|
WattsCharging
Weekly EV Newsletter
February 17, 2026 l Past Issues
|
|
|
WattsCharging This Week:
(3 min read)
- This new automated garage will move and charge your EV for you. Is it a parking garage of the future, or a gimmick?
- Apple CarPlay is coming to Teslas, eventually...
- Canada has a new EV rebate program, but the price caps are lower this time.
- Tom's Equinox can't catch a break. Battery failure at 9,500 miles.
Let's dive in.
Top Charging News
Menlo Park’s Lume apartment complex opened in late 2024, but its fully automated garage with robotic EV charging arm was completed last year.
Drivers leave their cars at the garage entrance, and the system takes care of the rest, ferrying the vehicles to the first available spot. Through a smartphone app, EV drivers can request a charging session, and if a spot is open, the vehicle is automatically transferred to a charging bay, where a robotic arm plugs in a Level 2 cable. When the charging reaches the desired level, the car is unplugged and moved to another spot, leaving the charging bay open for another EV that might need a top-up.
 Other EV News
|
|
Tesla and Apple have been working together to deploy CarPlay for several months, and the plan is to allow CarPlay to run in a window within the Tesla interface.
Per insiders who spoke with Bloomberg, Tesla discovered a compatibility issue between Apple Maps and its in-house mapping software during initial testing. The issue concerns turn-by-turn guidance, as Tesla’s Maps App is unable to sync properly with Apple Maps during autonomous driving.
Tesla asked Apple to develop a fix, which was included in iOS 26. However, the patch did not come with the official iOS 26 launch and instead came in a security and patch update after the launch in September 2025. So, although 74% of iPhone users with devices activated in the last four years have iOS 26, it remains unclear how many users have the updated patch with the CarPlay fix.
|
|
|
Canada’s federal electric vehicle (EV) rebate has officially returned today under a new name and revised structure. As of February 16, 2026, Canadians can once again receive incentives when purchasing or leasing eligible EVs through the newly launched Electric Vehicle Affordability Program (EVAP).
The new EVAP replaces the previous federal rebate program, but offers the same rebates – up to $5,000 for battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and up to $2,500 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The incentive applies to both purchases and leases, although the rebate amounts will diminish over the course of the 5-year program.
One of the most important factors under EVAP is something called the “final transaction value,” and not MSRP like under the previous iZEV program. To qualify for the incentive, the final transaction value must be $50,000 or less...
|
 Even though electric vehicles have far fewer moving parts than combustion cars and are generally pretty reliable, they can still break down without notice. Tom Moloughney’s Chevrolet Equinox EV unexpectedly bricked itself a few days ago, even though it had been running problem-free until then and it’s only done around 9,500 miles since new.
Tom posted a video on his channel, State of Charge, explaining what happened. He started up the Equinox after it had been sitting for about six days and it showed that it had 46% battery remaining. He began driving the car, but it suddenly dropped to 0% and lost all power. The steering didn’t lock up and Tom was able to slide down the road and back into his driveway before calling a tow truck to pick the car up and take it to the dealer.
|
|
|
That's it for today. See you next Tuesday!
WattsCharging Editorial Team ⚡️
|
|
|
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to our weekly newsletter. If you no longer want emails from us, you can find the unsubscribe link at the bottom.
Considering buying a Tesla? Use our referral link to get 3 months of free FSD and help support our content.
Did someone forward this to you? You can subscribe here: https://wattscharging.news/
Submit news or interesting content here.
Have a question? Reply to this email, and your question might be featured next week!
|
|
|
