The Brief Brief Electric Vehicles
batteries on wheels, getting better weekly.
Electric Vehicles — briefly, then briefly again · tbb.ceo
listen tothe daily 0:00 –:––
/daily ·13 SEPT 2026 ·SUNDAY ·2 MIN READ ·7 STORIES

Weekend Shift

Tesla teases an October Roadster reveal, BYD books 12,000 orders in 24 hours for its new flagship SUV, and EV list prices are now falling while the average new car crosses $50,000.

01 / The Day

SUNDAY 13 SEPT 2026, ranked

07

Tesla Roadster Reveal Set for October 1

Tesla posted a brief teaser video confirming an October 1 reveal event for the long-delayed Roadster, which was first announced in 2017 and has missed multiple target dates; no production timeline or pricing update was included.

  • Original 2017 reveal promised 0–60 in 1.9 s and 620-mile range — specs still unconfirmed
  • Teaser follows renewed social pressure after multiple delivery deadline slips
  • Reveal date — not delivery date — leaves production schedule still unspecified
Why it mattersThe Roadster is Tesla's longest-running unfulfilled promise; an October reveal would be the first concrete milestone in nearly four years.
01 electrek.co↗

BYD Sealion 08 Takes 12,000 Orders in 24 Hours

BYD's new flagship electric SUV, the Sealion 08, attracted more than 12,000 reservations in its first 24 hours of availability — a demand signal that outpaces comparable launches from Tesla and NIO at equivalent price points.

  • Sealion 08 priced from ¥189,800 (~$26,000), undercutting most European mid-size EV SUVs
  • Launch pace exceeds BYD's own Han EV debut, which took 48 hours to reach 10,000 orders
  • Signals BYD expanding flagship positioning beyond fleet and budget segments
Why it mattersA Chinese domestic SUV pulling 12,000 day-one orders at premium-adjacent pricing shows demand ceiling is not yet visible for BYD's product ladder.
02 electrek.co↗

EV Prices Fall as Average New Car Tops $50,000

Cox Automotive data shows average EV transaction prices declined 12% year-over-year to $47,200 in August, while the industry-wide average new vehicle price climbed above $50,000 for the first time — narrowing the upfront cost gap that has historically suppressed EV adoption.

  • EV average now $2,800 below the overall new-car average — first time EV undercuts the segment
  • Price compression driven by Chinese competition, Tesla cuts, and end-of-lease fleet returns
  • Federal tax credits remain active through at least 2027, further reducing effective consumer cost
Why it mattersWhen EVs are cheaper on sticker than the average new car, the 'EVs are too expensive' objection changes from fact to perception — and perception changes slowly.
03 electrek.co↗

Russian EV Sales Doubled After Ukraine Targeted Refineries

Following Ukraine's 2024 long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refining infrastructure, Russian EV registrations roughly doubled year-over-year — with fuel price spikes and supply anxiety accelerating adoption in a market that previously had negligible EV penetration.

  • Domestic fuel prices rose 35% in the six months following refinery strikes, altering consumer calculus
  • Chinese brands — primarily Chery, Geely, and BYD — captured virtually all new EV demand
  • Government EV subsidies reinstated after a 2023 pause; partly offset by Western technology export bans
Why it mattersRussia's EV surge is a stress-test of the thesis that energy security crises, not environmental policy, drive rapid EV adoption curves.
04 electrek.co↗

BYD Orders 10 More World's Largest Car Carriers

Having already acquired the world's largest car carrier vessel in 2025, BYD has ordered ten additional purpose-built roll-on/roll-off ships — enough to carry roughly 90,000 vehicles per voyage — to handle surging export volumes to Europe and Southeast Asia.

  • Each new vessel can carry ~7,500 vehicles; ten ships add ~75,000 units of annual export capacity
  • BYD now controls one of the largest proprietary automotive shipping fleets of any car manufacturer
  • Move reduces BYD's dependence on third-party RoRo carriers whose rates surged 300% in 2024
Why it mattersBYD owning its shipping logistics at scale is the same vertical integration logic it applied to batteries — cost control and supply chain resilience over third-party market pricing.
05 electrek.co↗

Smart Cuts Prices $5,000 Ahead of #5 SUV Launch

Smart (the Daimler/Geely joint venture) reduced pricing on its existing EV lineup by up to $5,000 ahead of the Smart #5 compact SUV launch, a move analysts read as inventory management and competitive repositioning rather than organic demand.

  • Smart #5 will enter a crowded segment occupied by BYD Sealion 6, Volvo EX40, and Tesla Model Y
  • Price cuts affect Smart #1 and #3 models — clearing stock before the #5 cannibalises them
  • Smart has struggled to grow outside its urban European niche despite Geely's backing
Why it mattersPre-launch price cuts signal either strong #5 demand confidence or weak existing inventory turnover — and in Smart's case the market will scrutinise which it is.
06 thedriven.io↗

Musk Promotes Tesla FSD Misuse Featuring a 98-Year-Old

Elon Musk shared a video on X appearing to show a 98-year-old driving with Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature active and unsupervised — drawing safety criticism from regulators and driving advocacy groups who noted FSD's terms of service require constant driver attention.

  • NHTSA has 40 active investigations into Tesla FSD-related crashes; video drew direct regulator comment
  • Tesla FSD EULA explicitly requires 'constant attention and readiness to act immediately'
  • Critics note Musk's promotion directly contradicts the product's legal use requirements
Why it mattersA CEO promoting his product being used in a way that violates its own terms of service — while under active safety investigations — is a governance problem, not a marketing quirk.
07 electrek.co↗
Be subscriber #013 the weekly ten, every friday by email · no spam · unsubscribe anytime
Past days

The Daily Archive

/TUE 15 SEPTIAA and the Cybercab detour/MON 14 SEPTThe Drag Coefficient Race/SUN 13 SEPTWeekend Shift/FRI 11 SEPTDiverging Markets/THU 10 SEPTTrump's China EV Gambit/WED 09 SEPTBYD Breaks Records, PHEVs Fail Tests/TUE 08 SEPTSafety First (and Then Not)/MON 07 SEPTBYD goes global, Cybercab goes 24/7, Chinese brands ace NCAP/SUN 06 SEPTVW signs, Ford bets/SAT 05 SEPTElectric Vehicles — Saturday, Sep 5/FRI 04 SEPTLive Wires/THU 03 SEPTElectric September/WED 02 SEPTAffordable and Accountable/TUE 01 SEPTSafety, speed, and a deleted mandate/MON 31 AUGChina-First, Fleet-Forward/SUN 30 AUGThe 27 Percent Week/SAT 29 AUGThe Most Powerful Porsche Is Electric, BYD Prints Money Exporting, Underground Miners Go Electric/FRI 28 AUGKia Hits Price Parity, Ports Go Electric, Waymo Calls Out Tesla/THU 27 AUGThursday: Two Million BMWs and Nine-Minute BYDs/WED 26 AUGEurope's Quarter, Waymo's German Ambitions, and a Defender Delay/TUE 25 AUGCybercab Week Starts