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USPS increases BEV concentration in future orders to ‘at least’ 50 percent, SEIS vehicles at 40 percent

Credit: USPS

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The United States Postal Service announced today that it would increase the concentration of battery electric vehicles that would make up the 165,000 new vehicles it plans to purchase as a part of its plan to modernize the mail fleet. Previous projections placed the USPS’s order concentration of BEVs at just 20 percent of the 165,000 new vehicles, but this has now been adjusted to “at least 50 percent.”

“The adjustments reflect refinements to the Postal Service’s overall network modernization, route optimizations, improved facility electric infrastructure, and availability of vehicles and technology,” the USPS said in its press release.

In February, the USPS said it would order 165,000 Next Generation Delivery vehicles, which it refers to as NGDVs. It is also purchasing commercial-off-the-shelf, or COTS, vehicles to “supplement the current purpose-built NGDV order.” The agency announced that it would eventually achieve a BEV concentration of 70 percent. In March, this figure changed as the Postal Service announced it would purchase 50,000 NGDVs from Oshkosh Defense, working toward a 20 percent concentration of BEVs in the fleet.

USPS sued over new gas-powered delivery vehicles by UAW & states

However, the USPS is once again increasing the number of BEVs in its future fleet to “at least” 50 percent, it said:

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“Now, under the new adjusted scope for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), the Postal Service proposes to limit its Decision to the 50,000 NGDV already purchased and to raise the minimum NGDV BEV percentage to at least 50 percent. Because of the critical and immediate need to accelerate the replacement of our aging fleet in accordance with the Delivering for America plan, and the purpose and scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, the Postal Service is also proposing to purchase, over a 2-year period, 34,500 COTS vehicles. Additional purchases of NGDVs under the current contract or other COTS vehicles will be analyzed in future supplements to the EIS prior to such purchases. The Postal Service anticipates evaluating and procuring vehicles over shorter time periods to be more responsive to its evolving operational strategy, technology improvements, and changing market conditions, including the expected increased availability of BEV options in the future.”

Under the current SEIS contract, the minimum concentration will be 50 percent. However, the 84,500 NGDV and COTS vehicles will be 40 percent BEVs. “The Postal Service reiterates its commitment to the fiscally responsible roll-out of electric-powered vehicles for America’s largest and oldest federal fleet. New NGDVs are expected to start servicing postal routes in late 2023.”

The Postal Service says NGDVs are expected to start delivering mail on some postal routes late next year.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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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 races strange, compact Model Y on Fremont Test Track: affordable model?

Tesla was zipping around a strange, covered, compact Model Y at Fremont this week.

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tesla affordable model prototype on fremont factory test track
Credit: Met God in Wilderness | YouTube

Tesla was racing a compact, short, and stocky Model Y with front and rear end covers around its Fremont Factory’s test track today, potentially giving us a look at the upcoming affordable model.

On Thursday, Met God in the Wilderness on YouTube posted a flyover of the Fremont Factory, a weekly occurrence for the channel. This week’s video featured a smaller, more compact Model Y racing around the Test Track at Fremont, trailed by a Cybertruck:

While both bumpers are covered, it still seems to be a much more compact version of the Model Y. There is also the potential that this is the upcoming Model Y Performance, but it seems that this vehicle is smaller than the traditional Model Y. Tesla would not reduce its size this much for the Performance configuration.

With that, it seems more likely it is one of the affordable models.

Tesla still on track to release more affordable models in 1H25

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It also plays into the idea that Tesla is planning to launch vehicles very similar to the Model Y and Model 3. During the last Earnings Call, Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy stated that the affordable models the company planned to launch would be of the same form and factor as the Model Y, indicating potentially a stripped-down version of the all-electric crossover:

“I will say it’s important to emphasize that, as we’ve said all along, the full utilization of our factories is the primary goal for these new products. And so flexibility of what we can do within the form factor and, you know, the design of it is really limited to what we can do on our existing lines rather than building new ones.”

This was essentially a read-between-the-lines moment for investors as they took it as the affordable models would not be much different than the Model Y.

This vehicle seems to fit the bill of what Moravy described: it is eerily similar to the Model Y without the lengthened front and rear. While it is still tough to determine exactly what it is, it surely does look to be something that Tesla is keeping under wraps for the short term.

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Teslas will self-deliver to customers, Elon Musk says: here’s when

Teslas will soon drive themselves to customers, Elon Musk says

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has an extremely busy month for himself and his company in June if all goes according to plan.

Not only is Tesla planning to launch its Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas, next month, but Musk is also now indicating that Teslas will self-deliver to customers in June as well.

Musk has said for some time that Tesla vehicles would soon be capable of driving to customers without a driver within the car. Initially, it seemed like the company would do this in the areas close to its U.S. factories – the Greater Austin, Texas, area, and potentially in Northern California’s Bay Area of San Francisco, where the company’s Fremont Factory operates.

Upon confirmation that Tesla has been testing driverless Robotaxi rides in Austin for the past several days, Musk brought forth a new detail that fans of the company will love to hear: Teslas will soon drive themselves to customers, eliminating the need for trips to the showroom for delivery.

How soon? Musk says next month:

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There is no doubt that the bigger news within Musk’s X post is that it is on track for the launch of the Robotaxi platform. Tesla has been touting its prowess in self-driving for several years. As other companies have executed, Tesla has taken a more unorthodox approach by utilizing only cameras and being much more reserved with its rollout of driverless software.

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While Full Self-Driving is consistently ranked at the top of the current Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), it is not fully autonomous. That is set to change, and not only will it yield the results of what will hopefully be a successful Robotaxi fleet, but also a vehicle delivery process that makes buying a vehicle more convenient than it already is from Tesla, with no hassle, no dealership jargon, and no negotiating.

The launch of the Robotaxi platform is set for Austin on June 12, according to Bloomberg, where roughly 10 Model Y SUVs will make their way around the city initially. Tesla will expand as safety is proven, which is the utmost priority.

Musk also said later on X that people should be able to fly to Austin and hail a Robotaxi by the end of June.

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Tesla lands on date for Robotaxi launch in Austin: report

Tesla has reportedly landed on a tentative date to launch the Robotaxi platform in Austin.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has reportedly landed on a set date for its launch of the Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas.

Bloomberg is reporting that Tesla has discussed June 12 internally, and there is still the potential for it to change.

The date comes after Tesla tested the driverless ride-sharing platform on public roads in Austin, and has been for several weeks. The report said that Tesla started doing it this week, and CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X by saying:

“For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents.”

The report indicates a person was in the vehicle, but not in the driver’s seat. Instead, a Tesla engineer sat in the passenger seat of a Model Y, “which drove autonomously with no remote operation.”

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Tesla set for ‘golden age of autonomous’ as Robotaxi nears, ‘dark chapter’ ends: Wedbush

The testing has successfully gone on a month ahead of the company’s deadline of June 30.

Currently, Tesla’s plans for the initial rollout of the suite are extremely limited. There will only be ten vehicles at first, and the riders will be invited by the company. This is an effort that puts safety at the forefront of this trial period, and will expand as time goes on.

It could be sooner than expected, as Musk also said that anyone would likely be able to visit Austin and take a ride in the Robotaxi by the end of June.

The report and subsequent announcement come after many media outlets reported Tesla was not testing Robotaxi in any capacity. Some had even considered the project a total failure even before the June launch date, a typical tone most media take with the company.

Tesla Robotaxi deemed a total failure by media — even though it hasn’t been released

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Tesla has not been great at meeting its own timelines, but it has been adamant that it would reach this June deadline for several months.

Now that it appears Tesla is at an all-systems-go mentality for the Robotaxi launch, it will be interesting to see how quickly it can expand from its initial testing.

Shares are up just over 1.3 percent as of 10:30 a.m. on the East Coast. They are up 24 percent over the past 30 days, and down just 4.5 percent for the year so far.

The Robotaxi fleet will help to bolster Tesla’s position as a leader in autonomy, something it has already essentially achieved through its successful operation of the Supervised Full Self-Driving suite.

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