Cadillac's new model is setting major range records, Lucid has a new deal with Uber, and there are some surprising upsides to driving fast in an EV.
Here's everything you need to know about Clean Machines this week.
Want your EV battery to last longer? Drive like a speed demon
Let's be clear, it is not safe to exceed the speed limit or drive recklessly on purpose. That said, a Stanford University study has concluded something pretty surprising: EV batteries exposed to "mixed driving conditions" (think brief bursts of acceleration, frequent stops and starts, and variable cruising speeds) can have significantly extended life spans.
As reported in Ynet News, steady cruising actually creates more wear and tear, while varied conditions distribute stress evenly and "delay battery degradation by hundreds of charge cycles."
The real takeaway here? Laying off the cruise control from time to time could amount to a big boost — in some cases, by as much as a third of a battery's life.
A new range king is hitting the streets
Edmunds just announced that a vehicle has broken the 550-mile range barrier in its trusted EV range-testing coverage. It's the Cadillac Escalade IQ, which logged an impressive 558 miles in just one charge.
The previous record-holder among Edmunds' tested vehicles was the Chevrolet Silverado EV with 408 miles. Cadillac's electric behemoth will set you back, however, with the full-size SUV costing nearly $160,000.
The robotaxi race is heating up — thanks to Uber and Lucid
Uber has announced a $300 million investment in EV startup Lucid. Over six years (beginning in 2026), Uber will buy and deploy 20,000-plus Lucid Gravity SUVs that will be equipped with autonomous technology from startup Nuro.
The exact location of the new launch is being kept under wraps for now, other than the hint that it will be in a major urban hub.
China is setting a truly mind-blowing EV record
Reporting from Bloomberg has found that, based on year-to-date figures, China will sell more electric vehicles than gas-powered ones in 2025.
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This is largely thanks to the popularity of hybrids there, improving charging networks and trade-in subsidies for people swapping gas-guzzlers for EVs.
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