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Electric camper

Ahead of its public display at the Adventure Van Expo in Oregon this weekend, EV specialist Maxwell Vehicles announced it has teamed up with premium van-builder Rossmönster to create a purpose-built electric camper that fans of this site are going to eat up. Complete with a solar roof, adequate range, and eventual access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, this electric camper van will be available to test out soon. Check it out.

Maxwell Vehicles is a young company specializing in EV conversions and purpose-built electric vans it has been delivering to customers since 2019. They’ve been on my radar since 2021, when I ran into them at a farmers’ market in Los Angeles and got to talking with their team.

I got an up-close look at an early iteration of Maxwell’s Vanacea electric camper, and although its interior was a little rough around the edges, the prototype showed a lot of promise, especially from an EV platform and technological standpoint.

Parked next to Maxwell Vehicles was another van specialist – Colorado’s Rossmönster, which specializes in van conversions into campers – so naturally the two decided to pair up and bring the EV community something it is constantly sharing its hunger for: viable electric camper van options.

Today, the two companies have unveiled their first purpose-built electric van, designed for road trips and off-grid living. Before it goes on sale, you will be able to rent it out and try it… depending on where you live.

Maxwell looks to bring new electric camper van to market

According to today’s press release, this purpose-built electric van conversion sits atop Maxwell Vehicle’s Vanacea EV platform, complete with an 80 kWh traction battery and features a custom-built interior from Rossmönster you can view in the images above.

The battery delivers a whopping 7,800 watts of available power supplied at either 120V or 240V – more than enough juice to effectively power the van’s compact instantaneous hot water heater, 9,000 BTU heat pump, or its kitchenette’s induction cooktop. Maxwell founder and CEO Max Pfeiffer also shared that the electric camper has bi-directional charging capabilities, allowing the van to power your home during outages.

In addition to the technology the electric camper van sits upon, Maxwell’s innovation is also present on the roof. The company has developed and implemented a “FreeRange” solar roof with 1,560-watt capacity, capable of charging the vehicle while parked or in motion. The company also developed a proprietary solar controller that charges the vehicle’s high-voltage battery directly. The result is maximum output and efficiency throughout a given trip.

To begin, Maxwell says the new electric camper offers 150 miles of real-world range – not ideal for road trips, but on par with most options we’ve seen from other companies developing similar vehicles. However, the company says a dual-battery option is coming in 2024 and will offer 250 miles of range – it is available for pre-order now.

Additionally, the electric van features a CCS plug that can replenish its battery in 30 minutes on a DC fast charger. However, Maxwell Vehicles says it is implementing the NACS in the future, enabling its drivers to access Tesla’s Supercharger network… but probably not until 2025.

You can configure an electric camper build from Maxwell Vehicles and get a price quote here, whether it’s the EV platform, a custom build with Rossmönster, or a conversion of your existing van. As for the new Vanacea electric camper seen above – it will be on display at the Adventure Van Expo from September 30 to October 1 in Redmond, Oregon, and Big Bear, California, October 14-15.

Lastly and possible most importantly, Maxwell shared that beginning in late October the van will become available for rentals and test drives in partnership with GoCamp. What do you guys think?

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The EU wants to end all Russian gas imports. Moscow’s friends in the bloc say it’s a ‘serious mistake’

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May 8, 2025

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The EU wants to end all Russian gas imports. Moscow's friends in the bloc say it's a 'serious mistake'

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during their joint press conference at the Kremlin on July 5, 2024.

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Russia’s allies in Eastern Europe say Brussels plans to end all Russian gas and energy imports in the coming years are tantamount to “economic suicide” and a threat to the region’s energy security and economy.

The European Commission announced plans on Tuesday to phase out Russian gas, nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by the end of 2027, saying the move “paves the way to ensure the EU’s full energy independence from Russia.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted the EU to ban most seaborne imports of Russian oil, coal and refined petroleum products, but reducing gas flows has proved more difficult. In 2024, almost 19% of the EU’s gas and LNG imports still came from Russia, according to data from the European Commission, although that’s down from 2021 when 45% of the region’s gas came from the major oil and gas exporter.

The EU’s latest proposals have already prompted a furious response from eastern European nations which have traditionally been more reliant on cheaper energy supplies from Russia, and which repeatedly warn of higher energy prices for consumers as a result of banning such supplies.

Slovakia and Hungary, whose governments have maintained warm ties with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine, described the EU’s latest plans as a “serious mistake” that would harm the region.

“We recognize the strategic goal of reducing energy dependence on third countries, and Slovakia is ready to work on this together with the European Union but … this is simply economic suicide to agree that neither gas, nor nuclear, nor oil [can be imported from Russia], that everything must end just because some new Iron Curtain is being built between the Western world and perhaps Russia and other countries,” Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said Wednesday, in comments reported by Slovak news agency TASR and translated by Google.

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico prior to their talks in Moscow on Dec. 22, 2024.

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Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Wednesday that the EU’s proposals were “politically motivated” and a “serious mistake.”

“It threatens energy security, drives up prices and violates sovereignty. They want us to bear the cost of their reckless support for Ukraine and its rushed EU accession. We firmly reject this,” the minister commented on X.

Both Hungary and Slovakia have pushed back against previous EU initiatives to cut energy ties with Moscow, instead opting to maintain supplies amid fears of mounting energy costs at home.

Both have also been vocally critical of giving more military and financial assistance to Ukraine and have previously threatened refused to back the EU’s regular extensions of sanctions against Russia. Both looked to extract concessions from the bloc before approving their renewal, most recently in March.

In announcing its latest plans to distance itself from Russia, the EU said Tuesday that its “roadmap” to phasing out all Russian energy imports would first introduce a ban on all imports of Russian gas (both pipeline and LNG) under new contracts and existing spot contracts, which would take effect by the end of 2025, before all remaining imports are phased out by the end of 2027.

The Commission’s legislative proposals, to be presented in June, will require approval from the European Parliament and a qualified majority of member states, meaning the plans cannot be vetoed by just a few countries.

“We can adopt it without unanimity,” European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said in a press conference Tuesday, adding, “I hope that everybody will vote for it, obviously, but if they don’t, that is also ok, that is also part of the European Union that sometimes the majority makes decisions when necessary.”

He added that the bloc was currently in an “unacceptable situation” in which it was dependent on a Russian state and leader, President Vladimir Putin, who had “chosen to weaponize energy.” He added that importing Russian gas had indirectly helped to fill the Kremlin’s “war chests” to continue its war against Ukraine.

The Commission said in its statement Tuesday that it envisaged a “gradual and well-coordinated” approach across bloc, with member states being asked to prepare national plans by the end of this year “setting out how they will contribute to phasing out imports of Russian gas, nuclear energy and oil.” It’s uncertain whether Slovakia and Hungary will accede to the request.

CNBC has asked the Kremlin for a response to the EU’s proposals and is awaiting a reply.

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Tesla confirms it has given up on its Cybertruck range extender to achieve promised range

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May 8, 2025

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Tesla confirms it has given up on its Cybertruck range extender to achieve promised range

Tesla Cybertruck range extender

Tesla has confirmed it has given up on plans to make a Cybertruck range extender to achieve the range it originally promised on the electric pickup truck.

It started refunding deposits for the $16,000 extra battery pack.

When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, two main disappointments were the price and the range.

The tri-motor version, the most popular in reservation tallies before production, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.

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Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.

The dual-motor Cybertruck was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. In reality, it starts at $80,000 and has 325 miles of range.

However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.

Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half, the range extender has yet to launch.

Initially, Tesla said that it would come “early 2025”, but we reported in October 2024 that it was pushed to “mid-2025” late last year.

At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.

Last month, Electrek reported that Tesla has quietly removed the range extender from the Cybertruck online configurator, where buyers could reserve it with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit.”

At the time, we speculated that Tesla was most likely giving up on the product.

Sure enough, the automaker has now confirmed that it doesn’t plan to produce the range extender.

A Tesla Cybertruck owner contacted Electrek to share communication that Tesla started sending to Cybertruck owners who reserved the range extender, letting them know that the product is dead.

Tesla wrote in the email:

“We are no longer planning to sell the Range Extender for Cybertruck.”

The automaker says that it will start processing refunds for the deposits.

Here’s Tesla’s communication about the Cybertruck range extender in full:

Update to Your Cybertruck Range Extender Order

Hi [redacted],

Thank you for being a Cybertruck owner.

We are no longer planning to sell the Range Extender for Cybertruck. As a result, we will be refunding your deposit in full. The amount will be returned to the original payment method used for the transaction.

Thank you for your understanding.

The Tesla Team

Electrek’s Take

There could be many reasons why Tesla has given up on the product.

The range extender was confirmed to take 30% of the Cybertruck’s bed, and Tesla needed to install and remove it at a service center. Owners couldn’t remove them themselves. I think it was pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.

But I think it could also be as simple as it’s not worth producing due to demand – both due to insufficient people reserving it and not enough Cybertruck buyers to create a market for the range extender.

Therefore, the range extender is dead for the same reason that the Cybertruck RWD now has the same battery pack as the AWD instead of a smaller pack for less money: the Cybertruck is a commercial flop, and it’s not a high-volume program enough to justify making several battery pack sizes, including a removable one.

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USTPO shuts down Tesla’s attempt to trademark ‘Robotaxi’ term

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May 8, 2025

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USTPO shuts down Tesla's attempt to trademark 'Robotaxi' term

Tesla Cybercab and robovan

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) has denied Tesla’s attempt to trademark the term “Robotaxi”. which it has been using to refer to its long-promised self-driving vehicles.

CEO Elon Musk has been using the term “robotaxi” for years.

At first, it was to refer to what its existing consumer vehicles (Model S, X, 3, Y and Cybertruck) would become once it finally delivers on its “full self-driving” promises– something that was supposed to happen by the end of every year for the last 6 years.

However, Tesla held its ‘We, Robot’ event in October 2024, where it unveiled two new vehicles, a dedicated robotaxi vehicle and a self-driving ‘Robovan’ – pictured above.

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Musk referred to the dedicated robotaxi vehicle as both a ‘Robotaxi’ and ‘Cybercab’.

Shortly after the event, we reported that Tesla filed trademarks for both terms, as well as ‘Robobus’ and ‘Robovan’.

Now, Techcrunch reports that USTPO has denied Tesla’s trademark application for being too generic:

Tesla’s attempt to trademark the term “Robotaxi” in reference to its vehicles has been refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for being too generic, according to a new filing. Another application by Tesla to trademark the term “Robotaxi” for its upcoming ride-hailing service is still under examination by the office.

USTPO notes that other companies and media have used the term ‘robotaxi” to refer to other self-driving vehicles.

The decision is “non-final”. Tesla can still appeal the decision.

Tesla also saw its trademark application for ‘Cybercab’ halted as USTPO reviews other applications using the term ‘cyber’.

Electrek’s Take

I don’t think Tesla should get a trademark for ‘Robotaxi’. It’s indeed too generic. ‘Cybercab’ should be fine though. If Tesla was able to get Cybertruck, it should be able to get ‘Cybercab’.

I hope the Cybercab works out better for them than the Cybertruck has so far.

But it’s tough to make a steering wheel-less vehicle works if you haven’t solved self-driving.

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