Tesla’s US sales fell an estimated 17% year-over-year in January 2026, according to registration data from Motor Intelligence.
The automaker moved an estimated 40,100 vehicles during the month, down from 48,500 in January 2025. Tesla doesn’t report monthly US sales figures, so third-party registration estimates are the best available proxy — and they point to a fourth consecutive month of declining domestic demand.
This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes a fun new automatic shifting e-bike from Trek, a whole host of potential new e-bike laws from around the US, a study that shows the impacts of e-bike use on the brain, Fly mopeds get in more trouble, Honda has a new low-cost electric motorcycle design, and more.
XCMG celebrated the launch of its new, massive XC9260BEWL and XC9260BEWD lines by delivering one of each to Australian mining giant, Fortescue – part of a record-setting $400 million electric equipment order meant to help slash the company’s carbon emissions.
1.2 million EVs were sold globally in January – but the market shrank. Global EV sales fell 3% year-over-year and 44% in January 2026 from December to 1.2 million units, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The slowdown was largely driven by China, where sales dropped after new taxes and weaker incentives kicked in.
Washington, DC, just launched a curbside charging pilot to install public EV chargers on residential streets across all eight wards. The goal is to make charging easier for people who don’t have a driveway or garage and figure out how to scale curbside charging citywide.
Leading today’s Green Deals is the exclusive $1,500 discount on the Gendome Home3000 Portable Power Station that features a 50-minute AC fast-charge, wind charging functionality, smart home integration, and more – all at a new $799 low. Right behind it we have NIU’s Valentine’s Day e-scooter sale that dropped the KQi 300X All-Terrain Suspension Electric Scooter to a new $727 low, as well as EcoFlow’s latest 24-hour flash sale on the DELTA 3 Classic power station, a 400W DELTA 3 Max solar bundle, and add-on accessories starting from $399. We also spotted a 40V Greenworks string trimmer at its second-best price in a year and a half, and more waiting for you below – including a special LEGO reveal of the more eco-conscious Maesk Dual Fuel Container Vessel set. And don’t forget the hangover deals at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s $907 savings on the premium Tenways AGO X All-Terrain Mid-Drive e-bike at its lowest price, the Autel 50A Smart AI-optimized EV Charger at its lowest price, 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.
In July, the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed a plan to delete its scientific finding recognizing that greenhouse gases are harmful to human health, with the goal of making cars less efficient, deadlier and more costly. Public comments widely opposed the plan, but now before the agency has barely even started reading those comments, it announced today that it’s going through with its illegal plan anyway.
(Update: This article has been updated to reflect that the finalization was announced in a press conference today)
Waymo is now running its 6th-generation Driver without safety drivers on public roads, marking the beginning of fully autonomous operations with the company’s latest and most cost-effective hardware stack.
The announcement, authored by Waymo VP of Engineering Satish Jeyachandran, confirms that the 6th-generation system, first unveiled in August 2024, is now validated for driverless operations across multiple cities. Waymo describes it as the product of seven years of service and nearly 200 million fully autonomous miles logged across 10+ major U.S. cities.
BYD and Geely are among three finalists competing to purchase a Nissan-Mercedes-Benz joint venture plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, according to a Reuters exclusive report. The plant, which has a production capacity of 230,000 vehicles per year, would give either Chinese automaker an instant manufacturing foothold in North America, bypassing years of regulatory delays that have stalled their greenfield factory plans in the country.
The third finalist is Vietnamese EV maker VinFast. The three were selected from a pool of nine companies that expressed interest, including Chinese automakers Chery and Great Wall Motor.
Tesla has been granted a 30-day extension by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to decide whether to formally oppose UNIBEV’s “Cybercab” trademark application, pushing Tesla’s deadline to March 14, 2026. The extension comes as Tesla prepares to begin mass production of the vehicle — whatever it ends up being called, in April.
According to USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) records, Tesla filed the extension request on February 11, 2026, and it was granted the same day. The move signals that Tesla is not ready to walk away from the “Cybercab” name, but it’s also not ready to launch a full legal fight over it.
Tesla’s domestic sales in China collapsed 45% year-over-year in January, falling to just 18,485 units — the automaker’s lowest monthly retail figure in the country since November 2022. The data, released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), paints a grim picture of Tesla’s demand in the world’s largest EV market.
The figure represents an 80% plunge from December’s record-high 93,843 domestic deliveries. While seasonal declines between December and January are normal in China, a 45% year-over-year drop is not.
On today’s Texas-sized episode of Quick Charge, Tesla Cybertruck owners in the Lone Star state get V2G access, Tesla Model 3 and Y models get WeChat via OTA, and Toyota has an all-new electric Toyota Highlander with up to 320 miles of range!
Utility-scale energy storage developer Energy Vault just signed a strategic agreement with Peak Energy, which manufactures sodium-ion energy battery storage systems, to build a battery platform specifically designed for “AI-first” data center operators.
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