About Zachary Shahan
Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada. Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don't jump to conclusions.
February 20th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
I reported 11 days ago that the Tesla Model 3 was the best selling electric car in the world in 2018 (special thanks to Jose Pontes and EV Volumes for the data). What the data also showed, which I didn't specifically highlight, is that the Tesla Model 3 became the first passenger electric vehicle to cross 100,000 sales in a single year. At 145,846 sales, the car actually crushed that milestone
February 19th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Long before $TSLAQ was a thing, long before $TSLA was a thing, certain critics were predicting — obsessively — Tesla's flaming death. I'm not sure what has stimulated so much animus over the years, but the grave predictions get more humorous as the years go by
February 18th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
The top 20 CleanTechnica stories last week were led by a reported GM electric pickup truck plan that GM wouldn't comment on and Tesla denied any connection with. Next in line was our second review of the Hyundai Kona EV, this time from longtime EV reviewer Nicolas Zart. (The Hyundai Kona EV also won the 2019 CleanTechnica Car of the Year award, another story on the list.)
February 16th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
With electric car purchases still driven in large part by environmental concern and leadership, it will not surprise many of you to learn that many electric car drivers also have solar panels on their homes
February 16th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
What electric car incentives stimulate the most electric car purchases? That’s up for debate, but asking people who actually bought electric cars is an interesting way to ponder the question
February 16th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
There are two basic options with charging infrastructure. It can be connected to a central backend system via wireless internet (networked or “smart”), or not networked, meaning that it is not connected to an IT system (“dumb”)
February 14th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
One of the most exciting electric vehicle announcements of the past few years for me was Volkswagen Group's MOIA launch. Word on the street is that MOIA, which is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, is finishing up tests of 10 of MOIA's electric shuttles in Hamburg, Germany. After that is done, a fleet of 100 is supposed to launch in Hamburg in April
February 14th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
A major media outlet in Germany reported this week that the Mercedes-Benz EQC is sold out for 2019, and probably 2020 as well. In an interview with Welt Online*, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said, "We are sure that we will not be able to meet the demand in 2019 and probably not by 2020."
February 13th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
People like to bash the BMW i3 for its somewhat quirky looks, or for its less than "ultimate" specs. Others love it. I love it, and I actually drive one. Whether you are an i3 critic or an i3 fan, though, we're definitely at a "Munich, we have a problem" moment
February 13th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Volkswagen Group has decided it's now time to introduce another electric model. This time it's the Audi Q4 e-tron concept
February 13th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
I'd normally save a piece like this for the weekend, but the news this morning was disgusting. In case you missed it, one of Donald Trump's closest friends, head of his under-investigation Inauguration Committee, basically gave Saudi Arabia a pass on murdering and dismembering a Washington Post journalist, US resident Jamal Khashoggi
February 13th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
I published an article early this morning about a potential partnership between GM and Tesla in which GM would build electric trucks using Tesla powertrains. Tesla denied such a partnership and GM declined to comment on the story
February 12th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
For years, electric vehicle enthusiasts in the US have been begging for a solid electric pickup truck for consumers. I've long reported on monthly electric car sales and put them in the context of broader US car sales, but looking at the number of gas-thirsty pickup trucks sold each month is a whole other level and is quite disturbing
February 10th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
As some of you know, a few friends and I launched a city-to-city "Tesla Shuttle" network in Europe a year and a half ago. At some point last year, one of those guys suggested, "Hey, why don't we open up our platform for other Tesla owners around the world who would like to shuttle passengers on routes in their regions?" Hmm, why didn't I think of that
February 10th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
CleanTechnica writers now have 6 Tesla Model 3s, 3 Tesla Model Ss, 2 Chevy Bolts, 1 Nissan LEAF (after 2-3 retired Nissan LEAFs), 1 BMW i3, 1 Peugeot iOn, 1 Kia Soul EV, and 1 Zero Motorcycle. That makes 15 electric vehicles — if you don't count the electric bikes we have as well!
February 10th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
The most popular articles on CleanTechnica last week included a look at some analysts' baffling "before and after" assumptions regarding Tesla's finances, Budweiser getting powered by wind power and highlighting that during the Super Bowl, initial Tesla Model 3 test drives in Europe, Joe Rogan falling in love with his new Tesla Model S P100D, and much more. Oh, last week's top 20 article also did exceptionally well, coming in at #
February 10th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
A year ago, Jim Chanos was a a prominent supposed "expert" on the topic of Tesla [TSLA]. I'll start out by saying that I'm giving Chanos the benefit of the doubt in this piece and not assuming any nefarious motives. Though, I will summarize a popular theory that disagrees with that assumption as to why he has been so publicly negative about Tesla over the years, and I definitely think the theory could be true
February 10th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
In our 2019 competition for the CleanTechnica Car of the Year, CleanTechnica staff lounging next to a rooftop pool on top of a luxury hotel (... or just sitting on our computers from the banal surroundings of our own homes ...) came up with a list of the 5 new vehicles most likely to have a positive effect on society. We then put that list of vehicles out in front of your eyeballs to choose a winner, via a simple one-question survey
February 9th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
We've published something like a bazillion Tesla sales charts and stats. (See "30 Nasty Charts," for example.) But this is actually a new one. Jose Pontes of EV Volumes and CleanTechnica has his 2018 tally wrapped up and it puts the Tesla Model 3 in the #1 position globally among all plug-in vehicles
February 9th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
A city-to-city transport provider in the US Northeast recently added a new route to its young & budding network. The company — which only uses clean, zero-emission, class-leading Tesla vehicles — is now offering transport between Boston and New York City
February 9th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
If you confirmed a Tesla Model 3, Model S, or Model X order before February 1 but forgot or neglected to provide a referral code for 6–9 months of free Supercharging, fear not — you can still do so!
February 9th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
We have a weird situation. Not that long after GM decided to stop sharing monthly US sales figures, Ford has now followed suit and done the same. This is making monthly market sales report quite challenging. Of course, underneath the GM and Ford brands are Chevrolet, Lincoln, Buick, and Cadillac
February 8th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Is there any category the Tesla Model 3 doesn't win on? Beats Volvo on safest, beats BMW on performance, beats Audi on tech, beats Mercedes on sex appeal
February 6th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
The base price of the Model 3 after a fresh new price reduction is $42,900. The price dropped $1,100. Let's throw some more context on that
