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Chevy Bolt EV beats Tesla for U.S. News’ Best Electric Vehicle of 2021

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV (Credit: Chevrolet)

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The Chevrolet Bolt EV won U.S. News’ Best Electric Vehicle award for 2021, beating out notable competitors like the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

As the automotive industry continues to transition toward electrification, U.S. News rolled out a list of its most highly-ranked electric and hybrid cars and SUVs. The list is comprehensive and explains why it chose to give certain awards to specific cars. However, the Chevy Bolt EV was the best choice for anyone who is choosing to buy an electric vehicle in the future, whether it be for personal reasons or to help combat global climate issues.

Right off the bat, U.S. News lists the Chevy Bolt EV as the Best Electric Vehicle of 2021. Well known for its compact design and practical architecture, the vehicle has “quick acceleration for easy city driving and comfortable highway passing.” Thanks to instant torque, a feature only available on electric cars, easy city driving and quick acceleration for less stressful passing is something that is common among electric powertrains, not just the Bolt EV.

However, the 259-mile range on a full charge is where U.S. News says the Bolt “really shines.” The range rating, combined with the $36,500 price tag before possible incentives, makes it “one of the best figures among affordable electric vehicles.” A quick, 30-minute charging session at a public EV charging station can give owners up to 100 miles of range, a great strategy for continuing a drive without much downtime. While the Bolt EV doesn’t have the highest range rating in the EV sector or compared to other EVs around the same price point, it is definitely an option that is worth considering, U.S. News said. The publication gave the Bolt EV a solid 8 out of 10 rating.

Will the 200 mi, $30k Chevy Bolt challenge Tesla’s Model 3?

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In typical Tesla fashion, the Silicon Valley-based automaker was not completely left off of the list. The Model Y captured the “Best Luxury Electric Vehicle” award thanks to its “winning combination of quality and capability. There’s comfortable seating for up to seven passengers,” U.S. News writes. Starting at $50,490 for its Long Range All-Wheel Drive variant, giving drivers 326 miles of range at a full charge, the Model Y has been a disruptor in the EV industry since first being delivered to customers in March 2020.

“The Model Y is a great luxury electric vehicle in just about every respect, so it’s worth taking a close look if you’re in the market for an up-market EV,” the review stated.

The Model Y contributed greatly to Tesla’s Q1 2021 delivery figures, which Tesla released in early April. The company delivered 184,000 cars in Q1, with 182,780 being Model Y and Model 3 variants. The Model S and Model X, Tesla’s other two vehicles, were not produced during the quarter due to a “refresh” of both cars.

U.S. News’ full list of the 2021 Best Hybrid and Electric Vehicles is available here.

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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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Tesla launches new Model S and Model X, and the changes are slim

Tesla’s newest versions of its flagship vehicles have arrived with some slim changes.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially launched the newest versions of its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles, but the changes are pretty slim, which is something we expected when a couple cars were spotted during public testing recently.

The new “refreshed” Model S and Model X were spotted recently by The Kilowatts, and the changes appeared to be a new front camera, a new color, and only a handful of other changes.

Tesla officially announced the launch of the Model S and Model X on Thursday night, and here’s what it listed as the changes to the two vehicles:

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  • Frost Blue paint color
  • Up to 410 miles of range (Model S Long Range – our longest range Tesla yet)
  • Even quieter inside: less wind + road noise & more effective Active Noise Cancellation
  • New wheel designs & improved aerodynamics = more range
  • Front fascia camera for better visibility
  • Dynamic ambient lighting that brings unique animations along the dash & doors upon entry
  • An even smoother ride thanks to new bushings & suspension design
  • Adaptive driving beams
  • New exterior styling for Model S Plaid, optimized for high-speed stability
  • More space for 3rd row occupants & cargo (Model X)

We expected most of these changes, especially the new Frost Blue paint color, as it was spotted by The Kilowatts in its initial coverage of the cars being spotted a few weeks back. Here’s what it looks like officially:

Some of the changes are familiar from the Model Y Refresh, which featured the quieter interior through acoustic-lined glass, a front fascia camera, new bushings, and suspension improvements for a smoother ride.

However, Tesla did refine the Model S Plaid’s exterior for “optimized high-speed stability.” You can see the difference between the two below:

The front-end air diffusers are much deeper, and the front end is more boxy than the previous iteration of the Plaid Model S.

Here are some more images of the Model S that Tesla released in a teaser video:

Tesla sells such a low volume of the Model S and Model X that it was probably less than likely that the company would put endless manpower and effort into completely redesigning it. CEO Elon Musk said a few years ago that the two cars would only stay in production for “sentimental reasons.” 

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While they are very special to the Tesla family, they are not incredibly important to the mission of the company.

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Tesla owners across the globe prepare for Robotaxi launch with this neat customization

Tesla will eventually have Robotaxis worldwide. Some owners are already preparing.

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Credit: @HanChulYong | X

Tesla owners are already preparing for the company’s launch of the Robotaxi platform with a new, neat customization that is appearing around the world.

On Tuesday, the first Tesla Robotaxi test mule was spotted in Austin, where the company will launch the first driverless rides of this ride-hailing service. At first, it will be a limited rollout, reserved for a select few. CEO Elon Musk said public rides could occur as soon as June 22.

First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

However, the Tesla Robotaxi platform is not one that will be confined to cities and geofenced to certain areas.

Eventually, Tesla will gain enough confidence to roll the Full Self-Driving software straight to every car in the customer fleet that paid for it. Owners will be able to generate income for themselves while they sleep, as the cars will operate as ride-hailing vehicles for people to use for transportation.

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In an effort to prepare for the launch of Robotaxi, Tesla owners across the globe are installing Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ word art on their cars.

Here’s one in South Korea:

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Here’s another in the U.S.:

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Obviously, this is more of a symbol of support for the Robotaxi launch, but many owners are recognizing that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software will extend to them the ability to use their personal cars as ride-hailing vehicles, becoming a part of the global fleet of self-driving chauffeurs.

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Tesla sues former Optimus engineer for stealing trade secrets

Tesla is suing a former engineer who worked on Optimus after he left and immediately started a robotics company that achieved quick development of a hand.

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

Tesla is suing former Optimus engineer Jay Li in federal court after accusing him of stealing trade secrets and using them to enable a startup he founded after he left.

Li is accused of stealing confidential files and using them to help get his company, “Proception,” off to a rocking start. Tesla says the files Li took helped his new startup “shortcut the typical development process” for robot hands, something that took Tesla years to develop and evolve.

The company said in the complaint (via Reuters):

“Through Li’s pilfering, Defendant Proception purportedly achieved in a matter of months what it has taken Tesla over four years, hundreds of employees, and billions of dollars to achieve.”

Li was an employee at Tesla for several years, working on the Optimus sensor team from 2022 to 2024. The company says it utilized and devoted “extraordinary resources” to the development of Optimus, which has come a long way since its unveiling several years ago.

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Tesla Optimus to receive hands with 22 degrees of freedom later this year

Li allegedly downloaded confidential files related to Optimus’ robotic hand movement research before departing the company. He did not work on the hands at the time. However, he left and swiftly started Proception, as the suit states the company was founded just six days after he left Tesla.

Proception was gloating about its ability to build robotic hands just five months after the company was founded. Tesla says the hands have “striking similarities” to its own design for Optimus.

The company is looking for monetary damages and a court order that would block Proception from misusing the secrets it accuses Li of taking.

This is not the first suit Tesla has filed over trade secrets and confidential information theft. Recently, it accused German-Canadian dual citizen Klaus Pflugbeil of stealing battery-related secrets. He was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison.

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Men accused of selling Tesla battery secrets arrested in undercover sting

The U.S. Department of Justice used an undercover sting to arrest Pflugbeil.

Tesla is being represented by Josh Krevitt, Orin Snyder, and Angelique Kaounis of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

The case is Tesla Inc. v. Perception Inc., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:25-cv-04963.

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