Tesla tunes the Model S Plaid with a Track Mode. Apartment-building charging could be more feasible with peak-demand smarts. We look at why nearly every vehicle marker is so optimistic about electric last-mile delivery vans. And is a solid-state battery pack bound for the next Toyota Prius? This and more, here at Green Car Reports. 

Toyota is planning to debut solid-state battery technology by 2025—in a hybrid, not in a battery electric model. One of the company’s technology experts recently explained why. 

Tesla last week revealed a Track Mode for the Model S Plaid, adding torque vectoring, improved cooling, and more aggressive suspension settings. With more regenerative braking taking some of the load off the friction brakes, the update could help the Plaid avoid the brake overheating some testers have noted. 

Getting electric vehicle charging into multi-unit dwellings may take some new strategies to avoid the demand charges that can drive building energy bills up by thousands of dollars a month. One company aims to respond quickly in that scenario by throttling that demand. 

And electric last-mile delivery vans are increasingly being sought by all the package giants—to avoid the sooty clouds of black smoke after each neighborhood diesel delivery. And they’re in the works from all the major commercial van makers. While they might not be making as much per vehicle on electric vans, they could profit handsomely from fleet services that size up battery and charging needs.

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