News
USPS Inspector General asked to investigate agency’s decision favoring gas delivery vans over EVs
A group of U.S. lawmakers in the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General (IG), requesting an investigation into the agency’s order for Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV).
In a letter dated Monday, March 14, Democrats in the House Oversight Committee asked IG Tammy L. Whitcomb to investigate the Postal Service’s compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). They questioned if the USPS complied with NEPA’s requirements for environmental reviews before finalizing its NGDV contract.
“We write to request that the Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiate an investigation into the Postal Service’s compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, particularly the filing of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle,” wrote the Members.
“The Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Council for Environmental Quality and numerous environmental stakeholders have raised concerns that the Postal Service did not meet its NEPA obligations during its contracting process for the NGDV. These significant concerns warrant an investigation by the OIG.”
Background
The USPS received some criticism from the Biden Administration after it announced plans to spend up to $11.3 billion on as many as 165,000 gas-powered NGDVs. The Biden Administration urged the Postal Service to reconsider its plans to buy mostly internal combustion engine (ICE) delivery vehicles to upgrade its fleet.
The USPS fleet makes up a third of the U.S. government fleet. President Biden ordered all federal agencies to phase out the purchase of gasoline-powered vehicles. Even though the Postal Service is an independent agency, its fleet’s transition to electric vehicles would symbolize the current administration’s determination to move away from fossil fuels.
After receiving some pushback from the Biden Administration about its NGDV plans, the Postal Service issued a statement on February 6, announcing its plans to submit an initial order for 5,000 electric delivery vans. The agency also shared its goals to achieve 70% fleet electrification within the decade.
The Issue
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the White House Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ), and other environmental stakeholders are concerned that the Postal Service did not meet NEPA obligations when it announced a 10-year contract with Oshkosh to manufacture fossil fuel-powered NGDVs.
The EPA pointed out that critical features in the contract were not disclosed in the Postal Service’s final review or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the NGDV program. The CEQ observed that the agency’s final review was “flawed in some ways that cannot be so easily remedied.”
The New York Times discovered some evidence that supported the CEQ’s claims. The Postal Service estimated that the NGDVs would get 29.9 miles per gallon in its review. However, the EPA found that the vehicles would only get 14.7 miles per gallon or even less if air conditioning was factored into the equation.
The Postal Service’s (Current) Stance
USPS published a 340-page Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) under the NEPA process on January 7, 2022. The Postal Service later completed a record of decision (ROD), which featured the agency’s response to feedback from the EPA on the potential environmental impact of the NGDV program.
In its ROD, the Postal Service outlines its decision to purchase and deploy 50,000 to 165,000 NGDVs over the next ten years. It details that the NGDV fleet will be a mix of ICE and battery electric vehicle (BEV) delivery vans. All-electric NGDVs will make up at least 10% of the fleet. The Postal Service determined that ICE NGDVs were the “most achievable” alternative to replacing its existing fleet rather than BEV NGDV, given its financial condition.
“…BEV NGDV(s) ha(ve) a significantly higher total cost of ownership than the ICE NGDV, which is why the Preferred Alternative being implemented does not commit to more than 10 percent BEV NGDV. Finally, the Postal Service notes that the Preferred Alternative as implemented contains the flexibility to significantly increase the percentage of BEV NGDV should additional funding become available from any source,” stated the USPS in its latest ROD.
USPS Inspector General asked to investigate agency’s decision favoring gas delivery vans over EVs by Maria Merano on Scribd
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Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
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$19.99 USD🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.
After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.
By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.
Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing
It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.
However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:
Tesla has made a LOT of changes to its online shop recently — price increases, price cuts, new options, and several products being removed entirely.
Some of the biggest increases are wheel covers. 👀
📈 PRICE INCREASES
• 2017-2023 | Model 3 Aero Wheel Cover — Style: Refresh…— Phoenix Self-Driving 🐦🔥 (@PhoenixFSD) August 25, 2026
Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.
However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.
Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.
Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.
News
Tesla Robotaxi fleet gets a brain upgrade ahead of Cybercab launch event
Tesla’s Robotaxi service now runs longer hours nationwide as its unsupervised fleet quietly grows larger.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service just got easier to catch, with the company’s official Robotaxi account noting that rides are now available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, across its operating footprint. The account also said its unsupervised fleet is “a lot bigger” than before, though without specifics. The bigger change is what Tesla says upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution and routing is what’s actually cutting wait times, not a new Full Self-Driving version.
While Tesla did not name the team behind the upgrade, the language points to its AI and fleet software group rather than the driving stack itself. Vehicle distribution and routing in Robotaxi has functioned mostly as a dispatch problem with the software deciding which idle car goes to which rider, and how far it has to travel to get there. “Upgraded intelligence” suggests a smarter version of that dispatch logic, likely using demand forecasting to position idle cars near where riders are about to request them rather than reacting once a request comes in. Tesla’s AI division has built similar prediction systems for other parts of the business, including the neural networks that power FSD itself, so applying that same approach to fleet logistics would be a natural extension rather than a new discipline for the team.
Robotaxi now runs 6am to 10pm, 7 days/week
Unsupervised fleet is a lot bigger
Also, upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution & routing means you wait less pic.twitter.com/UFZ4bqg2dZ
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) August 26, 2026
Tesla is also about a week away from a separate robotaxi milestone. The company plans to launch Cybercab, its purpose built two seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, in Austin on September 3. Cybercab has been giving employees rides on public and private roads for weeks, and the September event is expected to fold those vehicles into the existing Robotaxi fleet within days of the launch.
Thank you so much @Tesla for inviting us to the Cybercab launch in Austin! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/F1rAR8zd5O
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 22, 2026
Austin previously ran Robotaxi from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. as of last September, a schedule set before the service expanded into Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and the Bay Area. Wednesday’s post did not specify whether that extended overnight window still applies in Austin specifically or whether 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. is now the standard across every market. Tesla’s post, visible on its official Robotaxi account, framed the change simply as fewer riders waiting around for a car.
Whether the wider hours hold once Cybercab enters the fleet next week is the next thing worth watching. Tesla has tended to expand Robotaxi in increments, first geofence, then hours, then fleet size, and each step so far has arrived without much advance notice.
Tesla Cybercab uses a unique strategy for picking up the right rider
Tesla ends in-house wrap service that always seemed like a short-term program
