Meet the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology. That's a long and mild name for a pretty radical reinvention of the classic G. This is the first battery-powered G-Wagen, driven by a whopping four electric motors that draw juice from a 116-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Total output is 580 horsepower.

Those four motors enable the electric G to do some amazing things, like a so-called G-Turn, where it spins in place. The idea is to help this big rig get out of some tight off-road situations, but we think it'll be even more effective at impressing your neighbors. There's a bevy of other tech here too, including dedicated off-road driving modes and a series of cameras that allow drivers to spot every rock and rut when crossing the trails. No formal word on pricing just yet, but it's important to note that the gas-powered versions of the G-Class live on, so if you're really attached to internal combustion there's still a G for you.

Really, though, if you can't do a tank turn, then what's the point? Watch the video above for the full story.

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Formula E says the Gen3 Evo is capable of accelerating a full second faster than the Gen3 version, going from 0 to 60 mph in 1.82 seconds (0-100 kph in 1.86 seconds). It explained that that time is 30 percent faster than a 2024 Formula 1 car and 36 percent faster than the Gen3 EV currently used in races. Those numbers aren't theoretical either: the series has already achieved the benchmarks on track in Misano, Italy.

"It's not simulated, it's real," Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told Engadget. "It was really timed by the FIA at that speed." Dodds added that there were some "slight tweaks" in some areas, but the Gen3 Evo should still hit 60 mph in under two seconds when it debuts on track for races next year.

A key aspect of this unlocked acceleration is the use of AWD on a Formula E car for the first time. The series debuted dual powertrains with Gen3, but until now, the one up front was only being used for battery regeneration. AWD will only be used during the later rounds of qualifying (head-to-head duels), the race start and when a driver has activated Attack Mode during the race. Besides the boost to acceleration, drivers should have better control and more grip when AWD is active. Plus, it entirely changes team strategy and could lead to even more exciting racing.

"One of the occasional criticisms I hear is Attack Mode doesn't have a big enough difference," Dodds said. "I think with all-wheel drive, that will make a difference." He also noted that when you have 22 cars that are all capable of 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds barreling towards turn one, "that makes for a high jeopardy, exciting start of a race."

One frustration of Gen3 that Formula E is addressing with the Gen3 Evo is the fragility of the front wing. As part of a larger overhaul to the body that includes new side pods, rear wing and more, the new car has a redesigned, slightly pointier nose and a strengthened front wing. With the Gen3 car, front wing damage is common, and it often gets stuck under the car, which becomes dangerous for a driver trying to make his way back to the pit lane. In addition to being "stronger" and "more robust," according to Formula E, the body changes also improve aerodynamics, which could contribute to more wheel-to-wheel battles on track.

Another key change is to the tires. Formula E is still working with Hankook on the all-weather compound used for its races, but the updated version offers 5- to 10-percent more grip compared to the current spec. Dodds explained that this increase in traction is essential since Gen3 Evo employs the front powertrain for AWD.

"If you haven't got the increase in grip on the tires, that's pretty challenging to control," he said.

In total, Formula E says the performance upgrades on the Gen3 Evo equate to a two-second drop in qualifying lap times around the tight, twisty Monaco street circuit. Since the series stipulates qualifying time in that estimate, that means AWD and a higher power mode would be active to achieve it. But, it also means Formula E is unlocking the full potential of what Gen3 has been capable of since its debut last season.

Indeed, the bulk of the Gen3 car is still intact. That includes an all-electric race car that's incredibly efficient, converting 90 percent of its energy to mechanical power. By employing 600kW regenerative braking, the cars produce almost 50 percent of the energy they need to complete a race while on track. Like its predecessor, the Gen3 Evo remains capable of a top speed of 200 mph. And just like before, teams will make performance updates to the cars via software changes in search of any on-track advantage.

Formula E says there has already been some driver testing of the Gen3 Evo behind closed doors, and the feedback has been very positive. Dodds explained that Tag Heuer Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein and DS Penske's Jean-Éric Vergne both drove the car in test sessions with rave reviews. Vergne, who is one of the more outspoken drivers on the grid, specifically noted how much better it drives than the current car.

"The sooner we can get to [Gen3 Evo] in season 11, the better, as far as he's concerned," Dodds explained. "It's lovely to get that feedback, because happy drivers often create happy races."

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“As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly wrote in the memo. “As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10 percent globally.”

It emerged in early February that the company asked managers which employees’ positions were essential, suggesting that layoffs were imminent. The automaker also canceled biannual performance reviews for some workers, according to Bloomberg.

Since 2020, Tesla has effectively doubled its headcount and ended 2023 with more than 140,000 employees. Although it has carried out several rounds of layoffs over the years (including dozens of workers on the Autopilot team a year ago), the company’s workforce grew by about 10 percent in 2023 alone.

During Tesla’s quarterly earnings call in January, CEO Elon Musk noted that the company was between “two major growth waves.” The first was the popularity of the Model 3 and Y. The next is a lower-cost EV that the company seems to be pinning its hopes on. That’s slated to arrive in late 2025, though Reuters suggests Tesla may be ditching that lower-cost model to focus on robotaxis. Electrek backed up Reuters’ reporting today, saying that the low-cost model was effectively postponed as Tesla is putting its resources into robotaxis instead. The site also notes that “many people involved” in the low-cost car project was laid off as part of the layoffs. Musk says that the company plans to reveal its robotaxi on August 8.

Musk had warned investors to expect “notably lower” sales growth this year, which may have prompted cost-cutting efforts to appease them. Indeed, Tesla saw a sales slump in the first three months of 2024. Deliveries dropped by eight percent year-over-year and 20 percent from the previous quarter. The company is set to report earnings and sales for the first quarter of 2024 on April 23.

Update, April 15, 4:45PM ET: This story was modified after publish to include further details from Electrek about the layoffs in relation to Tesla’s low-cost car project.

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That’s down 20 percent from the 484,507 vehicles Tesla delivered in Q4 2023 and an eight percent dip year-over-year. This was Tesla’s first YoY sales drop since 2020, Bloomberg points out. The figures also fell well short of projections — on average, analysts expected Tesla to deliver 449,080 EVs.

There are some mitigating factors at play, as TechCrunch notes. Tesla had to close its factory in Germany for almost a week due to an arson attack. It also put most production at the Berlin-area facility on hold for a fortnight due to shipping disruptions resulting from Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. Tesla also pointed to an early production ramp up of the revised Model 3 as another reason for the drop in deliveries.

Tesla says it built 412,376 Model 3 and Y vehicles in the first three months of 2024 and 20,995 other models for a total of 433,371. Of the deliveries, 369,783 were Model 3s and Model Ys. The company didn’t detail the number of Cybertrucks it built and delivered.

As is often the case, Tesla tried a few tactics to juice sales at the end of the quarter, such as once again offering a free trial of Full Self-Driving (which, despite the name, is not an autonomous driving system). The company also hinted to prospective buyers who’d been on the fence that they should snap up one of its EVs before a price increase on April 1. Sure enough, on Monday, the company jacked up the price of every Model Y trim by $1,000 in the US.

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned that the company was between “two major growth waves” — the boom of the Model 3 and Y, and a lower-cost EV that’s expected to arrive in late 2025. As such, he warned investors that Tesla was likely to see “notably lower” sales growth this year.

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But it's about to get even wilder. Meet the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car. This is a lightweight, caged, and big-winged version of Hyundai's rocket ship, tuned to such an extreme level that it isn't even road legal. Yes, this one's strictly for racing, and Hyundai is launching a focused racing series for the 5 N later this year.

Ahead of that, I headed to Korea to take it for a drive on a closed track. Inje Speedium is a tricky circuit with lots of elevation changes, and despite some inclement weather the Ioniq 5 N eN1 proved to be a masterful drive. And, at $100,000, for a track-ready machine, it's surprisingly value-priced. Watch the video above for the full story.

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The next-generation electric pickup, codenamed “T3,” is also being delayed from late 2025 to 2026. It’s being built at the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center assembly plant at the company’s BlueOval City complex, though Ford says it’s just now installing stamping equipment that will produce the sheet metal for the truck.

Alongside these announcements, the company has revealed a new push for hybrid vehicles. It has stated it plans on offering hybrid powertrains across the entire Ford Blue lineup by 2030. Despite the aforementioned delays and the pivot toward hybrid vehicles, Ford says it remains committed to EVs and that it’s continuing construction of battery plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky.

However, it’s no secret that the EV market is not quite as robust as companies once hoped it would be. Maybe it’s the high price of entry, the spotty charging infrastructure or the fact that some EVs do not qualify for the federal tax break. Heck, maybe consumers are simply turned off by a certain CEO who shall not be named.

In any event, the slowdown is real, though perhaps a bit overstated. Ford experienced a decline in EV sales of 11 percent in January, but the company says it bounced back and that sales have increased by 86 percent throughout the entire first quarter when compared to last year. However, the company’s EV offerings lost $4.7 billion in 2023.

“We are committed to scaling a profitable EV business”, said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. To that end, the company announced last year that it would be delaying or canceling $12 billion in planned spending on electric vehicles. It’s unclear how today’s announcements will impact Ford’s plans to ramp up production to 600,000 EVs per year. In any event, customers can now use Tesla Superchargers in the US and Canada, which should help assuage some of those infrastructure concerns.

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The canceled entry-level EV project —often called “Model 2” — was reportedly codenamed “Redwood.” The automaker had predicted a weekly production volume of 10,000 vehicles, and Musk said, “We’ll be sleeping on the line” to make it a reality. He had previously claimed Tesla was working on two new EV models expected to sell up to five million units annually.

For nearly two decades, the CEO has described his long-term goal as using luxury vehicles to build Tesla’s brand before using those profits to fund budget models. “When someone buys the Tesla Roadster sports car, they are actually helping pay for development of the low cost family car,” Musk wrote in a 2006 “Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan” memo. In the following years, he often echoed those sentiments to customers and investors.

The cancellation would leave the $39,000 and up Model 3 sedan as Tesla’s cheapest vehicle. The scrapped budget model was expected to start at around $25,000.

Reuters’ sources told the outlet they were told about the cancellation in a late February meeting “attended by scores of employees.” The publication says it reviewed internal Tesla messages about the pivot, including one advising staff to hold off on telling suppliers “about program cancellation.” Other messages allegedly told staffers that “suppliers should halt all further activities related to H422/NV91,” referring to the budget model’s external and internal codenames.

Musk posted on X (Twitter) on Friday, “Reuters is lying (again)” in response to the story — without listing any points of contention.

Tesla has its work cut out for it. Not only has EV demand slowed in the US, but competition in China is fierce, with the fast-growing BYD leading the country’s entry-level market. The Chinese automaker said earlier this month that its sales increased 13 percent year over year. Meanwhile, Tesla said on Tuesday that its deliveries dropped eight percent annually while falling 20 percent from the previous quarter.

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The NXT Gen Cup was scheduled to be part of the four European events in Formula E's Season 10, including this weekend's Misano E-Prix double-header. However, according to The Race, there were last-minute hitches in a deal between Formula E and the support series' organizer, Fredrik Lestrup and the Lestrup Racing Team.

As a result, the electric Mini Cooper SE-based NXT Gen Cup (which debuted at a few events last year) is off the calendar for the time being. Formula E previously ran the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy support series between 2018 and 2020, but that didn't prove successful.

The NXT Gen Cup decision has left Formula E scrambling to pad out the slate of activities available for fans at Italian circuit Misano. Organizers have added pit-lane autograph sessions, additional pit walks and expanded other promotional activities.

There's arguably more concern for the drivers, engineers and other team members who were set to take part in the NXT Gen Cup. Races were planned to include male and female drivers, many of whom were under 17. The circuit would have given them valuable experience as Formula E and motorsport as a whole attempts to blood the next generation of competitors. However, a spokesperson said that “Formula E remains committed to nurturing the next generation of talent through FIA Girls on Track and other impactful initiatives for young people.”

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A 24-module Ultium battery powers the SUV, producing over 200kWh of available energy. It supports 800-volt DC fast charging and can provide up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging on 350-kW DC charging stations. It supports up to 19.2 kW AC with an estimated 37 miles of range per hour of charging.

The Escalade IQ has two electric motors supplying 680 horsepower (505 kW) and 615 lb-ft (834 Nm) of torque in normal mode. However, it can reach 750 hp (560 kW) and 785 lb-ft (1,064 Nm) in a Velocity Max mode. It’s rated to reach 60mph in less than five seconds in Velocity Max.

The Escalade IQ will make its presence known on roads, joining the ranks of electrified behemoths like the Hummer, Silverado, GMC Sierra Denali and Ram 1500 EV. The new Cadillac measures nearly 19 feet long, eight feet wide and over six feet high. But you get significant room inside with 119.2 cubic feet of cargo volume with the second and third-row seats folded. (It also has a frunk that adds another 12 cubic feet of storage.)

All told, the SUV can tow up to 8,000 pounds. Additionally, it has a dash-spanning 55-inch dual-screen LED display, and its infotainment system runs Android Automotive OS (including Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Play Store). Higher-end tiers offer 360-degree audio through an AKG 40-speaker array.

Production for the 2025 Escalade IQ will begin next summer at GM’s Factory Zero assembly center in Detroit. Pricing “starts at around $130,000,” including destination charges.

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That's in the same ballpark as the Tesla Model X (333 miles) and better than the Model Y (303 miles), as well as Ford's Mustang Mach-E (up to 312 miles) and the F-150 Lightning (230 miles). What's more, Honda is touting this range for a starting price of around $60,000. The first Acura ZDX deliveries are slated for early 2024 with pre-sales starting later this year. Sales will take place exclusively online.

The company unveiled the EV at Monterey Car Week after teasing it earlier this month. It will be available in two variants: the Acura ZDX A-Spec and ZDX Type S. The former is expected to deliver 340 horsepower. The dual-motor, all-wheel-drive ZDX Type S will have an estimated 500 horsepower and is expected to start at around $70,000. Honda says that will be "the most powerful and best performing Acura SUV ever" but it's expected to eke out a shorter range of 288 miles from the 102 kWh battery. Of note, the ZDX A-Spec will have 20-inch wheels, while the Type S has 22-inch wheels.

Honda has been dripfeeding details about the ZDX for months, so it was already known that the EV would have Android Auto, built-in Google apps and Apple CarPlay integration. It will feature an 11-inch touchscreen dashboard for the driver and an 11.3-inch center display. The ZDX is the first Acura model with a Bang & Olufsen audio system, which comes as standard. It has 18 speakers, including a subwoofer.

Safety features include a rear pedestrian alert and blind zone steering assist. The ZDX Type S has hands-free cruise driver assistance. According to Acura, that allows for "true hands-free driving on up to 400,000 miles of compatible roads." The Type S also has an automatic parking assist system that should help with parallel parking.

When it comes to topping up the EV's battery, Honda is hoping you'll never be too far away from a charging station. Last month, it announced a joint effort with six other automakers to build an extensive network of 30,000 stations in North America. The initiative's first locations are expected to open in the US next summer. Honda also notes that the ZDX supports DC Fast Charging, and a 10-minute top up can add up to 81 miles of range to the ZDX A-Spec's battery in the rear-wheel drive configuration.

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