Lectric eBikes reveals specs and shocking low price on its new electric trike
Phoenix-based electric bike company Lectric eBikes has been a consistent price leader in the electric bike industry. Now the company has just let it slip that they’re working on an electric trike that will be launched at an unbelievably low price. Badging on the three-wheeler seems to point to a new product in the XP line known as the Lectric XP Trike.
The company’s CEO Levi Conlow posted a teaser on Facebook earlier today, revealing that Lectric has been quietly working on an electric trike.
And not just any trike, but one that bears a price tag of just $1,499. That comes in at $1,000 less than the most recent major trike launch, the RadTrike from Rad Power Bikes.
It’s also significantly less expensive than many other electric trikes on the market that can cost well over $3,000.
The truly interesting thing about the Lectric XP Trike isn’t just the price, but rather that it appears to offer significantly more that most other trikes.
For example, instead of using a front hub motor for front wheel drive, the Lectric XP Trike uses a more sophisticated drivetrain. It features a centrally mounted motor to drive both rear wheels through a differential axle (a simplified version of the way a typical rear-wheel-drive car functions).
It looks like they actually used a hub motor mounted as a mid-drive motor, which is a rare but not totally foreign drive method. It was popularized by a highly acclaimed cargo e-bike setup known as the StokeMonkey over a decade ago, and allows a cost effective hub motor to function like a much more expensive mid-drive motor.
The Lectric XP Trike also features hydraulic disc braking in the front and rear, which is a more premium type of brake that provides higher performance and lower maintenance.
Levi listed the battery as 14Ah, though didn’t specify the voltage. Assuming it matches the 48V batteries in all of Lectric’s other e-bikes, that would put the battery at a healthy 672 Wh.
The Lectric XP Trike is also listed as fully-foldable and arriving fully-assembled, meaning riders won’t need to assemble it themselves. The inclusion of a central folding mechanism in addition to the handlebar folding mechanism should allow it to fit in tighter spaces while folded.
We’re still missing key specs on the Lectric XP Trike, but Levi shared that a full reveal will be coming later this week on January 13th.
The ultra-affordable e-trike is true to Lectric’s reputation for crazy low prices. The company’s most affordable e-bike, the $799 Lectric XP Lite, is a 48V folding e-bike with value that hasn’t been matched in the industry.
The same goes for the company’s $999 Lectric XP 3.0 e-bike, which is a 28 mph (45 km/h) dual-passenger e-bike that undercuts all the other utility e-bikes we’ve seen so far.
And even the company’s $1,799 Lectric XPremium e-bike, despite being its most expensive, is a ridiculously good deal for a mid-drive e-bike with a torque sensor and dual batteries.
Don’t believe me? Check out the video from my review of that e-bike below.
Electrek’s Take
This. Is. Huge.
I hate to describe it this way, but this is kind of a RadTrike killer. And not just that, it basically shuts down every other electric trike on the market. Period.
Compared to the RadTrike, the Lectric XP Trike has 40% more battery, dual wheel rear drive instead of single wheel front drive and hydraulic brakes. And it costs $1,000 less.
It’s unclear if those cargo baskets come with the bike or if they’re added accessories. If they do come standard then it’s an even more killer deal, as those baskets will cost you over $100 to add yourself. Many companies hold those back behind a paywall.
Of course the Lectric XP Trike also has some downsides. It doesn’t have suspension. It doesn’t have a larger tractor seat saddle like the RadTrike or some others. It seems to have a bit of a wiring mess, though that might be due to the prototype nature of what is presumably the first model that we’re looking at in the picture.
But there’s no way around it, this is a crazy deal for anyone who needs a trike due to mobility or balances issues. Or anyone who just wants a trike.
In fact, I’ve been riding the RadTrike around for an upcoming review this week (that Lectric just kind of spoiled by pre-empting with this crazy unveil… thanks, Lectric), and it’s an awesome way to get around even as a healthy, able-bodied 33-year-old. You don’t have to be up there in years to enjoy a trike, though older folks are definitely a major part of the electric trike market.
I’ll be tuning in for more details and following this Lectric XP Trike launch very closely.
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A battery pack manufacturer has released a new solution for Tesla Roadster with aging battery packs. It would slash the car’s weight by about 400 lbs, but it’s not cheap.
In many ways, the Tesla Roadster sparked the electric vehicle revolution.
It was the first commercially available consumer EV with lithium battery cells – enabling over 200 miles of range on a single charge.
The vehicle had comparable or better performance than many other gas-powered vehicles in its segment.
The Roadster had its problem. It was a suboptimal solution as it was still heavily based on the Lotus Elise and not designed from the ground up to be electric, but it did its job as a proof-of-concept.
Tesla only manufactured about 2,000 of them between 2008 and 2011 before moving on to the Model S and other vehicle programs that were built to be electric from the ground up.
Despite being 13 to 16 years old, many Roadsters are still doing well. Electrek’s own Jamie Dow drives his daily. That’s despite Tesla not doing anything with the Roadster program since 2017 when it launched the Roadster 3.0 replacement pack.
Battery technology has improved a lot since then, and a company has decided to take advantage of that and offer a new battery pack for Tesla Roadster owners.
re/cell, a Texas-based supplier of remanufactured battery packs for EVs, has unveiled a new Roadster battery pack that aims to slash hundreds of pounds off of the sports car.
Unlike Tesla’s latest vehicles, which are equipped with skateboard-like platform battery packs, the Roadster has a pack that sits behind the seats in the back and the modules are in the shape seen above.
It does cause problems with balancing the weight of the vehicle.
The pack is able to achieve the Roadster’s peak power output, but it should be a lot more fun to drive by shaving up to 400 lbs off of the car’s original 2,877 lb (1,305 kg) weight.
It does come with a lower energy capacity than the original 53 kWh, but you should be able to achieve very similar range (over 220 miles) thanks to the efficiency gain from the weight loss.
Here are the full specs of re/cell’s new Roadster battery replacement pack:
- Peak Power Output: 260 kW / 285 kW
- Weight Savings: up to 400 lbs / 180 kg
- Volume Savings: 3.7 cu ft / 100 liters
- Energy Capacity: 38 kWh / 47 kWh
- Rated Range: 220-240 miles / 350-390 km
- Cell Type: 18650 / 3500 mAh
- Cell Configuration: 31p99s / 39p99s
re/cell describes some of the improvements that they were able to make to the pack:
The revolutionary cooling-block design is a single-piece molded core with Palladium-class cooling ribbons for improved cooling and temperature management. The contact area for heat transfer is 50x larger than the cooling tubes used in the original Roadster sheets and the overall surface area for cooling and heating is now more than double. No more vacant cooling voids allowing for hot spots or uneven cooling or heating – the entire cell is now fully encapsulated and temperature controlled!
However, this offer is not going to be for everyone since Roadster owners need to be willing to invest $28,000 in their aging vehicle, which is the price of the pack if you give your existing pack to re/cell.
Interestingly, the company is also thinking about offering other upgrades that can be enabled by space freed up by the new pack.
For example, re/cell believes it would be easier to make the pack capable of DC fast-charging. liquid cooling for the PEM and Motor
Electrek’s Take
I really enjoyed driving the Roadster 3.0, and I’d be curious to see how much better it would handle with 14% less weight.
There are just no other electric vehicles out there that weigh just 2,400 lbs. Even a Fiat 500e weighs nearly 3,000 lbs.
I can’t wait for small electric sports cars around 2,500 lbs. They should be so much fun and it sounds like this, despite not being designed from the ground up for it, could be an interesting preview.
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GM is honoring those who served our country with a new incentive to go electric. For Veterans Day and through November, GM is offering $1,000 off select Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC EV models. Here’s how you can score some savings this month.
GM EV offers for Veterans Day and November 2024
GM launched a new military appreciation offer this month, offering $1,000 off on select electric models to those who served.
The offer is good on most 2023, 2024, and 2025 electric models from GM’s Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac brands. Electric models included in the deal include the following:
- 2023, 2024, and 2025 GMC Hummer EV
- 2023, 2024, and 2025 Cadillac Lyriq
- 2024, 2025 Chevy Blazer EV
- 2024, 2025 Chevy Equinox EV
- 2024, 2025 Chevy Silverado EV
- 2024, 2025 GMC Sierra EV
Those interested can select their vehicle on GM’s Military Appreciation page. You will then be sent an authorization number, which you can use at a GM dealer.
The program includes Active Duty, Reservists, National Guard members, and Retirees of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. To validate your military status, you will need to register through ID.me.
GM claims it has “the most inclusive military offer from any car company.” After selling a record 32,000 EVs last quarter, GM topped Ford to become America’s number two seller of electric vehicles.
Earlier today, GM announced EV sales in the US broke the 300,000 mark last month since 2016. The company said the sales surge is due to key new models rolling out.
With the lower-priced 2025 Chevy Equinox EV and Silverado EV LT models now arriving at dealerships, GM is poised to see even more demand going into next year.
For non-military members, GM still offers some of the most affordable EVs on the market. You can use our links below to find the best deals on GM’s all-electric models at a dealer near you.
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Environment
Coinbase, a16z and others pour more than $78 million into pro-crypto PAC for 2026 election
With one day to go until the U.S. general election, crypto companies have already poured tens of millions of dollars into the upcoming 2026 cycle. The pro-crypto and bipartisan super PAC Fairshake said Monday that the committee and its affiliates have raised $78 million for the 2026 midterm elections.
That $78 million breaks down to more than $30 million raised, plus another $48 million in new commitments from centralized crypto exchange Coinbase and Silicon Valley venture fund Andreessen Horowitz, among other companies.
Early Monday, a16z general partner Chris Dixon, who heads up the fund’s crypto book, published a note explaining why the company contributed another $23 million to Fairshake.
“Regardless of what happens in the 2024 elections, we’re committed to supporting policymakers, irrespective of party affiliation, who will work to establish a practical regulatory framework that protects consumers while allowing the industry to grow,” the letter read.
Dixon added that “supporting a PAC like Fairshake is just one crucial part of the strategy needed to achieve our larger policy goals” and that a16z would continue to meet with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to advocate for the industry.
All in, a16z has given $70 million to Fairshake as the VC looks to support the PAC’s larger mission of building a Congress comprised of pro-crypto legislators.
On Wednesday, Coinbase announced it would give another $25 million to Fairshake.
Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over claims that it engaged in unregistered sales of securities. It’s among Fairshake’s top contributors this cycle. The exchange has given more than $75 million to Fairshake and its affiliated PACs.
“We know we need to have pro-crypto legislation passed in this country,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Coinbase shares plummeted 15% after the company reported a miss on the top and bottom lines.
Ripple Labs is another major political donor this cycle that has given around $50 million to Fairshake. A spokesperson said the company committed $25 million both this year and last year and intends to remain a strong force in DC for years to come.
Fairshake told CNBC it’s raised around $170 million this cycle and disbursed approximately $135 million.
The majority of the group’s funds can be traced to Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz and Ripple Labs. The remaining balance comes from a mix of companies and individual donors. Armstrong, for example, gave $1 million, while the Winklevoss twins put in $5 million.
Fairshake was launched last year by a consortium of crypto firms and is one of the top-spending PACs in 2024, even against oil companies and banks, which have historically been big political contributors. Nearly half of all the corporate money flowing into the election has come from the crypto industry, according to a report from the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.
Fairshake’s spending, which has targeted House and Senate races in the 2024 cycle, is effective. Public Citizen’s report found that of the 42 primary races that attracted money from crypto-backed super PACs, 36 were won by the candidate supported by the crypto industry.
Fairshake’s corporate and individual donors want crypto laws passed in the U.S.
Dixon and others say they’re looking for comprehensive market structure legislation for digital assets and a law to govern stablecoins, tokens pegged to the value of a real-world asset that are now virtually synonymous with U.S. dollar-pegged coins.
“Many industries come to DC asking to roll back rules, and we have come to DC asking to establish them,” Dixon wrote in his post Monday.
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