While the world is working to make transportation greener, delivery trucks remain part of the problem. With all the energy needed to carry those heavy loads, they are a big source of emissions. Yet, powering a delivery truck or an 18-wheeler with an electric battery isn’t very practical. As it turns out, a solution for the future involves looking back.
By stringing up electrical cables over the road, Siemens developed a hybrid truck that draws power from the cables like a trolley. Already this system has been going through testing in Gavle, Sweden. Now, the technology is making its way to a part of the 710 and 405 highways in Los Angeles.
“These trucks are pretty heavy, and need significant amounts of energy, which still isn’t available through battery technology,” Stefan Goeller, head of railway electrification at Siemens, told Wired.
During the trail, an extendable power coupler on the roof of the trucks links it to the lines hanging above the right lane. This provides a solid connection to the on-board battery. At just five-kilowatt hours, this little battery is a fraction of the 60-kilowatt battery in the Chevrolet Bolt. Essentially, the truck’s battery can push it for less than two miles without a connection. When a truck coasts or applies the brakes, the power regeneration doesn’t charge the battery, instead it goes back into the power grid through the coupler. If a driver needs to pass a slower vehicle ahead, flipping on the turn signal will retract the power coupler. Then, using diesel power, the passing truck can make its move.
Aside from reducing emissions, another added benefit is how much quieter the electric trucks are. The main downside is the tangle of wires installed above the roads. It’s a case of a bigger negative outweighing a smaller one.
“What we see quite often in our industry is that one technology never covers it all,” Goeller said.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.
Missing out on the self-driving future is a tough pill to swallow, especially as a car enthusiast. But that is what Tesla handed us on Wednesday, without a hint of mercy.
During its October 21, 2026 earnings call, Elon Musk told investors the Cybercab is meant mainly as a ride service. Further, nearly all of them will be owned and managed by Tesla.