It appears that luxury carmaker Genesis is getting closer to electrifying its entire vehicle lineup.

Over the weekend, motoring and EV outlets were in a buzz with the news that Genesis — the luxury offshoot of South Korean carmaker Hyundai — has trademarked six car names all suffixed by the letter “e,” showing the company is readying efforts to overhaul its lineup.

Early in the year, the company confirmed it has two electric crossovers in the works , but details on its incoming vehicles lineup remained scarce. However, with the news that its trademarked the names: G70e, G80e, G90e, GV70e, GV80e, and GV90e, it seems that it’s just simply making electrified versions of its current vehicles.

With no new model names listed, it seems, the cars will be very similar to their combustion predecessors rather than entirely new models being released. Loyal fans of the brand are likely going to appreciate the consistency.

The letter “e” isn’t a guarantee of a full electric drivetrain, though. It might be a hint toward hybrid power systems, BMW’s hybrid tech goes by the name “eDrive,” for example.

This isn’t the first move Hyundai has made towards electrification.

Last year, the South Korean carmaker announced that it was turning the name of one of its most popular EVs, the Ioniq, into an entire brand of electric cars .

With that in mind, it’s not surprising that the Genesis too is pivoting to electrified vehicles.

HT – Motor1 , Jalopnik

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. That is why Polestar combines electric driving with cutting-edge design and thrilling performance. Find out how .

Musk and his mom go on anti-Biden Twitter rampage for ignoring Tesla

President Biden seems to be all about electrifying America and pushing for EV adoption, but there are some people who feel seriously left out : our dear Elon Musk and… his mom.

Last Wednesday, the president attended GM’s Factory Zero grand opening in Michigan and even had some fun behind the wheel of a 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup.

During his speech, Biden praised GM CEO Mary Barra for driving the country’s electric future:

You can watch his speech on the video below.

The thing is, Biden’s comments are a bit of an exaggeration. I mean, GM has pledged to have an all-electric vehicle line-up by 2035, but for now its sales mostly derive from conventional gas-guzzlers .

Meanwhile, it’s another solely electric automaker that accounts for nearly 80% of the EV market in the US : Tesla.

And as you might have guessed, Elon Musk doesn’t really like it when his company’s success is snubbed. Nor does his mom, Maye Musk.

“Biden’s speech was written 20 years ago, just before GM killed the electric car,” tweeted May. “His speechwriter uploaded the wrong file.”

Ouch.

I, for one, had forgotten about GM’s first and failed attempt to go EV, but Musk’s mom sure didn’t.

Back in 2003, General Motors cancelled its EV1 program, stating that it couldn’t sell enough units to make the EV1 profitable. And this reminder was admittedly a well-delivered blow.

And guess what? Musk’s sister, Tosca Musk, also commented on her mom’s tweet, “What mom said. AF.”

Maye Musk’s snarky remarks targeted Vice President Kamala Harris as well.

And to make sure that the Biden administration becomes aware of the fact that Tesla has already filled the gap of a well-established American EV company, Ms Musk retweeted a video showcasing… Teslas.

If this isn’t an outraged mother who’s calling out that her child has been wronged, I don’t know who is. Seriously, she reminds me of a lioness protecting her cubs.

The human cub in question, Elon, naturally rushed to comment on the situation with his usual playful manner, which nevertheless asserts Tesla’s superiority.

Again, ouch.

Although I’m not a fan of Elon Musk, I can’t really blame him this time. And it feels that Biden’s EV promotion has actually ignored Tesla on purpose.

At the White House EV summit in August , automakers, the United Autoworkers (UAW), and other leaders officially expressed their support for the Biden administration’s plans for pushing EVs to reach 50% of nationwide sales by 2030.

Guess who wasn’t invited: Tesla.

When asked about why the automaker was excluded from the summit, White House Secretary Jen Psaki told CNN that it has to do with the fact that the company isn’t unionized.

And that’s a pretty valid reason. Especially since Biden has been seriously pushing for the unionization of the automotive industry . A new bill, introduced in August, suggests that consumers can claim an added $4,500 for vehicles assembled at a domestic unionized plant.

Tesla is highly unlikely to adhere to that. Let’s not forget Musk’s anti-union battle with the UAW regarding the company’s factory in California.

But besides that, there may be a couple more reasons why Biden’s administration is ignoring Tesla in a more targeted way.

Whichever the reason might be behind Tesla’s exclusion from the electric vehicle promotion, there are at least two conclusions we can make: Biden doesn’t really like Tesla, and the Musk family is together fighting the EV war.

Another American city is hopping aboard an electric bus trial

This article was originally published by Christopher Carey on Cities Today , the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn , Instagram , and YouTube , or sign up for Cities Today News.

The US city of Charlotte, NC has approved an electric bus pilot as part of a public-private partnership between the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and eTransEnergy .

The scheme will test 18 battery electric buses (BEB) vehicles across the greater metropolitan Charlotte area over 12-18 months, and is supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge.

In June 2018, the city launched its Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP) which aims to have all city fleets and facilities fuelled by 100 percent zero-carbon sources by 2030, and for Charlotte to become a low-carbon city by 2050.

“Since 2018, the City of Charlotte has been working to achieve the vision of a low carbon Charlotte set forth in the SEAP,” said City of Charlotte Chief Sustainability Officer Sarah Hazel.

“Though 2020 brought incredible challenges on many fronts, it also highlighted the importance of this work, which is why it is so exciting to take this collaborative step towards reaching the ambitious goals we set for ourselves and our community.”

Assess performance

The city says the pilot will allow CATS to collect data and assess vehicle performance while operating across the transit system in preparation for future phases.

CATS is expected to receive the battery-electric vehicles by the end of 2021, with operations set to begin in early 2022.

The city and eTransEnergy submitted a joint grant application to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and were awarded a US$3.72 million Low or No (LoNo) Emissions Grant Award which will fund six of the 18 buses, with the other 12 funded through CATS’ Capital Investment Program.

Catherine Kummer, Natural Resources Defense Council Climate Advisor to Charlotte, said: “Charlotte is leading by example. The city’s commitment to a full fleet of electric buses while piloting all technologies available will ensure public transit riders across the region have access to a bus system that works for them and the businesses that depend on riders being able to travel with ease and cleaner air.”

Launched in 2018, the American Cities Climate Challenge provides resources and support to 25 of the largest US cities as they accelerate climate action, using a holistic approach that focuses on clean buildings and transportation.

The Climate Challenge plans to reduce emissions by 40 million metric tons by 2025 – the equivalent of taking 8.5 million cars off the road.

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?

Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up .