very interesting side effect of all the electric cars that Californians have bought, and installed home charging stations for - 140,000 of them, resulted in a power reserve that carried the state through the recent heat wave

 

It marks the largest residential “virtual power plant” dispatch event on record, supplying enough electricity to power every home in California’s Sacramento County at the same time.

The electricity dispatch happened during a severe heat wave on September 9. It was a late-summer extreme weather event

Millions of air conditioners operating simultaneously created massive demand spikes on the power grid, especially during the late-afternoon and early-evening hours.

Tesla Powerwalls provided 517 MW (via 110,000 devices), while other residential batteries provided 63 MW. Sunrun also dispatched over 30,000 customer batteries made by other manufacturers.

“Sunrun’s distributed home batteries are operating at a scale larger than many peaker power plants combined,” said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell.

State utility regulators requested the push through two crisis programs: the California Energy Commission’s Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program and the Public Utilities Commission’s Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP).

ntegrating home batteries eases wholesale price surges during extreme heat events and helps prevent rolling blackouts without the need for expensive new transmission lines. Plus, homeowners participating in these initiatives receive direct cash compensation for sharing their stored energy with the grid.

The following evening, on September 10, Southern California Edison called for a separate discharge that pushed another 140 megawatts onto the grid.

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/140000-home-batteries-california-grid-heat-wave

I think this makes it clear, that there is no longer enough power generation ability, as you'll probably agree, there is more demand than ever when you factor in more people using more Air Conditioning during more heat waves, and all the other electrical demands, like AI data centers. 

it was only a couple years ago that I was reporting on the VERY narrow amount, under one megawatt, that California avoided a blackout, during a heat wave a couple years ago

Also in the news, 

Hawaiian Electric installed the first Tesla batteries for Maui’s largest standalone storage system. 

 The utility installed 6 Tesla Megapacks. The full project will have 54 units providing 160 MWh of energy storage strengthening Maui’s grid & supporting more renewable energy.

https://x.com/cb_doge/status/2102391150539911335

thank you Marc! This kids car resembles a Packard, and was factory electric, instead of the basic pedal power

So WHY hasn't anyone replaced the instrument panel in 100 years? This is garbage 

But this is cool, a kids Fatman Tilt lok steering wheel! 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/other-unknown-79

electric seems to have cost less than the amount of gas it would have taken, to drive 52k miles

According to the app, after driving across several states, the Tesla used just under 7,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Based on the average cost per kilowatt-hour he cited from public charging of 34.5 cents, a quick calculation showed that the total spent for charging came to $2,385.34. As a comparison to his claim, a non-hybrid Toyota Corolla getting a strong 33 miles per gallon across 50,000 miles would require over $6,000 in fuel costs at $4 per gallon.

But according to the article, his numbers are off. 

Even with a more generous estimation of 4.5 miles per kWh, that's 31,500 miles of driving, so the data he got from the Tesla app was likely incorrect or missing times the vehicle was charged, or the 50,000 miles accounts for driving done before he took ownership of the vehicle.

 https://www.yahoo.com/autos/ev-and-future-tech/articles/tesla-driver-reveals-52k-miles-220000753.html

rich tourists in a 6 row Auto 7, an electric charabanc or tour bus, Riverside Drive, NY, 1908

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10232291648100518&set=gm.10162652709437481&idorvanity=119087132480

environmental and Indigenous groups filed a lawsuit in Las Vegas federal court, arguing that the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada, one of North America’s largest sources of lithium, poses a major threat to the endangered Tiehm’s Buckwheat, a desert flower endemic to the area, which could even cause it to go extinct.

Of course, it's in the middle of nowhere between Vegas and Reno, and no one outside of the people in the lawsuit have ever heard of, or think that one flower in the middle of nowhere that no one will ever visit the area to see

In fact, other than this news about the lawsuit, no one will ever hear of the flower.  

https://www.fws.gov/media/tiehms-buckwheat-6

https://fordauthority.com/2026/03/ford-ev-suppliers-lithium-mine-permit-upheld-by-u-s-district-court

Honda Cancels Three EVs, Posts First Annual Loss, upwards of $16 billion in losses, including about $7 billion for the current fiscal year, which will represent the company's first-ever loss in its history.

Stellantis posted a substantial $26 billion loss for 2025 and intends to scale back its EV ambitions. Similarly, Nissan is far from a healthy company, with its CEO going so far as to not rule out selling the entire company. Following in their footsteps is Honda, which just announced an end to its American EV program and a pivot to hybrids, in addition to a major financial loss.

https://fordauthority.com/2026/03/ford-rival-honda-cancels-three-evs-posts-first-annual-loss

one bar was for steering the other was for speed, in the 1916 Milburn Electric

https://www.ottosoldautos.com/cars/1916-milburn-light-electric

do you recall that Ford Model e Certified program for dealers? Requiring big investments from dealerships wanting to sell electric vehicles... until the backlash and lawsuits, and Ford giving up on the whole plan, when it finally woke up and discovered that there is no consumer demand for EVs

54 percent of the car dealers it surveyed say that they haven't yet recovered a dime of those EV investments

https://fordauthority.com/2026/02/american-car-dealers-say-ev-investments-werent-worth-it

Police in Minnesota pulled over a man behind the wheel of the new Dodge Charger Daytona EV and wrote him a ticket for having a “loud exhaust.”

The driver disputed the ticket, saying he wasn’t using the loudest drive mode at the time and that another car nearby may have been the source of the noise. The case now highlights a legal gray area as cities and states apply traditional exhaust laws to a new era of electric vehicles.

https://www.audacy.com/krld/news/national/dodge-charger-ev-ticketed-for-loud-exhaust

it's shocking how expensive bad decisions are

 

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ford-takes-19-5-billion-charge-to-write-down-ev-investments-333a9bc4

as the year 2030 gets closer, European countries are getting closer to getting rid of the EV mandate that all new cars sold have to be electric

From 2030, all new cars will have to be electric or hybrid as part of government efforts to meet a legally binding aim of achieving "net zero" by 2050.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says the Conservatives will scrap the ban on petrol and diesel vehicles due to come into force in the UK if they win the next election.

The Conservative leader's comments come after her meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has lobbied the EU to water down its own plans for a ban.

Six EU countries, including Italy, have recently called on other member states to rethink plans to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, saying it could hurt industrial competitiveness.

Badenoch suggested the EU had signalled it would drop a full ban, adding: "The reality is that the EU's change of heart on EVs will leave Labour even more isolated, and by pressing ahead alone, we are placing our domestic industry at a disadvantage while giving others the opportunity to dominate global supply chains."

She said the only "winners in this economic self-harm are China"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36z84ej6e0o.amp

Stellantis (STLA) is bringing its all-electric Fiat Topolino to the U.S. market, around a week after President Donald Trump announced his intent to allow mini-cars in the country. "We'll be bringing the Fiat Topolino to the U.S., with more details to come next year," Fiat CEO Olivier Francois stated.

The Fiat Topolino is an all-electric quadricycle designed for easily navigating city traffic, with a top speed of nearly 28 miles per hour and a driving range of up to ~47 miles on a single charge.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4529538-stellantis-plans-to-bring-fiat-mini-car-to-us

I don't believe they'll find enough buyers to make this idea come close to breaking even. Not far enough or fast enough to do diddly squat unless it's used on a gold course, vacation resort, or similar limited distance limited speed locations

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced it has terminated a Biden-Administration mandate to spend $77 million on electric vehicle charging stations at VA facilities. The money will instead be redirected to critical health care construction projects.

No charging stations were built, the money wasn't spent. 

I don't know who the hell has an electric car at the VA anyway, if you make more than 60k, I think, you don't qualify for VA medical. Not positive on that number, but it's a lot less than people who buy Teslas. 

https://x.com/SecVetAffairs/status/1995100648115687614

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/3891893/doug-collins-cancels-biden-electric-vehicle-charger-funding/

Hard to believe there was an Iso at SEMA... and that someone gutted it and converted it to electric

shame this Mach 1 was converted to electric, but at least they didn't change the front license plate

Hell of a great choice of license plates!  

a random impound auction near Atlanta just sold an EV1, despite it being listed with practically zero background information, it still commanded a $104,000 winning bid.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/theres-an-ultra-rare-gm-ev1-about-to-sell-at-a-random-impound-auction

the Bugatti is no longer the fastest production car, a Chinese car has grabbed the title, at 308 mph, 4 better than the Bugatti Chiron. And it's electric. Only 30 will be made

The Chinese-built Yangwang U9 Xtreme became the fastest production car in the world after it hit 308.4 mph at the ATP Papenburg’s high-speed oval in Germany, which means the EV dethroned the Bugatti Chiron.

It gets 2,978bhp, over double the ‘regular’ car’s 1,288bhp, from four electric motors (which utilise the world’s thinnest super-silicon steel – 0.1mm – in mass production), each of which can spin at up to 30,000rpm.

It’s also the first production car with a 1,200V ultra high voltage platform, up from the existing U9’s 800V system, which allows for a quicker adrenaline shot of electricity through the platform and in turn, power to the motors, and the new batteries discharge 10 times faster than a conventional EV battery.

Heat generation is also reduced by up to 67 per cent compared to the 800V platform at matching power outputs.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/yangwang-u9-xtreme-hits-308mph-becomes-worlds-fastest-ever-production-car

GM's 1969 experimental electric bubble car the XP 512E

The 512E was one of three 512 city car concepts that GM showed at Progress of Power – which was held at the company’s Warren Technical Center in Michigan. The other two included a gasoline powered roadster model with a fuel-sipping 12-horsepower two-cylinder engine, as well as an impressive plug-in hybrid model that could operate in either all-electric or hybrid mode. The plug-in could travel up to 150 miles with a full fuel tank and battery, sipping only three gallons of gasoline for the trip.

https://news.gm.com/home.detail.html/Pages/topic/us/en/2025/apr/0414-1969-all-electric-GM-XP-512E.html

https://www.mrjakeparker.com/blog/2022/8/2/the-gm-xp-512e

French e-mobility company Cixi has been working on a three-wheeled vehicle called Vigoz that's based on its chainless pedaling system.

The company says that its Pedaling Energy Recovery System essentially "converts human power into bicycle propulsion through electricity, enabling the rider to intuitively control speed and braking by pedaling." So energy from pedaling is recovered at the crank and converted into electricity to drive a hub motor.

The system also feeds charge into a battery pack to amplify power and range, while regenerative braking helps extend the life of brake pads.

https://newatlas.com/urban-transport/cixi-vigoz-three-wheeled-pers/

1924 Auto Red Bug

Automotive Electric Service (later Automotive Standards) built some Red Bugs with Northeast electric motors that were used as starters on 1920s Dodges. 

They boasted, “It operates on standard automobile storage batteries, rechargeable in your garage or at any service station.” 

Red Bugs were sold through upscale Abercrombie & Fitch and F.A.O. Schwartz stores, and a fleet of Red Bugs went into service on Jekyll Island, Georgia, where no gasoline-powered cars were allowed. 

Even Lou Costello owned one.

https://thedailyvroom.com/newsletter/the-porsche-962c-that-set-bat-on-fire/