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Electric Vehicles — briefly, then briefly again · tbb.ceo
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/daily ·17 AUG 2026 ·MONDAY ·2 MIN READ ·6 STORIES

The Monday After Monterey

Monterey closed with a $40m Ferrari EV, Britain put its EV sales targets back out to consultation, and Tesla started selling the Model Y a plug socket.

01 / The Day

MONDAY 17 AUG 2026, ranked

06

First Ferrari Luce EV sells for $40m at Monterey

Chassis 0 of Ferrari's first electric car went for $40 million against an estimate of just over $1.1 million at RM Sotheby's Monterey sale on 15 August. RM Sotheby's calls it the most expensive new car ever sold at auction, and every dollar goes to charity.

  • Hammer price $40m, more than 36x the pre-sale estimate of $1.1m
  • Offered without reserve, with RM Sotheby's waiving the buyer's premium
  • Proceeds go to educational initiatives via the Ferrari Foundation
Why it mattersA company that spent a decade hedging on electrification just watched collectors bid its first EV to a record.
01 rmsothebys.com↗

UK reopens its EV sales mandate for consultation

The Department for Transport opened a review of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate on 14 August, asking whether the annual targets, the compliance flexibilities and the 2030 phase-out definitions still hold. It runs to late October.

  • Consultation opened 14 August 2026 and closes 11:59pm on 23 October
  • Covers ZEV trajectories, compliance flexibilities and how to define the 2030 phase-out
  • Targets and flexibilities are consulted on jointly with the Scottish and Welsh governments and Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure; the 2030 phase-out section is UK-only
Why it mattersThe outcome sets how hard UK carmakers have to discount EVs for the rest of the decade.
02 gov.uk↗

Tesla gives the Model Y a plug socket, for $80

Tesla listed an $80 Outlet Adapter in the US that turns the Model Y Premium's Gen 3 Mobile Connector into a household socket. It is vehicle-to-load, arriving several years after Hyundai and Kia shipped the same idea.

  • Two 120V outlets, rated to 20A and about 2.4 kW combined
  • Listed as compatible with Model Y Premium, Model Y Performance and Cybertruck; Model Y Standard and the Model 3 range are not
  • Needs the power conversion hardware fitted only to recently built cars, so earlier Model Ys miss out
Why it mattersRunning a fridge off the car is now a box Tesla can tick, though at well under the Ioniq 5's 3.6 kW.
03 electrek.co↗

Tesla lines up a public Cybercab launch in Austin

The Information reported that Tesla has told staff it wants the steering-wheel-free Cybercab carrying the public in Austin by the end of August, starting with employee rides on public roads.

  • Employee rides on public roads first, then Cybercabs join the robotaxi service a few days later
  • Late August is the internal target and could still slip
  • Cybercab is built with no steering wheel and no pedals
Why it mattersTesla's robotaxi pitch stops being a software story the moment a car with no controls picks up strangers.
04 theinformation.com↗

Li Shufu steps down as Geely Auto chairman

Geely's founder is handing the chairmanship of the listed arm to An Conghui, effective 18 August, and taking the title of honorary chairman for life. He stays controlling shareholder and keeps the parent group.

  • An Conghui becomes chairman; Gan Jiayue is appointed chief executive and Gui Shengyue, who led since 2005, moves to vice chairman
  • Li remains chairman and controlling shareholder of Zhejiang Geely Holding
  • Announced Monday 17 August alongside the first-half interim results
Why it mattersThe listed arm carries Zeekr and Lynk & Co, so this decides who steers a large slice of China's EV output.
05 cnevpost.com↗

Jaguar shows the Type 01 interior before its October debut

Jaguar released images of the Type 01 cabin on 12 August, built around a full-length central spine that divides it into four separate spaces, then ran a wrapped prototype at Pebble Beach on 16 August.

  • A central spine runs the length of the cabin, creating four individual spaces
  • Rear visibility comes via a ClearSight Rear View Display set centrally at the base of the windscreen
  • Full reveal is set for New York on 6 October 2026
Why it mattersJaguar's entire relaunch rests on this car, so every drip-fed detail is doing real work.
06 media.jaguar.com↗
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Past days

The Daily Archive

/MON 17 AUGThe Monday After Monterey/SAT 15 AUGCalifornia opens, China undercuts/FRI 14 AUGUnions, Pickups, and Flying Things/THU 13 AUGThe month global EVs grew and North America didn't/WED 12 AUGKia breaks $30K, Sinopec breaks with oil/TUE 11 AUGDenmark's Endgame/MON 10 AUGZoox takes money, hybrids lose the price war, and Pony.ai aims for six figures/SUN 09 AUGVW's electric reboot, Zoox goes commercial, NIO hits nine figures/FRI 07 AUGFord names its $28K truck; BMW clears Munich for EVs only/THU 06 AUGLucid's SUV, London's robots, and Trump's diagnosis/WED 05 AUGCheap trucks, charging at Target, and Toyota joins the mass market/TUE 04 AUGThe floor falls to $30K, Europe hits 26%, and Zoox gets the green light/MON 03 AUG50-country EV record, Dongfeng hits 1.5 MW/SUN 02 AUGThe charger detour/SAT 01 AUGProbes, Fleets, and Flanking Moves/FRI 31 JULZoox wins driverless approval; Tesla eyes China exit/THU 30 JULThe Surge Edition/WED 29 JULWednesday, 29 July — Robots in London, a prince in Nevada/TUE 28 JULBMW goes topless; Porsche goes sideways/MON 27 JULUS BEVs Fell 25% in H1, BYD Revealed the Da Han with a Price, and Tesla's Robotaxi Timeline Is Under Scrutiny/SUN 26 JULSafety Numbers and an Own Goal from Honda