Here are the 6 stocks we traded at the start of the second quarter — and why
The sun has set on a frantic day of scrutineering at this year’s Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), as teams scramble to qualify for a spot on the starting line tomorrow morning. Electrek FSGP 2025 is shaping up to be one of the event’s most attended ever, thanks to a strong showing of first-time and returning schools. But that also means new and unproven vehicles on the track.
Today, I walked through a couple of bays and talked with a few of the teams able to spare a minute; almost all of them were debuting completely new cars that were years in the making. Building a solar car is no easy feat. It’s not just the engineering and technical know-how that’s often a hurdle for them; it’s more often monetary. However, one of the things that makes this event so special is the camaraderie and collaboration that happen behind the scenes.
Northwestern University is back with a completely new car this season, its eighth since the team’s original inception in 1997 during the GM Sunrayce days. Its motor controller, which is responsible for managing the flow of power from the batteries to the motor, was given to them by the Stanford team. Stanford had extras and could spare one for Northwestern, which needed a replacement. It doesn’t stop there. Two members of the Northwestern team (Shannon and Fiona) told me four other teams helped them with a serious tire replacement around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, saving them from missing important parts of scrutineering.
This is also an exciting year for the West Virginia team, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a solar car team, making them one of the oldest teams on the track. With age comes wisdom though: WV is competing again this year with its single-occupant vehicle, Sunseeker. The team ran into issues after last year’s American Solar Challenge (ASC) cross-country event when the vehicle’s control arm, an important part of the suspension that connects the wheels to the chassis, broke. They tell me this year they’re back with a completely redesigned control arm made of both aluminum and steel. Thank you, Hayley, John, and Izzy, for taking the time to talk.
We’re also seeing new builds this year from the University of Florida, the University of Puerto Rico, NC State, and UC Irvine. Believe it or not, the latter team has never competed in an American Solar Challenge/Formula Sun Grand Prix. This is their first year. UC Irvine doesn’t expect to be on the starting line tomorrow but hopes to be on the track soon after.
On the other hand, we have tried-and-proven cars like my personal favorite, Polytechnique Montréal’s Esteban, which undergoes minor improvements each year. I talked a little bit with this team today, and they told me the car’s motor was dropped, disassembled, and cleaned in preparation for the event. Polytechnique Montréal has passed scrutineering and will appear on the starting line tomorrow.
Teams that haven’t wrapped up scrutineering in the last three days can still complete it, though doing so will eat into time on track.
Last year, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) and Polytechnique Montreal took first place in the Single-Occupant Vehicle (SOV) and Multi-Occupant Vehicle (MOV) classes, respectively. There’s something in the water in Canada.
You can learn more about the different classes and the specific rules here.
I’ll continue to post more updates as the event continues!
2025 Electrek FSGP schedule
The 2025 Electrek FSGP will again be held at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which, interestingly enough, General Motors occasionally uses for Corvette testing and development. A bit of a full-circle moment being so close to the company that started it all.
The event is open to the public and FREE to attend. Come see the solar car race up close!
Racing starts on July 3 from 10am to 6pm CT and continues through July 5 from 9am to 5pm CT.
July 2 (Wednesday)
- 9am–7pm: Scrutineering
- 10am–8pm: Altair Challenge
July 3 (Thursday)
- 10am–12pm: Altair Challenge
- 10am–6pm: Hot Track
- 6pm–8pm: Evening Charging
July 4 (Friday)
- 7am–9am: Morning Charging
- 9am–5pm: Hot Track
- 5pm–8pm: Evening Charging
July 5 (Saturday)
- 7pm: Awards Ceremony
- 7am–9am: Morning Charging
- 9am–5pm: Hot Track
2025 Electrek FSGP teams
If you’re interested in joining us in sponsoring these events, please get in touch here!
Featured image via Cora Kennedy for Electrek FSGP/ASC.
Note: The Formula Sun Grand Prix is not in any way associated or affiliated with the Formula 1 companies, FORMULA 1 racing, or the FIA Formula One World Championship.
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Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.
Source Links
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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images
OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.
Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain
U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.
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