Electrek

Rivian rolls out ‘Hey Rivian’ AI assistant with full vehicle control

1 day 1 hour ago

Rivian is rolling out its new AI-powered voice assistant to all Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1 owners as part of its latest over-the-air software update. The feature, activated by saying “Hey Rivian” or holding the left steering wheel button, requires an active Connect+ subscription.

The assistant is notable because it can actually control your vehicle’s core functions — something that Tesla’s competing Grok assistant still cannot do months after its own launch.

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Fred Lambert

Corrupt DoT head takes oil money to film reality TV show during oil price spike

1 day 1 hour ago

Sean Duffy, whose transportation expertise comes from being a contestant on the reality TV show Road Rules, is going back to his roots and filming a reality TV show while on the job.

But, as is fitting for the corrupt cabal he’s a member of, he’s made sure to let companies he’s supposed to regulate pay for his family’s vacation. And he’s doing this right as he works his hardest to ensure that your roadtrips are less attainable, with higher energy prices across the country as the direct and intended result of his policies.

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Jameson Dow

Lectric Memorial Day offers $694 bundles + up to $500 off e-bikes, Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD robot mowers, more

1 day 1 hour ago

We’ve got plenty of low prices filling our Tuesday Green Deals, with our headliner being Lectric’s newly launched Memorial Day e-bike sale that is offering up to $694 FREE bundles alongside up to $500 price cuts, with my all-around pick being the XP4 Folding Utility e-bikes getting up to $473 in FREE gear starting from $999. There’s also Mammotion’s Memorial Day savings event, with its newest LUBA 3 AWD robot lawn mowers getting FREE garage attachments for the dock station – and they’re all at their best prices starting from $2,099. We also spotted low prices hitting meross’ new two-zone Wi-Fi smart water timer, as well as the budget-friendly Gotrax Dolphin e-bike, Autel’s 80A level 2 EV charger, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s first-ever deals on the new Velotric GoMad Utility e-bike, the latest EcoFlow 48-hour power station flash sale that ends tonight, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

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Reinette LeJeune

Tesla moves Basic Autopilot features to paid FSD where available

1 day 2 hours ago

Tesla has quietly removed Basic Autopilot from its online configurator in the Netherlands. New orders now only offer Full Self-Driving (Supervised) — no free driver-assistance tier at all.

The change makes the Netherlands the first European market where Tesla has stripped Basic Autopilot from the buying experience, mirroring the controversial move it made in North America back in January.

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Fred Lambert

Waymo recalls 3,791 robotaxis over flooded road incident, deploying OTA software fix

1 day 4 hours ago

Waymo has filed a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) covering 3,791 robotaxis after one of its vehicles drove into a flooded road in San Antonio last month. No one was injured.

The key detail: the recall is a software fix that will be deployed over the air to Waymo’s entire fleet — no vehicles need to visit a service center. Waymo has already implemented interim constraints while the full remedy is finalized.

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Fred Lambert

Tesla invests $250M more in Giga Berlin battery cells, boosting capacity to 18 GWh

1 day 4 hours ago

Tesla announced today that it will invest almost $250 million more in battery cell production at its Grünheide factory outside Berlin, more than doubling planned capacity to 18 gigawatt hours per year and creating over 1,500 battery-related jobs.

The investment comes just two months after the automaker successfully scared workers away from IG Metall in a contentious works council election — a vote where CEO Elon Musk explicitly threatened to halt expansion if the union gained control.

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Fred Lambert

Tesla Robotaxi’s ‘convenience issues’ are hiding the real safety bottleneck

1 day 5 hours ago

A new Reuters investigation documents long wait times, surface-street-only routing, and near-zero vehicle availability across Tesla’s three-city “Robotaxi” service. These all look like convenience problems — but they’re really symptoms of a safety system that can’t scale.

Elon Musk himself told investors at the Q1 2026 earnings call that safety validation is the limiting factor. The “convenience issues” riders are experiencing are the direct result of those safety constraints manifesting as a degraded user experience.

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Fred Lambert
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6 hours 44 minutes ago
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