Zachary Shahan, Author at CleanTechnica

Ford Electric Cars To Have Best Fast Charging In USA With Tesla Supercharging

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 26 May 2023 00:01:07 +0000

Ford and Tesla came out with a big announcement today. Starting in 2025, Ford will bring electric vehicles to market that will include Tesla’s Supercharging port — also now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS). That means Ford electric vehicles will have the best charging access in the United States, unless something changes, as […]

Is Tesla The Company Of The Decade Or About To Crash?

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 25 May 2023 06:25:47 +0000

Is Tesla The Company Of The Decade Or About To Crash?

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Tesla-Model-3-Tesla-Model-Y-green-wrap-watermark-e1684995360523-400x238.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Tesla-Model-3-Tesla-Model-Y-green-wrap-watermark-e1684995360523-800x476.jpeg" />Tesla has done one thing really well for more than a decade — brought the excitement. There’s almost never been a dull moment covering Tesla. There was a period of time after the company exploded in terms of production, sales, and revenue when I drafted stories like “Tesla is Boring Now” — because it was […]

Waymo + Uber — Will This Combo Blow Up Robotaxi Use?

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 25 May 2023 04:59:21 +0000

Waymo’s been expanding, and usage of the company’s robotaxis has been growing steadily, but, honestly, it’s all been happening a bit slowly. That’s been the investment/financial critique of the company, that it can’t scale up quickly, easily, or profitably. An investment case is hard to make if there’s no clear way a company or technology […]

7 More Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) Perspectives & Observations

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 20 May 2023 17:26:27 +0000

Tesla Autopilot in action stopping at a stop sign. Photo by Zach Shahan, CleanTechnica.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2021/03/Tesla-Model-3-Autostopping-Stop-Light-Autopilot-Full-Self-Driving-CleanTechnica-Stop-Sign-600-ft-Bazaar-Header-400x248.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2021/03/Tesla-Model-3-Autostopping-Stop-Light-Autopilot-Full-Self-Driving-CleanTechnica-Stop-Sign-600-ft-Bazaar-Header-800x496.jpeg" />For years, the CleanTechnica reader community has amazed me. The quality of thought, diversity of thought, and depth of information is astounding. When I published a story last night on Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) progress, I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s a true grey area that displays tremendous progress in technology and […]

Tesla Full Self Driving (Beta) — 1st Notable Improvement In 1½ Years

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 20 May 2023 04:50:32 +0000

The Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) suite is a bit of an enigma. I’ve had it for 1½ years, and since long before I’ve had it, I’ve seen some people with the software suite raving about how amazing it is. Indeed, that the car is somewhat able to drive anywhere is a major technical feat. […]

International Solar Alliance & United Nations Launch Solar Agriculture Irrigation Program

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 19 May 2023 17:10:46 +0000

Image courtesy of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/solar-agriculture-ISA-400x191.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/solar-agriculture-ISA-800x382.jpeg" />Solar plus agriculture has been one of my kicks lately. It’s a combo made in heaven, and we should see much more of it in the coming decade. I recently conducted a whole podcast on the topic that, if you haven’t listened to it yet, I highly recommend: We’ve got more news on the solar […]

Solar Panels for Garden Fences — Plug & Play Solar Gone Wild

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 19 May 2023 03:47:08 +0000

I recently wrote about tiltable, portable solar panels that are ideal for agrivoltaic installations. Scaling down from the farm to the garden level, another company is now offering plug & play solar panels that you can hang on garden fences. German startup Green Akku has created this clever little solar PV option. (There are a […]

ABB E-mobility Now Sells ENERGY STAR Certified Fast Chargers — What Does That Mean?

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 18 May 2023 19:12:27 +0000

An ABB E-mobility press release passed my desk recently, and it caught my eye because I was a bit thrown off by the news. As you can see in the headline, the news is that ABB E-mobility is now selling EV fast chargers that are ENERGY STAR Certified. I typically associate the ENERGY STAR program […]

Google Installing 500 Megawatts of Solar for Environmental Justice

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 18 May 2023 13:19:22 +0000

Solar power is not just for rich people, but it’s not free and you typically need to show a decent credit score to finance it. As with many things in life, the less wealthy people in society are left behind a bit as we transition into this cleaner, more financially sensible (in the long term) […]

Tesla Model Y To Be Best-Selling Car In The World In 2023?

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 18 May 2023 06:18:34 +0000

Several years ago, before the first Tesla Model Y got into customer hands, I argued that the electric crossover could become the best selling car in the world. It appears that we’re now on the precipice of that happening. The argument was simple: The Tesla Model 3 had shattered records for its reservation tally — […]

First Solar Buys Evolar

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 18 May 2023 03:50:46 +0000

Image courtesy of Evolar.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Evolar-tandem-perovskite-solar-power-400x161.png" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Evolar-tandem-perovskite-solar-power-800x323.png" />First Solar has been around for, well, what seems like forever. It was founded in 1999, well before the solar boom took off and solar power became big business. Back then, there were all kinds of claims about how little solar power could ever contribute to the electricity supply. It was seen by many as […]

Cruise Robotaxis Entering More Cities

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 18 May 2023 00:29:24 +0000

Cruise has slowly been expanding its network of robotaxis and their availability in certain markets. Though, it’s been a long time since the company entered new cities … until now. Cruise is now coming to Houston and Dallas. While Cruise vehicles will be fully self driving and operate even without safety drivers in other markets, […]

Tesla Leads Auto World In Operating Margin, Model Y Best Selling Car In World — 17 Tesla Meeting Highlights

Zachary Shahan — Wed, 17 May 2023 05:33:37 +0000

Tesla’s 2023 annual shareholder meeting was a few hours ago. Many of the things presented there were already presented in the company’s Master Plan Part 3, Investor Day presentation, and previous quarterly shareholder conference calls. However, let’s look at a few of the highlights. First of all, as many have been hoping, or at least […]

7 Solar Stories You Should See: Largest Solar PPA in South America, 2-Gigawatt First Solar Order …

Zachary Shahan — Wed, 17 May 2023 03:03:27 +0000

There are hundreds of solar power news stories a day. We can’t cover the vast majority of them. Below are a few top solar power stories that we didn’t quite cover but thought shouldn’t be missed. Enjoy. Largest solar PPA in South America The longest term and largest solar PPA (power purchase agreement) was recently […]

How About These Tiltable, Portable Solar PV Panels?

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 16 May 2023 23:51:57 +0000

Image courtesy of Sinn Power.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Sinn-Power-portable-tiltable-SKipp-solar-modules-400x200.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Sinn-Power-portable-tiltable-SKipp-solar-modules-800x400.jpeg" />This is a new one. A German solar company that mostly focuses on floating solar power plant solutions has come up with something novel. It has introduced tiltable, portable solar panels. These SKipp solar panels from Sinn Power are ideal for something like camping or mobile work sites where you move location frequently. Sinn Power […]

1st Solar Bike Path In Germany Is Now Live

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 16 May 2023 18:03:04 +0000

Image courtesy of Badenova AG & Co. KG

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/solar-bike-path-Germany-Badenova-400x200.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/solar-bike-path-Germany-Badenova-800x400.jpeg" />This is one of those combos that always seems like a cleantech solution made in heaven: bike paths covered by simple solar PV roofs. Bikers, using the cleanest mode of transportation on Earth, get a little relief from the sun or protection from the rain while also being separated from the roadway and protected from […]

10 Electric Vehicle Stories We Missed — Hyundai IONIQ 6 Wins Award, Shell Buys Volta, IKEA EV Charging …

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 13 May 2023 04:54:03 +0000

Image courtesy of Hyundai.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/02/Hyundai-IONIQ-6-electric-car-e1675923658344-400x215.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/02/Hyundai-IONIQ-6-electric-car-e1675923658344-800x430.jpeg" />There are always a large number of stories we put on our story sheet for writers that don’t get covered. And some of those are big stories that I wish we had covered. New UK DriveElectric Hub to Give Real-Time EV Cost and Carbon Data As electric vehicles (EVs) get more and more popular, a […]

NIO: 10 Billion Kilometers, 20 Million Battery Swaps

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 13 May 2023 00:58:15 +0000

It seems that NIO has been rolling out big news quicker and quicker. It just keeps hitting new giant milestones and innovating on its unique technology. In the past few weeks, it has reached 10 billion kilometers driven across its customer vehicle fleet, and it has surpassed 20 million battery swaps. More stunning stats and […]

A Fire Truck for EV Battery Fires

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 12 May 2023 22:28:40 +0000

This is an interesting one. Electric vehicles catch fire less frequently than gas-powered vehicles. However, if they do catch fire, their battery fires are a bit different and can take a long time to put out. They can also reignite if not put out adequately. Firefighters around the world have adapted, but one way a […]

13 EV Fast-Charging Hubs for NYC

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 12 May 2023 19:12:50 +0000

Tesla taxi alongside gasmobiles in NYC. Image by Brendan Miles, CleanTechnica.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2021/06/Tesla-Taxi-Brendan-Miles-CleanTechnica-400x295.jpg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2021/06/Tesla-Taxi-Brendan-Miles-CleanTechnica-800x591.jpg" />New York City (NYC) is putting in 13 EV fast-charging hubs across city parking garages. The charging hubs being rolled out by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and New York Power Authority (NYPA) will include approximately 50 fast-charging plugs. “This investment will accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles across the city, […]

Tesla Model 3 Service & Maintenance Costs After 3.75 Years & 37,000 Miles

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 12 May 2023 04:17:45 +0000

My Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus (SR+) is 3 months away from its 4-year birthday, and is approaching 37,000 miles. I had the air filter changed today, which means it’s time for another update on the car’s operation and maintenance costs. The last time I wrote an update on my Model 3 maintenance costs […]

Tesla Produces 5000 Model Y In One Week In Texas & Launches Lithium Refining Site

Zachary Shahan — Wed, 10 May 2023 12:07:08 +0000

Photo courtesy of Tesla

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Tesla-Model-Y-production-Giga-Texas-400x200.png" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/05/Tesla-Model-Y-production-Giga-Texas-800x400.png" />Tesla is on a roll this week. To keep up with its almost constantly growing sales, Tesla has been ramping up Model Y production at sites around the world. It has also just broken ground on a lithium refinery project. The big news on both fronts this week comes from The Lone Star State. (Unfortunately, […]

Leader & Laggard of the Week: Austin & Texas

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 02 May 2023 07:10:19 +0000

It’s ironic — this week’s Cleantech Leader of the Week is the capital city of this week’s Cleantech Laggard of the Week. The city of Austin, and specifically its public transportation agency, made one of the most exciting EV announcements of the past year, while the state of Texas went out there and pushed to […]

Volkswagen Has A Huge Avenue For US Market Expansion — If It Takes It

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 12:08:41 +0000

In the first quarter of 2023, Volkswagen accounted for less than 2% of the US auto market. It doesn’t have a big presence in the US. But it could. Toyota (+11% of the market) and Honda (+7% of the market) grew to become huge players in the market. Hyundai and Kia (+5% of the market […]

Texas Continues Its Attack On Electric Cars & Trucks — To Implement $200 Annual Fee On EVs

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 07:31:23 +0000

Kia EV6 in Austin, Texas. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2022/12/Kia-EV6-400x227.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2022/12/Kia-EV6-800x453.jpeg" />Oy, Texas. … First, Texas decided to not allow people to buy Teslas in the state. It’s a long and complicated story, but the funny thing is that you still can’t go into a Tesla store and buy a Tesla in Texas, yet Tesla’s global headquarters is now located there and “Giga Texas” is set […]

Yahoo Gets It Wrong — These Are The Reasons EV Market Share Is Lower In USA Than Europe & China

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 03:29:17 +0000

Yahoo! published an article this week titled “Americans aren’t lining up to buy EVs — despite the new $7,500 Inflation Reduction Act tax credit. Here are the 2 big reasons why.” It’s an odd claim in the first place, and the arguments are wrong. That’s not to say the article doesn’t make some good, useful […]

The VW ID.4 Is Cooler Than I Thought — 6 Features My Tesla Doesn’t Have

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 17:05:25 +0000

Volkswagen ID.4 sales were up 254% in the 1st quarter in the USA. here are several cool features that help to explain why, including 6 that my Tesla Model 3 doesn't have.

US Electric Vehicle Sales Up 66%, Rise To 7% Of US Auto Sales

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 02:01:17 +0000

The US electric vehicle market has been growing strongly year after year. Sales in the 1st quarter of 2023 are more than double sales in the 1st quarter of 2021, and they are more than 5 times what they were three years ago. In the grand scheme of things, according to CleanTechnica‘s calculations, pure electric […]

Solar Power & Farming: A Win–Win–Win–Win

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 01:03:48 +0000

Solar energy is critical to almost all forms of farming. As we learn as kids, sunshine is a critical ingredient to plant growth. But what about the combination of solar power — solar PV power — and farming? For the most part, this combo has always tickled people’s interest and excited readers here on CleanTechnica. […]

Tesla Now 8th Best Selling Auto Brand In USA — US Auto Sales +9% vs. 2022, -11% vs. 2019

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 06:49:15 +0000

It’s time for another quarterly report on US auto sales. Like a few other major news outlets, I track total quarterly sales of the US auto industry, but I also conduct a thorough analysis of the trends of each automaker. Furthermore, I compare last quarter’s sales not just to the same quarter last year, but […]

South Florida Faces Fuel Crisis From Flooding — Electric Cars Fine

Zachary Shahan — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 20:46:32 +0000

South Florida got some crazy, record-breaking rain and flooding last week. With natural disasters, come fuel crises, and in this case, there were massive fuel shortages in the South Florida region. You know who didn’t have any such problems? Electric car drivers. There’s plenty of anti-EV hype about “but what do you do if there’s […]

Tesla Just Passed 4 Million Cumulative Sales (Charts)

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 06:44:49 +0000

Below are 9 charts showing Tesla's rapid quarterly sales charts and graphs as well as its cumulative sales growth from quarter to quarter. Tesla's sales growth continues to be phenomenal.

Why Did Tesla Stock Price Crash After Q1 Report & Conference Call?

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 11:03:46 +0000

Tesla’s stock price dropped 9.75% yesterday, just following the release of Tesla’s Q1 report and conference call for shareholders. It’s down 11.4% across 5 days. There’s a lot of discussion about why Tesla’s stock is down so much, with at least half a dozen reasons being commonly put out there. Naturally, some explanations are more […]

The 7 Fully Electric Cars That Now Get $7,500 US EV Tax Credit [UPDATED]

Zachary Shahan — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 09:30:20 +0000

Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2022/03/Tesla-Model-Y-red-Model-3-white-Model-S-purple-fleet-Supercharging-CleanTechnica-Watermark-e1683333552614-400x256.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2022/03/Tesla-Model-Y-red-Model-3-white-Model-S-purple-fleet-Supercharging-CleanTechnica-Watermark-e1683333552614-800x512.jpeg" />The US federal tax credit for electric vehicles has been updated, and that means that some electric cars, trucks, and SUVs no longer qualify for the full tax credit — or even half the tax credit. Actually, most electric vehicles on the market in the United States no longer qualify! That’s unfortunate, but the good […]

$25,000 Electric Car Coming To USA? It’s Already Here!

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 11:30:03 +0000

For a couple of days, I saw a CNBC headline being featured on Google News about a coming $25,000 electric car, a potential industry disruptor. Of course, there’s been hype for a few years now about a potential $25,000 electric car from Tesla, but it was in the news more so recently, so this is […]

If You’ve Been Saying You’re Waiting For A Good Non-Tesla Electric Car, Now Is The Time!

Zachary Shahan — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:24:36 +0000

I had this article title drafted up a while back. It had just hit me that there were really several highly competitive, highly compelling electric vehicles on the market now — even in the USA — and that it’s now a prime time for mainstream car buyers to start going electric. So, I wrote the […]

Leader & Leader of the Week: BYD & U.S. EPA

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 02:10:20 +0000

Without a doubt, BYD has to be selected as the “Leader of the Week” here on CleanTechnica this week. The reasons are … numerous. However, I didn’t spot an obvious laggard, and I did want to give props to another leader who could not be skipped. So, we’ve got a “Leader of the Week” double […]

“15 Years” With The Tesla Model 3

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 23:00:00 +0000

What’s it like owning a Tesla Model 3? Furthermore, we all know what’s great about a Model 3, but what should a new owner watch out for or be aware of? It depends on who you ask — different owners have different experiences. Some experiences are more common than others, though, and some are more […]

Fast Growing EV Sales Around The World In 2022 — Charts!

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:58:06 +0000

Just 5–10 years ago, I’d say 90% of EV enthusiasts were underestimating how much electric vehicle share of the overall auto market would grow in Europe and China. (The US is currently … quite far behind. But EV market share is growing here, too.) If you haven’t been obsessively following CleanTechnica‘s monthly EV sales reports […]

30% Of Americans In Market For A New Car Not Considering Gasoline Vehicles

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 01:27:01 +0000

How Many People Are On Waitlists For Electric Cars?

More Green Batteries for Europe & USA — From Norway’s FREYR

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 03:57:07 +0000

I recently spoke with FREYR CEO Tom Jensen for our CleanTech Talk podcast. We discussed FREYR’s plans for battery gigafactories in Europe and the USA, and particularly these regions catching up to China in EV battery production (including the battery supply chain). We also talked innovation in EV battery development and production. You can find […]

Leader & Laggard of the Week: Ford & Germany

Zachary Shahan — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 01:16:04 +0000

BlueOval City, Ford’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing campus in West Tennessee, begins production in 2025, and will be home to Ford’s second-generation electric truck, codenamed Project T3, and will be capable of producing 500,000 EV trucks a year at full production. Site shown as of March 10, 2023. Photo courtesy of Ford.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/03/BlueOval-City-construction-400x221.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/03/BlueOval-City-construction-800x442.jpeg" />A large part of our role in the media is to highlight cleantech leaders, and another large part is to bring to light climate and cleantech laggards. With that in mind, we’re starting a new series — a weekly look at a company, person, organization, or country that stood out in a good way and […]

Tesla Extended Warranty for Model 3 & Model Y Now an Option!

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 05:46:48 +0000

It seems like most Americans are routinely hounded by annoying, scammy, spam phone calls telling you that you need to buy an extended warranty for your car. (Though, I haven’t been getting those for a while. Thanks, Biden?) I’m not sure why or how those became such common spam calls, but if you are indeed […]

Lithium News: 7 Lithium Stories You Might Have Missed

Zachary Shahan — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 03:13:45 +0000

Image courtesy of Lithium Americas

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/03/Thacker-Pass-400x152.png" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/03/Thacker-Pass-800x303.png" />Lithium, lithium, lithium — as much as we cover the lithium market, there’s much more to cover. The lithium market is jumping. Below are 7 notable lithium stories we haven’t written about before today. Lithium Americas has started construction on its Thacker Pass lithium project located in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provided […]

7-Eleven Now In EV Charging Business With 7Charge

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 03:57:41 +0000

7-Eleven, Inc. Launches 7Charge.

" data-medium-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/03/7Charge-7-Eleven-charging-stations-400x210.jpeg" data-large-file="https://cleantechnica.com/files/2023/03/7Charge-7-Eleven-charging-stations-800x420.jpeg" />Everyone, their mother, and their dog can see that the auto industry is electrifying. That includes oil companies (like Shell) and gas stations & convenience stores (like 7-Eleven). Regarding the latter, the news this week is that 7-Eleven has launched its own EV charging network! The name of that charging network is 7Charge. The first […]