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Cars.com names its Top Picks for EVs: Volkswagen, Hyundai, Lucid, and Chevrolet

Credit: Volkswagen, Hyundai, Lucid Group, General Motors

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Cars.com released its Top Picks list for 2022 model year Electric Vehicles, with Volkswagen, Hyundai, Lucid, and Chevrolet taking the top spots in categories such as Value, Family, Luxury, and Commuters.

The winners managed to be chosen in a field of over 30 highly popular and notable EVs that are all worthy of recognition in their own ways. With the recent explosion of the EV sector, more consumers are considering electric powertrains due to their lack of maintenance and other advantages, like not having to pay upwards of $7 for a gallon of gas.

“We have been sharing news and research on EVs ever since we reviewed our first Nissan Leaf over a decade ago,” Jenni Newman, Cars.com’s editor-in-chief, said. “As consumer interest for EVs grows due to rising gas prices and other current events, we know shoppers have questions about what EV options are available, how much they cost, what the ownership experience is like, and more. Our 2022 EV Buying Guide and Top Picks help shoppers answer those questions and cut through the noise to find the right EV for their lifestyle.”

Value – 2022 Volkswagen ID.4

As the average price of an EV costs $60,000 in today’s market, the Volkswagen ID.4 starts at just $41,669 including destination fees. It offers state-of-the-art features like LED headlights, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 10-inch touchscreen navigation system, wireless device charging, Volkswagen’s suite of active-safety and driver-assist features, and Apple CarPlay, for those who really need it. Android Auto is also available. The ID.4’s also comes with three years of unlimited 30-minute DC fast-charging sessions at any Electrify America station, and it’s free.

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Volkswagen’s ID.4 (Credit: Volkswagen)

Families – 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

A compact SUV with a roomy interior, the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a sizeable backseat that slides forward and backward, so it’s ideal for car seats. The Ioniq 5 starts at $44,895, and the top trim level has plenty of discreet features that will make traveling with kids a little more enjoyable. The panoramic moonroof comes with a retractable sunshade. It also has a “composed ride on highways” that stands out, according to Cars.com, which tipped their cap to the Ioniq 5 for defying a common shortcoming in EVs due to a lack of combustion engine that drowns out road noise.

Credit: Hyundai

Luxury – 2022 Lucid Air

The Lucid Air has already captured the attention of several publications, winning awards that have named it the Best EV of 2022 elsewhere. It’s a wonderful vehicle: fast, luxurious, spacious, and clean. Lucid has a sizeable price tag on the Air’s premier model: the Dream Edition: $170,000. As it is with many other industries, you get what you pay for. The Air has cargo space, performance, a responsive and intuitive multimedia system, with an interior that would be pictured next to the word “luxury” in the dictionary. MotorTrend gave the Air plenty of kudos during their initial drives of the Air Dream Edition last year, and not much has changed, apparently.

Credit: Lucid Motors

Commuters – 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV

The Chevrolet Bolt EV is a head-scratching choice for the Commuter category, as the vehicle has been on a production halt for several months after battery fires and GM built less than 30 of them in Q4 2021. While the Bolt EV will likely come back with no issues after a thorough investigation between GM and its battery suppliers, the EPA-estimated 247 miles of range and a $34,495 starting price gives those looking for a bargain EV this option. General Motors has high ambitions for its EV program, and the Bolt is a great car to build a foundation upon. However, there are other competitive options, and they’ll give you more range and performance, but the Bolt’s price tag alone makes it a worthy choice.

Credit: General Motors

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report

The company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly leaning toward listing its shares on the Nasdaq for a potential initial public offering (IPO) that could become the largest in history. 

As per a recent report, the company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index. The update was reported by Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the publication, SpaceX is considering Nasdaq as the venue for its eventual IPO, though the New York Stock Exchange is also competing for the listing. Neither exchange has reportedly been informed of a final decision.

Reuters has previously reported that SpaceX could pursue an IPO as early as June, though the company’s plans could still change.

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One of the publication’s sources also suggested that SpaceX is targeting a valuation of about $1.75 trillion for its IPO. At that level, the company would rank among the largest publicly traded firms in the United States by market capitalization.

Nasdaq has proposed a rule change that could accelerate the inclusion of newly listed megacap companies into the Nasdaq-100 index.

Under the proposed “Fast Entry” rule, a newly listed company could qualify for the index in less than a month if its market capitalization ranks among the top 40 companies already included in the Nasdaq-100.

If SpaceX is successful in achieving its target valuation of $1.75 trillion, it would become the sixth-largest company by market value in the United States, at least based on recent share prices. 

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Newly listed companies typically have to wait up to a year before becoming eligible for major indexes such as the Nasdaq-100 or S&P 500.

Inclusion in a major index can significantly broaden a company’s shareholder base because many institutional investors purchase shares through index-tracking funds.

According to Reuters, Nasdaq’s proposed fast-track rule is partly intended to attract highly valued private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic to list on the exchange.

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The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel

The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.

According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.

The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.

The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.

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Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.

The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.

The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026. 

As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration. 

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CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.

The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.

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Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas

Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.

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Credit: Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.

The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.

Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.

The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.

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Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.

The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.

The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.

Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.

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Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.

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