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Opinion: GMC Hummer EV’s EPA documents reveal that it’s still a vehicle of consumption and excess

The first 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup Edition 1 exits Factory ZERO in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. VIN 001 was auctioned in March 2021 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction for $2.5 million to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors)

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I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when GM announced that it would start its new Ultium battery-powered electric vehicle push with the GMC Hummer EV. It just felt a bit strange. I mean, a Bolt EV redesign is right there, and so is the Silverado EV. Why then, would GM start its oh-so-serious push into modern electric vehicles with the EV version of the truck which — seemingly by fate — ramped its production just as GM was killing off the EV1 program? 

Now, the Hummer EV’s EPA documents have been filed (credit to Car and Driver for first reporting on the filings), and they show that the hulking all-electric vehicle stayed really true to the spirit of its gas-guzzling predecessor. Considering its size, weight, and efficiency, the Hummer EV could be described as a vehicle that is, for all intents and purposes, made to be a symbol of excess and consumption. Granted, the documents only reference the Hummer EV’s 1,000-hp, $110,295 Edition 1 version, but the specs are pretty telling. 

As per the EPA documents, the Hummer EV Edition 1 is equipped with an Ultium battery pack that has a usable capacity of 212.7 kWh. That’s a huge pack, over twice as large as the batteries on two Tesla Model X Plaid vehicles. It also dwarfs the battery packs used by other all-electric pickup trucks like the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T. Even Rivian’s once-announced 400-mile battery pack, which the company announced several years ago, only featured a planned capacity of 180 kWh

According to the filings, the Hummer EV Edition 1 would achieve a combined EPA range of 329 miles per charge or a very modest 47 MPGe combined. This is very much in character for a Hummer, of course, but one should not forget that the Rivian R1T received some criticism among the EV community when the R1T received a 70 MPGe rating. Compared to the R1T, which is hardly the most efficient electric vehicle today, the Hummer EV is a flat-out guzzler — it’s just eating up electrons this time around. 

A lot of the Hummer EV Edition 1’s inefficiency may likely be due to its weight, which was listed in the EPA documents as a whopping 9,063 pounds. What’s interesting is that a good portion of the vehicle’s curb weight is consumed by its battery pack, which weighs 2,923 pounds. That’s heavier than a whole Toyota 86. This, in a way, makes the Hummer EV a rather interesting vehicle, at least safety-wise. Stopping over 9,000 pounds of metal and batteries after it goes 0-60 mph in just 3 seconds takes is no small task, after all, and one can only hope that GM has extra safeties built within the vehicle to ensure that it’s as safe to operate as possible. 

It’s almost ironic, or at least poetic to some degree, to see the Hummer EV become a vehicle that is just as excessive (and wasteful?) as its fossil fuel-powered predecessor. Considering its lack of efficiency and its huge battery pack, one can almost wonder if GM intentionally designed the vehicle to be as unfriendly to the environment as possible. That being said, one almost cannot help but root for the Hummer EV. The Hummer brand, after all, ended up being canceled in the past due to low sales, and a lot of it was due to the vehicles’ bad fuel efficiency. 

Hopefully, such will not be the fate of the Hummer EV. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Model 3 gets perfect 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today.

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Credit: Tesla Singapore/X

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today. Based on recent findings from the Euro NCAP, the 2025 Model 3 sedan continues this tradition, with the vehicle earning a 5-star overall safety rating from the agency.

Standout Safety Features

As could be seen on the Euro NCAP’s official website, the 2025 Model 3 achieved an overall score of 90% for Adult Occupants, 93% for Child Occupants, 89% for Vulnerable Road Users, and 87% for Safety Assist. This rating, as per the Euro NCAP, applies to the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range All Wheel Drive, and Performance All Wheel Drive.

The Euro NCAP highlighted a number of the Model 3’s safety features, such as its Active Hood, which automatically lifts during collisions to mitigate injury risks to vulnerable road users, and Automatic Emergency Braking System, which now detects motorcycles through an upgraded algorithm. The Euro NCAP also mentioned the Model 3’s feature that prevents initial door opening if someone is approaching the vehicle’s blind spot.

Standout Safety Features

In a post on its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account, Tesla noted that the company is also introducing new features that make the Model 3 even safer than it is today. These include functions like head-on collision avoidance and crossing traffic AEB, as well as Child Left Alone Detection, among other safety features.

“We also introduced new features to improve Safety Assist functionality even further – like head-on collision avoidance & crossing traffic AEB – to detect & respond to potential hazards faster, helping avoid accidents in the first place. 

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“Lastly, we released Child Left Alone Detection – if an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will turn on HVAC & alert caregivers via phone app & the vehicle itself (flashing lights/audible alert). Because we’re using novel in-cabin radar sensing, your Tesla is able to distinguish between adult vs child – reduced annoyance to adults, yet critical safety feature for kids,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.

Below is the Euro NCAP’s safety report on the 2025 Tesla Model 3 sedan.

Euroncap 2025 Tesla Model 3 Datasheet by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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USDOT Secretary visits Tesla Giga Texas, hints at national autonomous vehicle standards

The Transportation Secretary also toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy recently visited Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas complex, where he toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk. In a video posted following his Giga Texas visit, Duffy noted that he believes there should be a national standard for autonomous vehicles in the United States.

Duffy’s Giga Texas Visit

As could be seen in videos of his Giga Texas visit, the Transportation Secretary seemed to appreciate the work Tesla has been doing to put the United States in the forefront of innovation. “Tesla is one of the many companies helping our country reach new heights. USDOT will be right there all the way to make sure Americans stay safe,” Duffy wrote in a post on X. 

He also praised Tesla for its autonomous vehicle program, highlighting that “We need American companies to keep innovating so we can outcompete the rest of the world.”

National Standard

While speaking with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Transportation Secretary stated that other autonomous ride-hailing companies have been lobbying for a national standard for self-driving cars. Musk shared the sentiment, stating that “It’d be wonderful for the United States to have a national set of rules for autonomous driving as opposed to 50 independent sets of rules on a state-by-state rules basis.”

Duffy agreed with the CEO’s point, stating that, “You can’t have 50 different rules for 50 different states. You need one standard.” He also noted that the Transportation Department has asked autonomous vehicle companies to submit data. By doing so, the USDOT could develop a standard for the entire United States, allowing self-driving cars to operate in a manner that is natural and safe.

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Tesla posts Optimus’ most impressive video demonstration yet

The humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

When Elon Musk spoke with CNBC’s David Faber in an interview at Giga Texas, he reiterated the idea that Optimus will be one of Tesla’s biggest products. Seemingly to highlight the CEO’s point, the official Tesla Optimus account on social media platform X shared what could very well be the most impressive demonstration of the humanoid robot’s capabilities to date.

Optimus’ Newest Demonstration

In its recent video demonstration, the Tesla Optimus team featured the humanoid robot performing a variety of tasks. These include household chores such as throwing the trash, using a broom and a vacuum cleaner, tearing a paper towel, stirring a pot of food, opening a cabinet, and closing a curtain, among others. The video also featured Optimus picking up a Model X fore link and placing it on a dolly.

What was most notable in the Tesla Optimus team’s demonstration was the fact that the humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network. The robot’s actions were also learned directly from Optimus being fed data from first-person videos of humans performing similar tasks. This system should pave the way for Optimus to learn and refine new skills quickly and reliably.

Tesla VP for Optimus Shares Insight

In a follow-up post on X, Tesla Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot) Milan Kovac stated that one of the team’s goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans performing tasks, including footage captured in third person or by random cameras.

“We recently had a significant breakthrough along that journey, and can now transfer a big chunk of the learning directly from human videos to the bots (1st person views for now). This allows us to bootstrap new tasks much faster compared to teleoperated bot data alone (heavier operationally).

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“Many new skills are emerging through this process, are called for via natural language (voice/text), and are run by a single neural network on the bot (multi-tasking). Next: expand to 3rd person video transfer (aka random internet), and push reliability via self-play (RL) in the real-, and/or synthetic- (sim / world models) world,” Kovac wrote in his post on X.

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