From The EV Geek.
This is episode 88 of The Friday Charge, hosted by Joel and Sebastian. — we cover a lot: Electrify America finally killing prepaid account balances for direct billing (yay), Hyundai’s Ioniq 5/Ioniq 9 sales and price cuts, Dodge’s Charger EV pivot (Scat Pack only, still $72,500+), Waymo retiring robo-taxis into second‑life batteries with B2U Solutions, and a couple of hands-on bits (Cadillac Escalade IQ L drive, Subaru Uncharted/Trail Seeker impressions). Joel also tells the wild story of his EVgo account getting hacked with simultaneous sessions across the country — which led to a canceled charge, a refund, and a password change.
You’ll see what Electrify America’s $20 pre-auth holds mean in practice, the exact Hyundai numbers (Ioniq 5 up year‑over‑year; Ioniq 5 starting around $35k, SE w/ bigger battery ~+$2,500 for ~318 miles), and why we think Dodge’s pricing is still off the rails. We drove the Escalade IQ L (big, floaty, heavy — ~9,218 lbs), talked Subaru strategy, and why repurposing EV batteries into grid storage actually matters. I also tease our next drop: a 9→100% charge test on the 2026 EV9 coming Monday.
Want to weigh in? Say “Happy birthday, SOMER” in the comments (spell it S‑O‑M‑E‑R) — and tell me: are you relieved Electrify America dropped prepaid balances or is it too little, too late?
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00:00 Intro & Hosts
00:34 Electrify America Changes
03:43 Hyundai EV Growth
07:08 Dodge Charger EV
10:39 Waymo Taxi Reuse
14:16 Cadillac Escalade IQ
16:42 Subaru EV Lineup
21:38 Personal Updates & Hacks
24:59 Closing & Support
#electricvehicle #automobile #electriccar
