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Nissan to ‘keep investing’ in truck segment amid EV push: executive

(Credit: Nissan)

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After Nissan announced plans to exit the full-size pickup segment in 2024, rumors have continued to circulate about the automaker’s consideration of a light-duty electric truck. While the Japanese automaker doesn’t expect to enter the electric pickup market anytime soon, company executives say Nissan will eventually need to go electric in the truck segment.

During the Japan Mobility Show on Wednesday, Nissan Global Product Strategy Executive Ivan Espinosa told Automotive News that the automaker plans to continue investing in a future pickup. However, Espinosa says an electric pickup won’t hit the market anytime soon — despite the company’s continued investments.

“One thing you can be sure about is we’re going to keep investing in the truck segment,” Espinosa said. “How do we evolve … is the question that we are discussing internally. Eventually, we will have to electrify the truck.”

Despite the statements, Espinosa refused to formally comment on product plans. Instead, he pointed to the fact that U.S. automakers have been hard to beat in the full-size pickup market.

“You have competitors doing 700,000 trucks a year,” Espinosa said. “So it’s a bit of a difficult space to play now.”

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Nissan sold 76,183 Frontier mid-size trucks in the U.S. last year, so a future electric Frontier wouldn’t seem beyond the automaker’s long-term ambitions.

However, electric pickups won’t be the first EVs to roll out, according to Espinosa. Additionally, previous rumors have suggested that the automaker wouldn’t bring an electric pickup to market until 2030.

“The demand for electrification is concentrating today much more on the C-SUV and D-SUV [segments],” Espinosa added. “These are the ones that you will start seeing rolling into first. And I see trucks a little bit on the later stage.”

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The statements come as the electric pickup segment emerges with new contributions like the Rivian R1T and the forthcoming Tesla Cybertruck, as well as larger electrified trucks from Ford, Chevrolet and GMC, among others. It also comes as Nissan has unveiled a few concept EVs at Japan Mobility, including the above-pictured Nissan Hyper Force.

Along with ending production of the Titan in 2024, Nissan has announced plans to phase out the Leaf electric vehicle (EV), which was one of the earliest battery-electric cars to be introduced to global markets.

The automaker has also faced production stalls and other issues with the production of the Nissan Ariya, though it increased the number of EVs it hopes to debut by 2030 to 19 from 15 earlier this year.

With plans to make 40 percent of its sales fully electric in the U.S. by 2030 and a renewed ambition in the EV space, many have speculated around the subject of an electric pickup from the automaker. Nissan was also reportedly considering the idea of a Titan EV back in 2020, though the automaker will now exit the full-size pickup market with the Titan ending production next year.

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Nissan Dealer Board Chairman Tyler Slade told Automotive News a few months ago that the automaker would want to make a $40,000 electric pickup rather than competing directly with more expensive, larger EV trucks.

“They don’t want to be in the Rivian or the [Tesla] Cybertruck space,” Slade said. “They want to be in the affordable $40,000 range.”

Tesla and Nissan agree to NACS compatibility in most recent adoption

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Elon Musk

Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country

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Credit: MarcoRP | X

Tesla is planning to build a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country — Roswell, New Mexico.

Back in 1947, a crash of debris led to rumors of an alleged crash of a UFO just 75 miles north of Roswell near Corona, New Mexico. The crash was officially noted as the recovery of a military balloon, but over the years, speculation persists that the “flying disc” many saw might have been extraterrestrials trying to make contact with Earth.

As a result of the 1947 crash, Roswell has adopted it and used it as the inspiration for much of its tourism. As Tesla is planning to build a Supercharger in the area, it is using the same sort of inspiration for the location, which will feature just eight charging stalls located under a CyberCanopy.

It was first spotted by MarcoRP, a noted Supercharger permit insider:

Here are some better pictures of the design:

Tesla’s Head of Charging for North America, Max de Zegher, confirmed that the site will be inspired by the events near Roswell in 1947. He noted that Tesla “wants to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worth of the trip itself.”

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This will undoubtedly be one of those locations, and along with the Tesla Drive-in Diner Supercharger in Santa Monica, it seems the company could be moving toward some more unique designs for the future, making the charging experience more fun and interesting for owners:

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This Tesla vandal caused thousands in damage, but she was let off the hook: Here’s why

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla vandal in Bloomington, Minnesota, caused $3,200 in damages to a car after keying it. However, the local police department, as well as the owner of the Tesla, let her off the hook.

As a Tesla sat in the parking lot of a Cub Foods grocery store, it was damaged in an act of vandalism that we are unfortunately seeing all too frequently. Police managed to locate the woman responsible for the damage, aiming to hold her responsible for the scrapes she applied to the vehicle.

However, in an act that many might not be able to perform, the owner of the Tesla did not want to pursue any criminal charges. Instead, they just wanted their car fixed.

Police Chief Booker Hodges said (via Minnesota Star Tribune):

“The victim in this case just wanted their car fixed, and they just wanted the suspect to pay for that. Based on the totality of the circumstances here, and along with our core value of being compassionate, this is the best outcome for everybody involved in this case.”

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It was an incredible act of forgiveness, as many of those who have had their Teslas damaged in response to CEO Elon Musk likely would not have been able to do the same thing. One person who had their vehicle keyed filed a civil lawsuit against the vandal, who damaged their car while it was parked at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, seeking $1 million in damages.

Chief Hodges finished his remarks about this specific situation by calling out the leaders who have spread a hateful narrative about Musk and Tesla, and the company’s vehicle owners as well:

“We need our leaders to start leading and stop feeding this rhetoric. People should be able to drive whatever car they want without fear of going into a store and someone scratching their car or people yelling at them because of the car that … they choose to drive. It’s time for all of us, you know, just to start getting along and knock this stuff off, man. People should be able to be left alone.”

While Chief Hodges did not mention anyone specifically, Minnesota politician and former VP candidate Tim Walz said earlier this month that he “gets a boost” when Tesla stock falls. He later retracted his statement by stating it was just a joke.

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Tesla Model Y tops Norway sales despite low Q1 delivery results

The new Model Y ended March as Norway’s top-selling vehicle for the month, with 1,819 units sold.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla did not meet delivery expectations in the first quarter of 2025, and a huge reason behind this was the changeover to the new Model Y in Giga Texas, the Fremont Factory, Giga Shanghai, and Giga Berlin.

Despite Tesla’s disappointing Q1 vehicle delivery results, the new Model Y still made a significant impact in key markets such as Norway.

The new Model Y’s Norway Comeback

While sales of the new Model Y in January and February were low in Norway, the vehicle saw a lot of momentum as soon as deliveries of the updated all-electric crossover started. This resulted in the new Model Y ending March 2025 as Norway’s top-selling vehicle for the month, with 1,819 units sold.

Over the course of Q1 2025, Tesla was able to sell a total of 2,792 Model Y units. That was enough to also make the all-electric crossover Norway’s best-selling vehicle in the first quarter. This is quite an impressive feat for Tesla, especially since sales were throttled during the quarter due to the company’s changeover to the new Model Y.

Source: Elbilstatistikk

Tesla in Other European Markets

Tesla’s results in Europe during the first quarter were a mixed bag. In Germany alone, Tesla saw 4,935 vehicles sold in Q1 2025. As per the German road traffic agency KBA, Tesla’s sales in March dropped 42.5% to 2,229 units year-over-year. This was despite overall EV registrations rising 35.3% during the month. 

In Italy, new vehicle registrations rebounded 51% in March from the previous year to 2,217 units, as per data from the Transport Ministry. This is still quite impressive considering that Tesla has become a very polarizing carmaker in Europe, thanks in no small part to CEO Elon Musk’s politics and close relation to U.S. President Donald Trump.

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