Can an electric delivery truck defy the worst that winter has to offer? 

Harbinger, a leading medium-duty electric vehicle (EV) company, has recently demonstrated that it can. 

The company has released a video showcasing its EV delivery truck handling icy roads with impressive agility and stability during winter testing in New Zealand.

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Innovative design for superior handling

Harbinger’s EV delivery truck features a unique chassis design that places the heavy batteries within the frame, resulting in a much lower center of gravity compared to traditional medium-duty trucks. This innovative layout allows for powerful torque and superior handling, even for vehicles exceeding 13 feet in length. The result is a truck that handles more like a passenger car, even in challenging winter conditions.

EV delivery truck being tested in winter conditions (Harbinger)

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Rigorous winter testing

The winter testing program in New Zealand focused on several key aspects:

Braking systems: Harbinger thoroughly tested the truck’s overall braking system, including traction control, stability control, ABS and regenerative braking.

EV delivery truck being tested in winter conditions (Harbinger)

Torque control: Given the substantial torque capabilities of electric vehicles, a primary goal was to demonstrate a driver’s ability to maintain control on ice and snow.

EV delivery truck being tested in winter conditions (Harbinger)

The uphill launch: This tested the ability of the vehicle to climb up to a 25% grade.

EV delivery truck being tested in winter conditions (Harbinger)

Automated hill hold: This feature prevents a vehicle from rolling backward (or forward) when it is stopped on an incline, and Harbinger tested it in low-traction conditions with ice and snow. This feature is common in passenger cars but newly introduced in medium-duty trucks by Harbinger.

Edge cases: About 80% of the tests conducted were designed around 5% of use cases, ensuring the vehicle can handle even the most extreme situations.

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Key elements of winter testing

According to John Harris, co-founder and CEO of Harbinger, winter testing is critical for vehicle development, especially for EVs. It ensures that vehicles perform reliably on low-traction surfaces such as ice and snow. The focus is not only on typical cold weather driving conditions but also on less common yet important higher-risk scenarios. This is particularly crucial for EVs due to their significant torque output, which can lead to loss of control if not managed correctly on slippery surfaces. Systems like regenerative braking also need optimization for extreme conditions.

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Specific tests for driver safety

Several tests can only be conducted in actual winter weather to stress test for optimal driver safety.

Low-adhesion surface control: Ensuring the vehicle remains maneuverable and stable on snow and ice.

Traction and stability testing: Validating traction control and stability systems under sudden accelerations, braking and cornering.

Regenerative braking on slippery surfaces: Testing how regenerative braking interacts with low-traction conditions to prevent skidding.

These tests help ensure that vehicles can safely handle extreme weather situations, such as when drivers stop steering or accelerating upon hitting a slippery patch of black ice.

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EV delivery truck being tested in icy conditions (Harbinger)

Battery performance in winter conditions

According to Harbinger, all battery-powered vehicles face challenges in cold weather due to two main factors: reduced battery performance and increased energy consumption for cabin heating. At low temperatures, the chemical reactions within the battery slow down, leading to decreased efficiency and power output. Additionally, electric vehicles require energy to heat the cabin, which further reduces driving range. Harbinger addresses these concerns by utilizing a multi-zone heat pump that efficiently provides heating for both the battery and cabin, thereby minimizing the negative effects of cold weather on performance.

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Charging in cold temperatures

Charging an electric vehicle in cold weather is generally not problematic. Harbinger’s delivery trucks can be charged without issues, even in low temperatures, ensuring that drivers can maintain operations without interruption. While it’s important to be aware that charging times may be longer if the battery is colder, Harbinger conditions its batteries to the optimal temperature for charging, even when it’s cold outside, to mitigate this inconvenience.

Two EV delivery trucks being tested in winter conditions (Harbinger)

Accelerated development through year-round testing

Harbinger conducts winter testing in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, allowing for year-round progress and faster technology development. This strategy helps bring Harbinger’s vehicles to market faster, meeting the growing demand for innovative commercial EV solutions.

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Versatile electric vehicle platform

Harbinger has developed a versatile lineup of medium-duty electric vehicles, including:

• Walk-in vans
• Box trucks
• Recreational vehicles
• Emergency response vehicles
• Delivery vans

This versatility positions Harbinger as a crucial player in transforming the medium-duty vehicle market, which has long needed modernization and innovation.

EV delivery truck being charged in winter conditions (Harbinger)

Market traction and customer confidence

In May 2024, Harbinger announced 4,000 binding preorders for its vehicles. The orders are valued at more than $400 million. This significant market traction underscores customer confidence in Harbinger’s technology and vision.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Harbinger’s successful winter testing of its EV delivery truck marks a significant milestone in the evolution of commercial electric vehicles. By combining innovative design, advanced technology and rigorous testing, Harbinger is proving that electric delivery trucks can not only match but potentially surpass their traditional counterparts in performance and reliability, even in the harshest winter conditions.

What are your thoughts on the rise of electric vehicles? Do you see them as the future of transportation, or do you prefer traditional gas-powered vehicles? Why? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Dear General Bonta:

As a California company that builds Generative AI technology, Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) is deeply concerned about OpenAI’s attempt to shed the non-profit status under which it was founded in order to establish a for-profit entity. We urge you to review this proposed transaction, including the nature and timing of any transfer of assets from OpenAI’s non-profit entity to other entities. Failing to hold OpenAI accountable for its choice to form as a non-profit could lead to a proliferation of similar start-up ventures that are notionally charitable until they are potentially profitable. The People of California have direct and urgent interests in stopping this behavior. All for-profit activities of OpenAI and its related entities should be paused to protect investors and consumers alike.

In 2015, OpenAI filed its original certificate of incorporation with the State of Delaware, which reads:

This Corporation shall be a nonprofit corporation organized exclusively for charitable and/or educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c){3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law. The specific purpose of this corporation is to provide funding for research, development and distribution of technology related to artificial intelligence… The corporation is not organized for the private gain of any person… The property of this corporation is irrevocably dedicated to the[se] purposes… and no part of the net income or assets of this corporation shall ever inure to the benefit of any director, officer or member thereof or to the benefit of any private person.

OpenAI reaffirmed this commitment on its very own website years later:

Seeing no clear path in the public sector, and given the success of other ambitious projects in private industry, [OpenAI] decided to pursue this project through private means bound by strong commitments to the public good. [OpenAI] initially believed a 501(c)(3) would be the most effective vehicle to direct the development of safe and broadly beneficial AGI while remaining unencumbered by profit incentives.

Taking advantage of this non-profit status, OpenAI raised billions of dollars in capital from investors to further its purported mission. The company represented to the State of California and the world that it would be run without any profit motivation. Investors and the public rightfully relied on that assurance. 

Now, OpenAI wants to change its status while retaining all of the benefits that enabled it to reach the point it has today. That is wrong. OpenAI should not be allowed to flout the law by taking and reappropriating assets it built as a charity and using them for potentially enormous private gains. 

Moreover, OpenAI’s proposed conversion represents not simply a future, potential abuse of corporate form. We would also urge you to examine whether OpenAI’s past practices are consistent with its obligations as a non-profit – most notably whether it has inappropriately depleted the assets of the non-profit by distributing assets to third-party entities.  

OpenAI’s conduct could have seismic implications for Silicon Valley. If permitted, OpenAI’s restructuring would represent a paradigm shift for technology startups; allowing this restructuring would only entice investors to launch organizations as non-profits, collect hundreds of millions of dollars in tax-free donations to support research and development, and then assume for-profit status as its technology becomes commercially viable.

Indeed, if OpenAI’s new business model is valid, non-profit investors would get the same for-profit upside as those who invest the conventional way in for-profit companies while also benefiting from tax write-offs bestowed by the government and, ultimately, the public. That would distort the market by essentially requiring any startup seeking to remain competitive to adopt the same playbook. 

We understand that Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis are currently seeking to represent the public interests in Musk v. Altman, No. 4:24-cv-04722-YGR (N.D. Cal.). Although we would also urge your office to take direct action, we believe that Mr. Musk and Ms. Zilis are qualified and well positioned to represent the interests of Californians in this matter. Their early, foundational roles in OpenAI’s creation and operations and as prior members of its Board position them to understand better than anyone what OpenAI was intended to be and how its current conduct deviates from its charitable mission.

Meta is committed to openness and transparency in the transformative field of AI. OpenAI’s charitable promise to develop safe and broadly beneficial AI free from commercial pressures is an important one, and it should be kept. Given the breakneck speed at which OpenAI is continuing its for-profit conversion, this is a special case with an urgent necessity for action.

We appreciate your consideration of our views and are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Respectfully,

Meta Platforms

“Reminder: You’ve still got a money request!” That was the subject line of the messages flooding my husband Barry’s inbox for weeks. The first couple were concerning, then it was just downright annoying.

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He’s not the only one getting them; there’s a sneaky scam going around that looks totally legit — because it actually comes from PayPal.

Let’s take a closer look at how it works so you don’t fall for it.

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Here’s how it goes down

Lucky for us, scammers use the same tricks. This one is getting common enough, it’s easy to spot if you’re careful.

First, you receive an invoice via PayPal. It might say something like, “Payment due for a purchase” or tell you a payment was processed due to a technical error. 

It looks real because it was sent through PayPal’s platform. They hope you’ll panic and act without thinking. PayPal is a trusted platform, so when you see their logo and familiar format, it’s easy to let your guard down.

Related: Don’t fall for it! Hackers are trying to get you to scam yourself

It’s a bogus invoice, of course

PayPal allows anyone with an account to send an invoice, which scammers exploit to make it seem legit.

In the invoice notice is a phone number you can call for support. It’s listed as PayPal’s number, but it’s someone ready to steal your money and info. All the scam emails I’ve reviewed had different numbers attached.

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Calling the fake support number is the worst thing you can do. The scammer might ask for your login details or payment card information to ‘resolve the issue.’ In some cases, they’ll install malware on your device, stealing passwords and financial details in the background.”

Related:

How to spot and stop it

This March 10, 2015, file photo, shows signage outside PayPals headquarters in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

PayPal will never send invoices for random purchases you didn’t authorize. If something seems off, trust your instincts and double-check before taking action.

• Check the details: Look at the sender’s email and transaction history. If it’s not a company or person you recognize, it’s likely a scam.
• Double-check the invoice recipient: That’s another glaring red flag in this case. All the emails I saw had someone other than my husband listed in small text at the top. Look carefully.
• Don’t call any of the phone numbers listed: This is smart with any strange invoice, call, document, email, text, whatever. Don’t use contact info that’s included. Go to the official website to find it.

I looked this one up for you: PayPal’s real support number is 1-888-221-1161. They take calls from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT every day.

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When in doubt, your best bet is to contact customer service. They’re much more familiar with scam patterns then most regular folks since they see them day in and day out. Plus, they can look into your account to tell you what is a legitimate request and what’s not.

If you’re sure the invoice is fake, delete it. But first …

Report it to PayPal. Consider this your good deed of the day. Reporting scams doesn’t just help you — it helps everyone. When you flag fake invoices to PayPal, their team can track patterns, shut down scammers’ accounts and warn others about similar tactics.

• Log in to your PayPal account, then visit the Resolution Center, where you can report suspicious invoices.
• Even easier, forward the email to phishing@paypal.com to alert their security team.

Related: 3 immediate steps to take if you fell for a scam

A person is pictured holding a stack of twenty-dollar bills. (iStock)

Lock down your account for extra security

If you don’t have two-factor authentication set up, don’t wait. It only takes a minute. Now you’ll get a code when you log in. Annoying? A little. But it’s worth the extra step on any account tied to your finances.

• Log in to your PayPal account on a browser. Click the Settings icon > Security > 2-step verification. You can use an authenticator app or receive codes as text messages. Pro tip: An authenticator app is the more secure option. 
• Follow the on-screen directions to finish up.

Scams like this are sneaky, but they’re easy to spot if you know what to look for. Share this with your friends and family so they don’t fall for it.

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