with a combination of company meet and greets, test rides, and speakers, the event had a wide range of engaging activities for anyone interested in the latest forms of micromobility and the policies that surround those devices and companies.
The event included some of the most interesting, innovative, and eye-catching mobility products out there, and I was on-site to take it all in over two days.
Here’s a collection of some of the coolest stuff I saw, listed in alphabetical order to avoid choosing favorites. (That’d be like asking who your favorite child is!)
Apollo Scooters
The team from Apollo was on site to show off their latest innovative electric scooters, including their newest models of the Apollo City and the Apollo Pro. Both of these scooters employ more of a ground-up design than we’ve seen from most electric scooter companies.
Instead of throwing together a bunch of à la carte parts, Apollo designs its scooters itself, ensuring they not only have the most unique e-scooters out there but that they also address the ever-growing mass of community feedback they receive from their tens of thousands of electric scooter customers.
I made sure to take a spin on the Apollo City Pro, having previously reviewed the slightly lower spec Apollo City. Both are fast and comfortable e-scooters that employ the company’s variable regenerative braking, meaning you can basically forgo touching the mechanical brakes entirely, instead relying on the motor’s regenerative braking to slow and stop the scooter. The Apollo Pro’s fancy features like wireless phone charging and surround lighting make it a standout in the industry — even before you consider the 43 mph (70 km/h) top speed!
I had the pleasure of testing an Apollo City Pro
Artful Design Group’s Airglide electric scooter
I’ve seen a lot of different types of micromobility products but never anything quite like this. While still a prototype, the Airglide electric cargo scooter was on site to show off what could be possible with a seated cargo e-scooter.
In addition to offering plenty of space for cargo in the front bucket, the scooter is designed with a saddle for comfortable seated riding and even collapses down into a cart that can be wheeled around through a grocery store to do your shopping.
Don’t expect to find this one in stores this year, but the future could see big things for a small-yet-mighty folding e-scooter like this.
Aventura X electric scooter
Vespa vibes without the Vespa price! The Aventura X electric scooter has all of the old-timey charms of a classic Piaggio-style scooter, yet with a $3,300 price tag that is around half the cost of a Vespa Elettrica electric scooter.
I had the chance to test ride one, which you can see in my video from the event above.
The scooter isn’t the fastest out there, maxing out at just 30 mph (48 km/h). But it’s a fun, smooth, and easy-to-manage ride that will have you enjoying the slower pace of life.
It’s just so much fun that you’re not thinking “I wish this thing went faster.” Instead, you’re mostly wishing you had a beautiful girl on back en route to a picnic in the Italian countryside.
I’m not sure it will rival a CSC Monterey, but it gets close.
Bo electric scooter
Bo’s electric scooter looks like the designers threw out the conventional Chinese electric scooter that everyone seems to build these days and, instead, drew up their own idea of how e-scooters should be built.
The head tube is basically as tall as the stem, giving them a much wider spacing between steering bearings and resulting in a much stiffer and safer-feeling scooter.
The body panels give it a sleeker appearance too, making it look as good as it feels.
Big props to the designers on this one!
Who looks sleeker – me on that Bo scooter… or the Tesla?
Boaz Bikes
I had a blast meeting the team behind Boaz Bikes, and it was quite obvious that their passion for their product and service really shines through.
The takeaway message that they kept coming back to was safety. They operate as a rental service, but they also sell their micromobility vehicles to people that enjoy the unique form factor and want to own instead of rent.
Despite the name, these “bikes” are actually scooters. They have a low seating position that allows riders to feel stable, with a low center of gravity, and easily put both feet on the ground if they need to quickly regain their balance.
With suspension, baskets, lights, fenders, and disc brakes, the little scooters have basically everything a rider needs in a small utility scooter. Plus, the max speed of 30 mph on the private version makes these a fast urban vehicle that can easily replace a car.
I didn’t get a chance to hop on one of these at the show, and now I regret it. They look so awesome – I really need to try one out. Maybe I’ll get lucky after they read this, and they’ll want me to do a review on it in Florida. Fingers crossed!
Eli electric micro car
The Eli electric micro isn’t a car at all, but rather is listed as a quadricycle where it is already sold in Europe.
That puts it in a class of vehicles that fall somewhere between motorcycles and cars, enjoying the more lax regulatory environment of the former and the enclosed weather protection of the latter.
In the case of the Eli, it drives around at a max speed of around 25 mph (40 km/h) and offers a carlike interior, complete with a micro-trunk in the back for a couple of backpacks or other small cargo.
I had a blast hopping back in the Eli for another test ride!
The Eli was definitely one of the largest electric vehicles at Micromobility America, but it was still quite small compared to real cars.
Interestingly, the glass doors give it a larger interior feeling than it deserves, making the cramped interior feel much roomier.
These Escend Blades are absolutely wild and push the lower end of the micromobility size spectrum even further.
The concept is simple. They’re like roller skates – but electric. That’s it. Small, light, effective.
They use electric skateboard parts, including an e-skate controller to wirelessly communicate with the skates. That gives riders a thumb-controlled throttle and brake dial in their hand, without requiring a tether or wired connection.
It seems like there are dedicated boot versions and also naked skate platforms like those old-school roller skates that strapped onto kids’ shoes from the 1950s.
Faction’s driverless Arcimoto
Faction was at Micromobility America with its driverless Arcimoto designed as an autonomous delivery vehicle.
It’s pretty trippy to look inside and realize that both seats have been replaced by a giant, open area for cargo and goods.
The Arcimoto FUV platform is already quite striking, but a robotic version is straight-up SciFi if you ask me.
More “normal” Arcimoto FUVs were also at the show, including one that the company let me borrow for a couple of days to use as my wheels while I was in San Francisco. Flying over the bridges at 80+ mph and getting looks from drivers around me was definitely a highlight of the trip, but I’ll have more on my few days of driving an Arcimoto FUV soon.
Hunter Boards
South American electric skateboard startup Hunter Boards showed off its latest highly-engineered electric skateboard at Micromobility America.
The board uses what appears to be a modified double wishbone suspension system that is more at home on large four-wheeled vehicles than skateboards.
It looks like a mechanical engineering student’s dream and gives the boards a futuristic yet still mechanical vibe.
Combined with the high performance and removable batteries, the design helps make these Hunter electric skateboards memorable in the industry.
JackRabbit
The JackRabbit brings a smile to my face every time I see one.
Referred to as a micro-bike, these are technically seated electric scooters due to the lack of pedals.
They may look funny with that short wheelbase, but they have pretty good performance.
They get up to 20 mph and have ranges of over 10 miles, despite their tiny batteries, meaning they’re great for short city commutes when riders want the stability of a bike but the size and lightweight design of a scooter.
You can check it out in my video review below. Trust me, you’re going to want to see me ride this thing. It’s not a circus bear on a tricycle situation, but it’s not the farthest thing in the world from that either.
Nimbus One
This is another one of those “What is it?” type of micro-EVs. The Nimbus One falls somewhere in the Velo-bike/micro-car/leaning e-trike trifecta. It’s another example of a vehicle that pushes the limits of what we consider to be micromobility.
The enclosed design makes it great for inclement weather that would cause many people to leave their bikes in the garage. But the narrow size and leaning design mean it operates more like a bike than a car, which should appeal to car-shunning cyclists.
And of course, the electric drive makes it easy and, more importantly, environmentally sustainable, which everyone should appreciate.
I can’t say for sure what it’s actually like to pilot. But I can agree that it’s fun to look at!
Pytes batteries
These guys say they’re the third largest battery suppliers in the micromobility business.
Frankly, based on the list of e-bike companies they rattled off as their customers, I’m surprised they aren’t in the first or second spot.
They were on-site to show off their wide range of batteries for electric bikes, scooters, and other micromobility devices.
It seems they make just about every type of battery under the sun. And bonus points, they’re fans of my videos! From now on I’m going to tell people, “Yeah, well you may not have heard of me, but I’m big in China!”
Veo Apollo
Tons of companies offer shared electric scooters or e-bikes. Lime and Bird at the big ones for many people, but dozens of other companies compete in the space.
The Class 2 e-bike has a 750W motor in the rear wheel and gets up to a top speed of 20 mph.
It makes it easy to avoid calling for an Uber or Lyft – instead, take a friend with you on the back of a shared micromobility device. Right on!
WAU Bikes
Sorry, WAU, you guys really screwed yourself when it comes to alphabetical order, getting left near the end of this post. That’s a shame because your bikes deserve to be at the top of so many lists.
Between the slick-looking battery case (with a 100-mile range battery!) and the neat frame-mounted rear lights, these are some awesome e-bikes that I really want to test out.
Those taillights even do double duty as turn signals and brake lights, and they are actually large and wide enough to serve those roles well, unlike many tiny gimmicky turn signals we’re starting to see on other e-bikes.
Weel
Last but definitely not least on the list is Weel, an innovative e-bike that offers something akin to Tesla Autopilot, but for e-bikes.
It’s designed to help riders who lack the skills or confidence to safely ride a bike and uses a steering tube motor to help adjust the steering for riders and keep the bike stable. Computer vision helps riders stay on course by tracking the edges of bike lanes and avoiding obstacles.
The bike is also designed to remove as many traditional hardware components from the bike as possible. For example, instead of a typical moving brake lever, the Weel bike’s brake lever is fixed and uses a strain gauge to measure how hard it is pulled.
It’s a wild and completely novel design. Time will tell whether or not the bike will be commercially viable when it eventually hits the market.
Make sure you check out my video of the event, embedded below. There, you’ll see all of these companies up close, plus even more!
And if you live across the pond, keep your calendar marked for June 8-9, 2023, when Micromobility Europe returns to Amsterdam!
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Who said hatchbacks are going out of style? Kia’s first electric hatchback, the EV4, went on sale in the UK on Monday, offering the longest driving range of any of its EVs to date. Here’s a full breakdown of prices and specs.
Meet the EV4, Kia’s first electric hatchback
After launching the sedan version in Korea in April, the EV4 already took the top spot as the best-selling domestic electric sedan in its second month on the market. It’s already being called a “box office hit.” Now, the new hatch variant is officially on sale.
Kia opened orders for the EV4 hatchback in the UK on Monday, starting from £34,695 ($47,700). The EV4 is Kia’s first crack at an electric hatchback.
With an impressive 388 miles of WLTP driving range, it’s also the longest driving range of any EV Kia has ever produced.
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The hatch is based on the same E-GMP platform as the EV4 sedan and Kia’s other electric vehicles, but it’s custom-tailored for European buyers.
The base EV4 “Air” is available with two battery packs: 58.2 kWh or 81.4 kWh, providing a WLTP driving range of up to 273 miles or 388 miles on a full charge. Kia said it’s the brand’s first electric vehicle offering a range of over 380 miles.
Kia EV4 hatchback GT-Line (Source: Kia)
The sporty “GT-Line” and top-spec “GT-Line S” variants are available exclusively with the extended range (81.4 kWh) battery, which offers a range of 362 miles.
All EV4 hatchback models are powered by a single front motor with 201 bhp (150 kW) and 283 Nm of torque, good for a 0 to 62 mph sprint in 7.5 secs.
Kia EV4 hatchback (Source: Kia)
The interior features a similar setup to Kia’s latest EV models, like the EV3 and EV9, with its new connected car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC) at the center. The setup features dual 12.3″ driver clusters and infotainment screens in a curved panoramic display. An additional 5.3″ touchscreen for climate control is included for easy access to heating and ventilation functions.
Like the EV3, Kia’s electric hatchback will include an AI Assistant, powered by ChatGPT. It will also be the brand’s first vehicle with several entertainment settings, including “Rest mode” and Theatre mode.”
Kia EV4 hatchback interior (Source: Kia)
With all the seats upright, the electric hatch has a boot space of 435 liters, which Kia claims makes it “one of the most practical vehicles in its segment.”
With a length of 4,430 mm, a width of 1,860 mm, and a height of 1,485 mm, the EV4 hatchback is about the size of Kia’s XCreed.
The EV4 hatch can recharge from 10% to 80% in 29 minutes, while the larger battery will take approximately 31 minutes to charge using a 350 kW DC fast charger.
Kia EV4 hatchback trim
Starting Price
Driving Range (WLTP)
Air Standard Range
£34,695 ($47,700)
273 miles
Air Long Range
£37,695 ($51,700)
388 miles
GT-Line
£39,395 ($54,000)
362 miles
GT-Line S
£43,895 ($60,200)
362 miles
Kia EV4 hatchback prices and range in the UK
Kia opened orders for the new electric hatch on Monday, July 1. It will join the EV3, EV6, and EV9 in the brand’s European lineup. The EV4 hatchback will be built at Kia’s plant in Slovakia to expedite deliveries, which are scheduled to begin in the Fall.
Kia also announced on Monday that a new EV4 Fastback variant will join the lineup, but didn’t offer any additional details. More info, including prices and specs, “will be revealed in due course.” Check back soon for the latest.
What do you think of Kia’s first electric hatchback? Would you buy one in the US? Unfortunately, it’s not likely to make the trip overseas, but we will see the sedan version launch at some point in early 2026. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Tesla (TSLA) is about to release its Q2 2025 delivery and production results. Here, we examine what Wall Street expects and what would make sense in reality.
Wall Street has struggled to understand Tesla’s decline in deliveries over the past year.
The analyst consensus for the first quarter was over 450,000 deliveries in January, but that number dropped to 377,000 deliveries by the end of the quarter.
They had to adjust down by 73,000 units, or about $3 billion in sales, over just two months, and they still got it wrong by more than 40,000 units.
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Something similar is happening this quarter.
The Wall Street consensus was for 444,000 deliveries in April, indicating that analysts believed Tesla when it stated that the poor performance in the first quarter was solely due to the Model Y changeover and that it could return to growth or maintain demand, as it had delivered approximately 444,000 vehicles in Q2 2024.
However, that consensus waned throughout the quarter as data confirmed that Tesla is not production-constrained, yet still faces significant demand issues.
The Wall Street consensus for Tesla’s Q2 deliveries is now at 385,000 vehicles.
This represents a 13% decline year-over-year, despite Tesla currently offering record discounts and incentives, including 0% financing on both the Model 3 and Model Y in most markets.
However, it is likely that analysts are again overestimating deliveries.
Electrek’s Take
We have great data in Europe and China, where Tesla is basically down by a few thousand units despite the new Model Y being widely available during the second quarter.
The only primary market with limited data for the second quarter is the US.
The US is likely where the new Model Y had the biggest positive impact, and Tesla will need to perform well there for deliveries to surpass its Q1 2025 results.
The automaker has no chance at annual growth in the second quarter, but based on the best data available, I think it should end between 330,000 and 360,000 units – way below the current analyst consensus.
The lower end of the spectrum would result in a massive 25% drop in annual deliveries, while the higher end would result in a still significant 19% drop.
There’s no other way to cut it: Tesla’s automotive business is in crisis.
The crazy thing is that Wall Street is completely missing this story and only adjusting for the decline throughout the quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, analysts still expected Tesla to avoid a decline in deliveries in 2025, with approximately 1,850,000 vehicles.
The consensus now stands at 1.6 million units, which is still likely too high by 100,000 units, representing billions of dollars in sales.
Furthermore, they predict that Tesla will experience a resurgence in growth in 2026, despite the EV tax credit being eliminated in the US, its least affected market so far.
Tesla has minimal prospects for returning to automotive growth beyond some significant reforms that are nowhere in sight, given Musk’s leadership.
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Tesla’s stock (TSLA) crashed by as much as 5% in pre-market trading after President Trump threatened to set DOGE on Elon Musk, who has been criticizing his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’.
After being kindly shown the door to the White House last month, Musk had a brief moment of clarity and started to criticize Trump and the Republican party, which he helped elect with almost $300 million of his own money in the 2024 elections.
He highlighted how Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is expected to increase the deficit and debt. The Tesla CEO even linked Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, something that has been well known for decades, but Musk conveniently ignored it as he was backing the President and wearing hats that read, “Trump was right about everything.”
Musk quickly calmed down and even apologized for “going too far” and started praising Trump again.
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That didn’t last long.
Over the last few days, as the Senate attempts to pass Trump’s budget and tax bill, Musk has renewed his efforts to halt the legislation.
The CEO appeared to renew the attacks after the Senate updated the bill to kill the EV incentive sooner and to increase taxes on solar and wind projects.
However, Musk said that he doesn’t mind EV and renewable energy subsidies going away, but he believes that fossil fuel subsidies should also be removed, which is not in the plans at all.
Trump campaigned on Musk’s money, claiming that he would get America to “drill, baby, drill” again.
The CEO went as far as threatening any Senator who vote for the bill, all Republicans, to face his money in their next primary. He added that if the bill passes, he will create a new “America Party.’
Musk’s attacks have focused on the bill itself and the Republicans voting for it, but Trump likes to call it his bill, and unsurprisingly, he is unhappy with Musk.
Last night, he took to Truth Social to highlight again that Musk “would probably have to close up shop and head back to South Africa” without US government subsidies.
The President then suggested that he could have DOGE, a department that Musk created, go after him and the subsidies that his companies get:
Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!
Tesla’s stock dropped by more than 4% in pre-market trading following the President’s threat.
Musk responded to the President by pointing out that he is asking to remove the subsidies, but he didn’t add his usual caveat of also removing all subsidies for fossil fuel.
Electrek’s Take
It’s both sad and funny to see Elon now. It’s sad because the US is plunging back into an energy dark age of relying on fossil fuels. Still, it’s amusing because Elon is acting as if he’s just now realizing what he has done, despite everyone but a few cult members screaming at him that this was going to happen for the last year.
Elon got what he wanted out of Trump with his $300 million, and now, he realizes that his influence has limits and that Trump is going to do way more damage than just what Musk wanted out of him: to stop illegal immigration and the so scary “woke mind virus.”
The result will be a significant blow to the growth of electric vehicles and clean energy in the US, and Tesla will be affected in the process, exactly what we have been saying for the last year.
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