Connect with us

News

Stellantis unveils 2025 Ram 1500 ‘Ramcharger’ with gas tank and battery

Credit: Stellantis

Published

on

Stellantis has unveiled its new 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger, which features both battery-electric motors and a gas engine to recharge on the go.

According to a press release shared by Stellantis on Tuesday, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger will feature 250-kW front and 238-kW rear electric drive modules, as powered by a 130-kW generator and a 92-kWh battery. Between these and a 3.6-liter, V6 gas engine, the truck is expected to offer up to 690 miles of range, with the gas-powered hardware turning on to charge the truck once the battery runs out of power.

The partially electric truck will essentially function like a plugin hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

The Ramcharger also boasts a 0-60 mph acceleration of 4.4 seconds, along with 663 horsepower, 615 lb.-ft. Of torque, and up to 14,000 pounds of towing with payloads up to 2,625 pounds. The company says that the truck will be able to gain 50 miles of range in just 10 minutes using 400-volt fast charging at a capacity of up to 145 kW.

Advertisement

“With unlimited battery-electric range, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is the pinnacle of the light-duty pickup truck segment and the ultimate electric truck,” said Tim Kuniskis, Ram brand CEO for Stellantis. “The new Ramcharger is a beast of a light duty – 663 horsepower, 615 lb.-ft of torque, 4-second 0-60 mph, 14,000 lbs. of towing… and zero need for a public charger.”

The partially electric pickup will be built on the Stellantis STLA Frame platform, and it will feature advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) capabilities, including the Level 2 hands-free highway assist. The vehicle is also set to include regenerative driving modes, a set of e-shifter buttons, a 1,228-watt Klipsch audio system with 23 speakers and more.

It will include adjustable driving modes and air suspension with the following settings:

Driving Mode settings for the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger

Advertisement
  • Auto
  • Sport
  • Tow
  • Snow
  • Off-Road

Air Suspension settings for the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger

  • Entry/Exit
  • Aero
  • Normal
  • Off-Road 1
  • Off-Road 2

The electric pickup will also include a 400-volt DC fast-charging port on the front quarter panel on the driver’s side. It also has a power tailgate and interior features such as a 14.5-inch front touchscreen, a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 10.25-inch passenger screen, a digital rearview mirror, a Head-Up Display (HUD) and more.

Those who are interested in buying the Ram 1500 Ramcharger can reserve a spot here with just a $100 refundable membership charge.

You can see a few more images of the forthcoming Ramcharger below.

Credit: Stellantis

Credit: Stellantis

Credit: Stellantis

Credit: Stellantis

Earlier this year, Stellantis announced the fully electric Ram 1500 REV, which reportedly ran out of reservation spots a little over a week after it went live. The upgraded trim of the electric pickup is expected to have a 229 kWh battery pack offering up to 500 miles of range, while the standard range option will feature a 168 kWh battery with up to 350 miles of range.

The announcement arrives amidst increased competition in the electric pickup sector, including direct Ram 1500 REV competitors like the Ford F-150 Lightning, the Chevy Silverado EV and the Rivian R1T. Although it’s a less conventional electric truck, the Tesla Cybertruck will also begin deliveries later this month.

Lucid Motors adopts Tesla’s NACS, leaving only Volkswagen and Stellantis

Advertisement

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.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

What is Digital Optimus? The new Tesla and xAI project explained

At its core, Digital Optimus operates through a dual-process architecture inspired by human cognition.

Published

on

Credit: Grok

Tesla and xAI announced their groundbreaking joint project, Digital Optimus, also nicknamed “Macrohard” in a humorous jab at Microsoft, earlier this week.

This software-based AI agent is designed to automate complex office workflows by observing and replicating human interactions with computers. As the first major outcome of Tesla’s $2 billion investment in xAI, it represents a powerful fusion of hardware efficiency and advanced reasoning.

Tesla announces massive investment into xAI

At its core, Digital Optimus operates through a dual-process architecture inspired by human cognition.

Advertisement

Tesla’s specialized AI acts as “System 1”—the fast, instinctive executor—processing the past five seconds of real-time computer screen video along with keyboard and mouse actions to perform immediate tasks.

Advertisement

xAI’s Grok model serves as “System 2,” the strategic “master conductor” or navigator, providing high-level reasoning, world understanding, and directional oversight, much like an advanced turn-by-turn navigation system.

When combined, the two can create a powerful AI-based assistant that can complete everything from accounting work to HR tasks.

Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI

The system runs primarily on Tesla’s low-cost AI4 inference chip, minimizing expensive Nvidia resources from xAI for competitive, real-time performance.

Advertisement

Elon Musk described it as “the only real-time smart AI system” capable, in principle, of emulating the functions of entire companies, handling everything from accounting and HR to repetitive digital operations.

Timelines point to swift deployment. Announced just days ago, Musk expects Digital Optimus to be ready for user experience within about six months, targeting rollout around September 2026.

It will integrate into all AI4-equipped Tesla vehicles, enabling parked cars to handle office work during downtime. Millions of dedicated units are also planned for deployment at Supercharger stations, tapping into roughly 7 gigawatts of available power.

Digital Optimus directly supports Tesla’s broader autonomy strategy. It leverages the same end-to-end neural networks, computer vision, and real-time decision-making tech that power Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and the physical Optimus humanoid robot.

By repurposing idle vehicle compute and extending AI4 hardware beyond driving, the project scales Tesla’s autonomy ecosystem from roads to digital workspaces.

Advertisement

As a virtual counterpart to physical Optimus, it divides labor: software agents manage screen-based tasks while humanoid robots tackle physical ones, accelerating Tesla’s vision of general-purpose AI for productivity, Robotaxi fleets, and beyond.

In essence, Digital Optimus bridges Tesla’s vehicle and robotics autonomy with enterprise-scale AI, promising massive efficiency gains. No other company currently matches its real-time capabilities on such accessible hardware.

It really could be one of the most crucial developments Tesla and xAI begin to integrate, as it could revolutionize how people work and travel.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla adds awesome new driving feature to Model Y

Tesla is rolling out a new “Comfort Braking” feature with Software Update 2026.8. The feature is exclusive to the new Model Y, and is currently unavailable for any other vehicle in the Tesla lineup.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is adding an awesome new driving feature to Model Y vehicles, effective on Juniper-updated models considered model year 2026 or newer.

Tesla is rolling out a new “Comfort Braking” feature with Software Update 2026.8. The feature is exclusive to the new Model Y, and is currently unavailable for any other vehicle in the Tesla lineup.

Tesla writes in the release notes for the feature:

“Your Tesla now provides a smoother feel as you come to a complete stop during routine braking.”

Advertisement

Interestingly, we’re not too sure what catalyzed Tesla to try to improve braking smoothness, because it hasn’t seemed overly abrupt or rough from my perspective. Although the brake pedal in my Model Y is rarely used due to Regenerative Braking, it seems Tesla wanted to try to make the ride comfort even smoother for owners.

Advertisement

There is always room for improvement, though, and it seems that there is a way to make braking smoother for passengers while the vehicle is coming to a stop.

This is far from the first time Tesla has attempted to improve its ride comfort through Over-the-Air updates, as it has rolled out updates to improve regenerative braking performance, handling while using Full Self-Driving, improvements to Steer-by-Wire to Cybertruck, and even recent releases that have combatted Active Road Noise.

Tesla set to activate long-awaited Cybertruck feature

Tesla holds a unique ability to change the functionality of its vehicles through software updates, which have come in handy for many things, including remedying certain recalls and shipping new features to the Full Self-Driving suite.

Advertisement

Tesla seems to have the most seamless OTA processes, as many automakers have the ability to ship improvements through a simple software update.

We’re really excited to test the update, so when we get an opportunity to try out Comfort Braking when it makes it to our Model Y.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla finally brings a Robotaxi update that Android users will love

The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android.

Published

on

Credit: Grok

Tesla is finally bringing an update of its Robotaxi platform that Android users will love — mostly because it seems like they will finally be able to use the ride-hailing platform that the company has had active since last June.

Based on a decompile of software version 26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app, Tesla looks to be ready to roll out access to Android users.

According to the breakdown, performed by Tesla App Updates, the company is preparing to roll out an Android version of the app as it is developing several features for that operating system.

The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android:

“Strings like notification_channel_robotaxid_trip_name and android_native_alicorn_eta_text show exactly how Tesla plans to replicate the iOS Live Activities experience. Instead of standard push alerts, Android users are getting a persistent, dynamically updating notification channel.”

Advertisement

This is a big step forward for several reasons. From a face-value perspective, Tesla is finally ready to offer Robotaxi to Android users.

The company has routinely prioritized Apple releases because there is a higher concentration of iPhone users in its ownership base. Additionally, the development process for Apple is simply less laborious.

Tesla is working to increase Android capabilities in its vehicles

Secondly, the Robotaxi rollout has been a typical example of “slowly then all at once.”

Advertisement

Tesla initially released Robotaxi access to a handful of media members and influencers. Eventually, it was expanded to more users, so that anyone using an iOS device could download the app and hail a semi-autonomous ride in Austin or the Bay Area.

Opening up the user base to Android users may show that Tesla is preparing to allow even more users to utilize its Robotaxi platform, and although it seems to be a few months away from only offering fully autonomous rides to anyone with app access, the expansion of the user base to an entirely different user base definitely seems like its a step in the right direction.

Continue Reading