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Arcimoto CEO Mark Frohnmayer talks MLM Cybertrike

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Arcimoto CEO Mark Frohnmayer took the time to chat with me about the company’s new Mean Lean Machine (MLM) Cybertrike. Arcimoto is known for its Fun Utility Vehicle and you might remember that Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen once took one for a spin.

This is part one of our interview.

Mark initially introduced the new e-trike at the company’s Ramp It Up event back in February. The new MLM Cybertrike is actually Arcimoto’s fourth-generation prototype.

The new version of the MLM has major improvements in the suspension, the first packaging study of the company’s MicroFutureDrive and carbon fiber wheels.

Mark Frohnmaher on naming the MLM Cybertrike

“It’s a project of true passion for a brilliant team of engineers.”

He explained that this version is the true prototype for the mid-line edition of the Mean Lean Machine, which is what they are calling the Cybertrike Edition.

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He also told me where the name, Cybertrike came from.

“One of the guys on the team who’s been a key on the design was really, really hot on that name. And then a bunch of the Tesla fans out there who follow us kept saying it. So, I was like, ‘alright, mid-line version’s the Cybertrike.’”

Features of the MLM Cybertrike.

Mark told me that this version has a near-production intent frame and if you compare the differences between versions three and four, this one “has substantially more carrying capacity.”

He further explained.

“A rack on the back, a rack mount on the back, a rack mount on the front, a rack mount on the steering stem. It has major refinements to the suspension.”

It also has carbon fiber wheels and lighter motors. Mark explained that all of these improvements will yield significant ride improvements.

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The Heart Of Platform 2

“It also has our first packaging instance of the MicroFuture Drive which is the heart of Platform 2. When we talk about Platform 2 and MicroFuture Drive, that is a combined integrated battery–a large battery for an e-bike class vehicle.”

“We’re targeting 1.8kWh and then all of the electronics, the inverters, the phone-home, GPS, VCU–all of that in one box. As you know with the Mean Lean Machine, there’s no chain, there’s no belt. You don’t get grease on your leg. There’s one motor on each wheel and then you’re actually pedaling a motor–a generator. And that is your throttle.”

It also allows for recharging while it’s sitting stationary.

Arcimoto’s acquisition of Tilting Motor Works

Mark spoke of technology from Tilting Motor Works, which the company acquired last year.

“All of that together is leveraging the best in class in the world, we believe, tilting three-wheeled design technology that we’ve acquired with Tilting Motor Works last year. And then adding on just next-level EV tech to make for a truly, truly unique, and awesome ride.

“When you think about that, it is a three-wheeler that has a ride feel of a two-wheeled machine but with some significant advantages. Much better stability, much better traction. You’ve got independent control of each of the three wheels. Even if you lose traction on one wheel, the vehicle can adjust.”

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Stay tuned for Part 2 of our interview.

If you have a tip, feel free to send them to johnna@teslarati.com

 

Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge writer covering Tesla, Elon Musk, EVs, and clean energy & supports Tesla's mission. Johnna also interviewed Elon Musk and you can listen here

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Cybertruck

Tesla is ending Cybertruck production

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Credit: diagnosticdennis/Instagram and @smile__no via Tesla Owners of Santa Clarita Valley/X

Tesla is ending Cybertruck production sometime in mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk.

Musk made the announcement on X last night, which came as a shock to many. He said that the Cybertruck will end production “to make room for increased Cybercab production” at Gigafactory Texas.

It is a huge blow to the fans of Tesla who have come to love the Cybertruck and identify with it as a symbol of their fandom. It has been the best-selling electric pickup, but it has had an underwhelming sales performance in terms of what was expected. This is mostly due to Tesla not meeting the prices it planned to offer the Cybertruck, as its unveiling and actual release were four years apart.

Overall, the responses were mixed. Some fans understood the move toward Cybercab production, especially as Tesla is truly pushing the autonomous future through its Robotaxi platform. However, others did not understand it.

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“Damn, how many Cybercabs do you guys need?” one response read. Another said it was “Sad but understandable.”Even analyst Gary Black had responded to the news, stating he hoped Tesla planned to replace it with a traditional pickup design.

It doesn’t seem like that will be the case.

Tesla is so hell-bent on delivering autonomy and eventually providing a driverless service that owning a car seems like an arbitrary idea, according to their thesis. Instead, Cybercabs will be available to pick you up and drop you off on demand, safely, without any human help.

As a result, Tesla has thinned its lineup considerably, and one can only ask where the vehicle lineup goes from here. Eventually, it seems like Cybercab could be the only vehicle that Tesla will sell.

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SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th

SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15 and its first ship catch.

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SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, the mission the company plans to use for its first attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower.

SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on Thursday, according to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, who was in attendance. It is the first launch target to come directly from a SpaceX executive. Until now, the public schedule had relied on FAA air traffic planning slides, which listed Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8 and later November 12. SpaceX has not posted an official mission page yet, and no launch time has been shared.

The date lands inside the window Elon Musk sketched out last month. Speaking at Giga Texas on October 10, Musk said the flight would “probably launch a little bit before Thanksgiving,” as Teslarati reported. On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call ten days later, he confirmed that Flight 15 would try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the ship, and put the odds of a successful ship catch at “more likely than not.” SpaceX also aired an animation of the maneuver during that webcast, showing the ship swinging vertical over Starbase before dropping into the tower’s chopsticks.

The hardware is ready. Booster 22 fired all 33 of its Raptor engines for a full duration static fire at Pad 2 on October 25. Ship 42 followed with a single engine burn simulating a deorbit maneuver on October 26 and a 60 second firing of all six engines the next day, according to NASASpaceflight. Ship 42 had already rehearsed the catch in September, when the Pad 2 arms lifted it into position and crews connected the quick disconnect arm while the vehicle hung from the tower.

The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The FAA’s Starship page does not yet list a Flight 15 license. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in October that, after “significant constructive engagement with the FAA,” she expects the license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages. Bringing the ship home means a reentry path that heads toward land, rather than ending over open ocean as every Starship flight so far has.

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SpaceX has caught Super Heavy three times, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but the ship comes back from orbital velocity and has never been caught. Flight 14 on September 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down despite an early engine shutdown that Musk blamed on engine computer software.

Musk has called a successful ship catch “the first time that there’s been full recovery of an orbital class rocket,” and he has already named the step after it: a Flight 16 where both the booster and the ship fly again. NASASpaceflight reports that Ship 43, the next vehicle in line, is set for static fire testing in December.

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EVgo taps Tesla Superchargers for mass charging expansion

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Credit: EVgo

EVgo has tapped Tesla Superchargers for its most recent efforts to expand its charging presence in the United States, a move that seems logical based on the effectiveness of the automaker’s own infrastructure.

EVgo opened its first Supercharger site in Illinois, a 12-stall station near downtown Chicago at 3145 South Ashland Avenue in the Riverside Square & River’s Edge center, right beside a grocery store. This marks the start of the company’s plan to deploy hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the United States, primarily at grocery-anchored Regency Centers properties where drivers can shop, eat, or run errands while they charge.

The new location uses Tesla’s Magic Dock technology so both NACS and CCS vehicles can plug in natively without drivers needing to carry their own adapters. Peak power reaches 325 kW at this site, with pricing set between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh depending on the hour—the same rate for Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.

The stalls also appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation and Trip Planner, making them easy for Tesla owners to find and route to. Illinois has seen EV registrations rise nearly 60 percent over the past two years, and EVgo’s broader network has experienced more than 700 percent growth in charging demand over three years, so the timing fits the market’s trajectory.

Choosing Tesla hardware through the Supercharger for Business program turns out to have been a smart, practical move.

Tesla’s V4 stalls and cabinets deliver high, reliable power with a proven track record of strong uptime, while Magic Dock delivers true dual-standard compatibility in one package. Because the sites show up in Tesla’s navigation tools, EVgo instantly gains visibility among millions of existing Tesla drivers, which should raise utilization and help the company double its addressable market as more vehicles adopt NACS. EVgo still owns the stations and sets pricing, yet benefits from Tesla’s established hardware, longer cables, and operational support.

The result is faster, lower-risk infrastructure expansion that serves every EV driver—Tesla or otherwise—with convenient, high-power charging at everyday retail locations. For drivers, that means fewer adapters, more predictable stops, and a denser network just as electric vehicles become everyday transportation.

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