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Colorado becomes the 10th state to join California’s ZEV program

[Credit: Dream Giveaway]

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After a three-day hearing, Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission has decided to approve the adoption of a zero-emissions vehicle mandate. With this landmark decision, Colorado has become the 10th state to join California’s ZEV program, which is expected to improve air quality in the region while pushing automakers to expand their electric car offerings. 

The adoption of the ZEV mandate, which requires carmakers to roll out more zero-emissions vehicles, was met with widespread support from members of the commission. The results of the vote was 8-1, with Commissioner Tom Gonzales being the sole official who opposed the mandate. Nevertheless, in a statement to The Colorado Sun, Commissioner Auden Schendler from Basalt noted that the ZEV mandate is but a modest step forward. 

“This is an important step forward. But frankly, it’s a modest step. I think it’s as important for what it does as for what it signals. One of the big signals is the fact that auto manufacturers said we support it, this is technically feasible, we can move forward. I think it’s going to add energy to the emissions reduction effort just when we need it,” Schendler said. 

In a written statement, CO Gov. Jared Polis explained that he personally pushed for the state’s adoption of the ZEV mandate as a way to address and potentially reduce the subpar air quality in a number of the region’s urban areas. Accelerating the adoption of vehicles that do have no emissions such as battery-electric cars is among the ways to address this issue. 

“In one of my first executive orders as governor, I asked for the Department of Public Health and Environment to increase the choices Coloradans have when it comes to purchasing electric cars by increasing the number of models available in our state, and we got it done within a few short months. It’s only the beginning. Colorado must continue to reduce smog and increase consumer choice,” the governor noted. 

The approval of Colorado’s ZEV mandate did not come without opposition. During the hearing, several auto dealers noted that they must purchase vehicles from manufacturers, and when cars don’t sell, they end up losing money every day, thanks in no small part to interest and maintenance on the vehicles themselves. Others added that Colorado residents purchase SUVs and pickups, and these are simply rare in EV form. Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, argued that local dealerships stand to lose money if they give discounts to electric cars as well. 

“Even though the vote was fairly overwhelming, there was a lot of concern that it doesn’t mean anything. But if it wasn’t going to be mean anything, then why do it because it will raise the price of cars that Coloradans want and need to buy,” Jackson said. 

The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association president’s statement, if any, appears to discount the fact that there are a number of zero-emissions vehicles that are expected to make waves in the SUV and pickup segment. Tesla has the Model X as its resident SUV, and it will soon be joined by the Model Y crossover, which is far more affordable. The pickup truck segment is also set to be electrified, with vehicles such as the Tesla Pickup Truck, the Rivian R1T, and Ford’s very own electric F-150 expected to enter the market in the near future. 

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Amidst the widespread adoption of electric cars and the emergence of disruptive car companies such as Tesla, the number of dealerships across the United States has been seeing a notable decline. According to data from the National Automobile Dealers Association, many of these dealers actually lose money on the sale of electric cars, especially considering that EVs are known for needing little maintenance. This is unfortunate for car dealers, as a notable part of their revenue comes from service and repairs.

H/T Ray4Tesla.

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 is ending Cybertruck production

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Credit: diagnosticdennis/Instagram and @smile__no via Tesla Owners of Santa Clarita Valley/X

Tesla is ending Cybertruck production sometime in mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk.

Musk made the announcement on X last night, which came as a shock to many. He said that the Cybertruck will end production “to make room for increased Cybercab production” at Gigafactory Texas.

It is a huge blow to the fans of Tesla who have come to love the Cybertruck and identify with it as a symbol of their fandom. It has been the best-selling electric pickup, but it has had an underwhelming sales performance in terms of what was expected. This is mostly due to Tesla not meeting the prices it planned to offer the Cybertruck, as its unveiling and actual release were four years apart.

Overall, the responses were mixed. Some fans understood the move toward Cybercab production, especially as Tesla is truly pushing the autonomous future through its Robotaxi platform. However, others did not understand it.

“Damn, how many Cybercabs do you guys need?” one response read. Another said it was “Sad but understandable.”Even analyst Gary Black had responded to the news, stating he hoped Tesla planned to replace it with a traditional pickup design.

It doesn’t seem like that will be the case.

Tesla is so hell-bent on delivering autonomy and eventually providing a driverless service that owning a car seems like an arbitrary idea, according to their thesis. Instead, Cybercabs will be available to pick you up and drop you off on demand, safely, without any human help.

As a result, Tesla has thinned its lineup considerably, and one can only ask where the vehicle lineup goes from here. Eventually, it seems like Cybercab could be the only vehicle that Tesla will sell.

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SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th

SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15 and its first ship catch.

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SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, the mission the company plans to use for its first attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower.

SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on Thursday, according to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, who was in attendance. It is the first launch target to come directly from a SpaceX executive. Until now, the public schedule had relied on FAA air traffic planning slides, which listed Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8 and later November 12. SpaceX has not posted an official mission page yet, and no launch time has been shared.

The date lands inside the window Elon Musk sketched out last month. Speaking at Giga Texas on October 10, Musk said the flight would “probably launch a little bit before Thanksgiving,” as Teslarati reported. On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call ten days later, he confirmed that Flight 15 would try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the ship, and put the odds of a successful ship catch at “more likely than not.” SpaceX also aired an animation of the maneuver during that webcast, showing the ship swinging vertical over Starbase before dropping into the tower’s chopsticks.

The hardware is ready. Booster 22 fired all 33 of its Raptor engines for a full duration static fire at Pad 2 on October 25. Ship 42 followed with a single engine burn simulating a deorbit maneuver on October 26 and a 60 second firing of all six engines the next day, according to NASASpaceflight. Ship 42 had already rehearsed the catch in September, when the Pad 2 arms lifted it into position and crews connected the quick disconnect arm while the vehicle hung from the tower.

The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The FAA’s Starship page does not yet list a Flight 15 license. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in October that, after “significant constructive engagement with the FAA,” she expects the license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages. Bringing the ship home means a reentry path that heads toward land, rather than ending over open ocean as every Starship flight so far has.

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SpaceX has caught Super Heavy three times, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but the ship comes back from orbital velocity and has never been caught. Flight 14 on September 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down despite an early engine shutdown that Musk blamed on engine computer software.

Musk has called a successful ship catch “the first time that there’s been full recovery of an orbital class rocket,” and he has already named the step after it: a Flight 16 where both the booster and the ship fly again. NASASpaceflight reports that Ship 43, the next vehicle in line, is set for static fire testing in December.

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EVgo taps Tesla Superchargers for mass charging expansion

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Credit: EVgo

EVgo has tapped Tesla Superchargers for its most recent efforts to expand its charging presence in the United States, a move that seems logical based on the effectiveness of the automaker’s own infrastructure.

EVgo opened its first Supercharger site in Illinois, a 12-stall station near downtown Chicago at 3145 South Ashland Avenue in the Riverside Square & River’s Edge center, right beside a grocery store. This marks the start of the company’s plan to deploy hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the United States, primarily at grocery-anchored Regency Centers properties where drivers can shop, eat, or run errands while they charge.

The new location uses Tesla’s Magic Dock technology so both NACS and CCS vehicles can plug in natively without drivers needing to carry their own adapters. Peak power reaches 325 kW at this site, with pricing set between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh depending on the hour—the same rate for Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.

The stalls also appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation and Trip Planner, making them easy for Tesla owners to find and route to. Illinois has seen EV registrations rise nearly 60 percent over the past two years, and EVgo’s broader network has experienced more than 700 percent growth in charging demand over three years, so the timing fits the market’s trajectory.

Choosing Tesla hardware through the Supercharger for Business program turns out to have been a smart, practical move.

Tesla’s V4 stalls and cabinets deliver high, reliable power with a proven track record of strong uptime, while Magic Dock delivers true dual-standard compatibility in one package. Because the sites show up in Tesla’s navigation tools, EVgo instantly gains visibility among millions of existing Tesla drivers, which should raise utilization and help the company double its addressable market as more vehicles adopt NACS. EVgo still owns the stations and sets pricing, yet benefits from Tesla’s established hardware, longer cables, and operational support.

The result is faster, lower-risk infrastructure expansion that serves every EV driver—Tesla or otherwise—with convenient, high-power charging at everyday retail locations. For drivers, that means fewer adapters, more predictable stops, and a denser network just as electric vehicles become everyday transportation.

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