Transcription
Hey everyone, Msco Electric here. Today is Sunday, April 19th, 2026, and this is the current, your weekly EV news in about 10 minutes.
EV startup Slate Auto announced a $650 million series C funding round led by TWWG Global, a firm run by Los Angeles Dodgers owner and Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter and billionaire investor Thomas Tol. Slay has raised approximately $1.4 billion to date. The investment will support the development and production of the company's affordable electric pickup truck targeted at a base price in the mid-$20,000 range with production expected to begin later this year at a facility in Warsaw, Indiana.
Slate's first vehicle is one point of interest, and you can find our reporting about that here. But the startup may be innovating well beyond the product itself, including insurance, distribution, and lending. Some directional indicators include TWWG Global's partnership with Palunteer Technologies and Elon Musk's XAI to create commercial AI tools for insurance and financial services for companies like Slate, which are in the TWWG portfolio.
Slate, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among other investors, has accumulated more than 160,000 refundable reservations for its customizable clean slate electric pickup truck. Slate recently appointed Peter Ferrisy, the former vice president of Amazon Marketplace, as its new CEO. Former CEO Christine Barman, a longtime Chrysler veteran, transitioned to the role of president of vehicles, focusing on engineering, manufacturing, and product development.
Ferrisy's extensive experience building and scaling Amazon's third-party marketplace could significantly reshape how Slate vehicles are bought and sold. With his background in creating direct-to-consumer e-commerce platforms that connect buyers with a vast array of sellers and customizable options, Slate is likely to push towards a more streamlined Amazon-style sales model with the possibility of allowing customers to configure and purchase trucks online with minimal friction, then adding accessories post-delivery much like third-party products on Amazon.
Hyundai lists vehicles on Amazon Autos today, but transactions are carried out by independent franchise dealerships for final delivery, paperwork, and compliance. Most states have laws which prevent legacy automakers from bypassing existing middlemen. Pharisees' expertise could help Slate challenge that status quo by emphasizing direct sales and post-purchase customization, accelerating the shift towards a more digital, consumer-friendly automotive buying experience. I have bought several of my EVs directly from the manufacturer, and I greatly prefer that quick, efficient, and transparent experience compared to the haggling, upselling, and waiting which are common at traditional dealerships. We are strong believers of consumer choice and a free market for a more competitive buying landscape for the automotive industry. We'll share more information about Slate's sales, financing, insurance, and distribution choices when it becomes available.
Ford Motor Company announced a major EV reorganization on Wednesday. The restructuring effectively means the standalone Model E division, including electric vehicle, digital, and design functions, are being folded into a new combined product creation and industrialization organization at Ford. The move aims to accelerate the development and scaling of next-generation software-defined vehicles with a mix of powertrain options. Ford's current COO will lead the combined unit.
As part of the changes, Doug Field, the Tesla and Apple veteran who spearheaded Ford's EV and tech transformation since 2021, has elected to depart the company next month. Alan Clark, a former Tesla engineer who has led the California-based team behind Ford's universal EV platform, has been promoted to vice president of advanced development projects. He will continue overseeing the advanced EV group and its application to future programs. For those who would like to become more familiar with Ford's upcoming EV platform, I've linked to our MSCO Electric Industry channels' exploratory video in this video's description.
As part of the announcement, Ford said by 2030, their model lineup will have a significant overhaul, with 90% of their vehicles by volume featuring updated electrical architectures, in-house developed user experiences and hardware, and next-generation over-the-air capabilities. Ford also outlined its electrification ambitions through 2030, stating that nearly 90% of Ford's global nameplates will offer electrified powertrains by the end of the decade, which includes hybrids, extended-range electric vehicles, aka E-REVs, and fully electric vehicles. The restructuring supports broader Ford Plus goals, including an 8% adjusted EBIT margin target by 2029 and significant portfolio refreshes. Do you think Ford is on the right track for success?
While we're on the topic of leadership changes, Lucid Motors has appointed Sylvio Napolei as its new CEO and secured more than $1 billion in fresh funding to support growth and robo-taxi ambitions. The company announced this week that Napolei, formerly chairman and CEO of Swiss industrial giant Schindler Group, which is a global leader in elevators, escalators, and moving walkways, that he will take the helm and join the board of directors. He replaces interim CEO Mark Winterhof, who will revert to his role as chief operating officer once Napolei relocates from Switzerland to the US in the coming weeks.
Napolei brings decades of experience leading complex, technology-driven manufacturing organizations through large-scale transformation, operational improvements, and international expansion. Lucid executives believe this background will help accelerate the company's push towards greater execution rigor, production scaling, profitability, and long-term value creation, particularly as it navigates the capital-intensive challenges of EV manufacturing and autonomous technology.
The leadership move coincided with a significant capital injection totaling approximately $1.05 billion. This includes new commitments from major backers Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund with a purchase of $550 million in stock and Uber's additional $200 million on top of their original $300 million investment, with the latter also expanding its robo-taxi partnership with Lucid to at least 35,000 vehicles, which is up from the original 20,000 Lucid Gravities we reported on back in July of 2025. The 15,000 additional vehicles are expected to be of the midsize platform, which Uber says creates an even clearer path to stronger unit economics.
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the 2027 EQS sedan, a significantly updated version of its flagship all-electric luxury sedan. The company says that more than a quarter of all vehicle components are newly developed, updated, and refined. The refreshed model introduces an upgraded 800-volt architecture, a larger 122 kWh usable battery with improved cell chemistry, new in-house developed, more compact electric motors, and a two-speed transmission. The company says these changes deliver enhanced efficiency, performance, and charging capabilities.
The new battery cells feature silicon oxide and graphite anodes for increased gravimetric and volumetric energy density, enabling greater range within the same battery dimensions. The 450+ variant is expected to offer up to 575 miles of range on the WLTP cycle, which translates to an estimated 400 to 425 miles under the stricter US EPA testing. DC fast charging speeds now reach up to 350 kW through its native North American charging system port, enabling the addition of approximately 200 miles of range in just 10 minutes and access to Tesla's Supercharging network. Mercedes says at 400-volt stations, the battery virtually divides into two parts to efficiently charge at up to 175 kW. The EQS can now recoup 385 kW of power from regenerative braking, which also improves efficiency and can be adjusted through the steering wheel paddles or gear selector.
Available trims include the rear-wheel-drive EQS450+ with 402 horsepower and 372 pound-feet of torque, all-wheel-drive EQS500 4MATIC with 469 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, and EQS580 4MATIC with 576 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Notable new features include optional steer-by-wire technology paired with a yoke-style steering wheel for quicker response and improved maneuverability with 4.5-degree rear axle steering, an enhanced MBUX Hyperscreen with improved AI integration in partnership with Microsoft and entertainment options including video streaming and rear-passenger screens with video call support, heated seat belts, and a premium 15-speaker Burmester audio sound system. The January departure of chief designer Gordon Wagner is too recent to have any impact on the exterior design, and the new EQS retains an impressive .2020 drag coefficient. The vehicle will continue to be built in Germany, and US pricing has not officially been confirmed. The 2027 EQS is expected to arrive in US dealerships in the second half of 2026.
Finnish startup Donut Lab, known for its ambitious solid-state doughnut battery technology, is the subject of a criminal whistleblower complaint filed this month. According to Ingadget, Helsinki police said the criminal report was filed by Lori Pelto, who is formerly listed as chief commercial officer at Nordic Nano, a company which counts Donut Lab among its investors. He alleges Donut Lab overstated key performance metrics, including energy density and longevity, and exaggerated its own production capabilities for its Gen 1 solid-state batteries. Donut Lab now claims to be focused on Gen 2 cells. Donut Lab denies the allegations. Nordic Nano CEO has asserted Pelola had no involvement with Nordic Nano's battery project. This is seemingly a first official public admission of Donut Lab's coordination with Nordic Nano on the solid-state battery.
The whistleblower shared internal communications from one of their manufacturing partners, CT Coatings, who is said to have discontinued development of the original Doughnut Lab branded solid-state battery, which they provided to VTT Lab for testing. This aligns with Donut Lab's recent pivot to second-generation solid-state cell development from their video published on April 1st. During that video, the company also noted a production milestone with partner Verge Motorcycles, stating the first Verge TS Pro models equipped with Donut Lab solid-state battery have rolled off the production line. However, initial deliveries are limited to internal employees, indicating that there could be an intellectual property conflict that prohibits public sale of the first-generation cells. Broader customer shipments are expected later.
Verge has recently indicated plans to manufacture around 350 solid-state powered bikes in 2026, split between Europe and California markets. This aligns with what the Verge CEO told me during our interview back in January. I'll link that full interview along with our original Donut Lab battery deep dive in this video's description. Donut Lab has continued to release test results and demonstrations supporting its claims in recent months. As I said in our January investigation, the technology appears to be viable, but the complexities of manufacturing and distributing disruptive battery cells at scale with so many stakeholders are colossal. The buy-and-bury risk to any of the required ingredients is high.
Before we wrap up, there were a few additional headlines we wanted to note, including the discontinuation of the sale of the BMW iX in the US. The company will continue to sell the model elsewhere globally. Functionally, the unconfirmed upcoming EX-5 produced at BMW's US manufacturing facility in South Carolina could take its place without being subject to heavy import tariffs.
Chinese electric semi manufacturer Windrose has delivered their first 400-mile range semi-truck to Texas logistics firm All Logic for $285,000. The company is partnering with Exos Trucks to handle sales, delivery, and customer support for the North American market. Winrose plans to build up to 2,000 units in 2026.
Finally, Rivian and battery recycling firm Redwood Materials are working together using more than 100 second-life Rivian battery packs to provide dispatchable energy to reduce costs and grid load during peak demand periods at Rivian's plant in Illinois.
That wraps up a very busy week for this episode of the current weekly EV News. If you'd like to support our work, I hope you'll consider becoming a channel member. Members gain access to the current each week as soon as I upload it, sometimes as early as Saturday afternoon. Members also get extended event coverage, a discount on miscolectric merchandise from miscolectric.com, exclusive access to archived live streams, and more. I hope you'll click the link in this video's description to sign up for membership. Thank you for joining us this week, and until next time, drive, fly, ride, go electric, go electric.