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A new startup coming to Austin is changing the electric vehicle game in the form of the Grunt, the Stag and the Beast.
Volcon, an all-electric powersports manufacturing startup, is working on filling a gap in the powersports market and making outdoor adventures sustainable again. After purchasing 53 acres of Austin land for its headquarters, the dream is becoming a reality.
The company, which is still crowdfunding through WeFunder, is currently the only fully-electric outdoor powersports vehicle company in the industry and said it aims to be the "Tesla of the $10B outdoor powersports industry."
The company will offer three weird-looking vehicles:
The Grunt
Big tires and a small body are the defining features of this diverse terrain motorcycle. Starting at $5,995 reserved, the grunt will get you to its top speed, 60 mph, in six seconds with a 100 mile range, 70 feet per pound of torque and features swappable batteries so you can spend more time riding. The grunt is expected to become available in April or May 2021.
The Stag
volcon.com
A more practical option, the stag has two seats and 150 miles of range. Volcon is offering the stag in both two and four wheel drive options, both of which will take you zero to 60 in five seconds, with a top speed of 70 mph and 300 pound-feet of torque. The stag starts at $14,995 but isn't even available for reservation yet.
The Beast
volcon.com
If you just can't drive a vehicle without a truck bed, Volcon has you covered with the beast. This "beast" gives you double the torque of the stag, 600 pound-feet, a top speed of 80 mph covering a range of 150 miles and it will get you zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds. The Beast will cost you a pretty penny, $24,995, but you'll be able to feel the wind through your hair.
Production for the Stag and the Beast isn't expected to start until late 2021 in Austin. Through WeFunder, Volcon is offering equity in the company for investments of $1,000 and up.
Though these new vehicles aren't on the market, or even guaranteed to hit the market, if the grunt does well, expect to see these funky vehicles hitting the great outdoors soon.
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Popular
(Bob Daemmrich)
Hours following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion, on Friday, about 1,000 people gathered in Republic Square with signs calling for change.
The rally, organized by the group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights Texas, started at the federal courthouse on Republic Square on Friday at 5 p.m. before the crowd marched to the Texas Capitol. More protests are expected to ensue over the weekend.
People showed up with all types of signs like Mindy Moffa holding up, "Keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers."
Austin joined cities across the country that saw protests for a women's right to an abortion after the ruling.
According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
Sabrina Talghade and Sofia Pellegrini held up signs directed at Texas laws. A Texas trigger law will ban all abortions from the moment of fertilization, starting 30 days after the ruling. When state legislators passed the trigger law last summer, it also passed laws for more protection of firearms, including the right to open carry without a permit.
Lili Enthal of Austin yells as around 1,000 Texans marched to the Texas Capitol.
From the Texas Capitol, Zoe Webb lets her voice be heard against the Supreme Court ruling.
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(Paxton Smith/Instagram)
Paxton Smith’s 2021 valedictory speech at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas wasn’t the same speech she had previously shared with school administrators. She dropped the approved speech and made a case for women’s reproductive rights after lawmakers passed the Texas "Heartbeat Bill.”
Her advocacy made news on NPR, YouTubeTV and in The Guardian. Just over a year later, the “war on (women’s) rights” she forewarned has come to a head as the U.S. Supreme Court voted Friday morning to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protection for abortion access.
“It is up to the people to show up and show the courts and the politicians that we won’t sit back and let this happen,” Smith told Austonia Friday morning. “We will show up, we will fight back. Before, we were scared of them, now they should be scared of us.”
Now a University of Texas sophomore and abortion rights activist, 19-year-old Smith said she wanted to give the same speech in the “the most public way possible” to reach “as many people as possible who don't agree that I deserve this right.”
However, she says the response was “actually overwhelmingly positive” and supportive of her cause. According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
The speech opened up further opportunities for activism: she advocated for reproductive rights at the International Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, interviewed with Variety magazine and spoke to tens of thousands at Austin’s Bans Off Our Bodies protest at the Texas Capitol in May.
Smith also serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, a national nonprofit organization that helps fund abortions or medication abortion—like Plan C pills—in all 50 states. Most recently, Smith has been attending protests in Washington, D.C. leading up to the ruling.
“This is land of the free. This is where you get to choose how you live your life,” Smith said. “Overturning Roe v. Wade violates everything that we have come to believe about what it means to live in this country. I think a lot of people aren't willing to accept that this is a human right that is most likely just going to be gone for over half of the country within the next couple of weeks.”
Bracing for the next steps, Smith gave some tips for supporters:
- Find a protest to attend.
- “I would say invite somebody to go to those protests with you, invite a couple of friends, invite people into the movement,” Smith said.
- Talk about the issue on social media—use the platform you have.
- “Have these kinds of conversations where people can just talk about their fears and then find ways to go and advocate for yourself,” Smith said.
- Volunteer at a nonprofit near you.
“I feel like a lot of the reason things have gotten as bad as they have within the abortion rights world is that people are not making a scene, not protesting, not putting the effort into ensuring that the government doesn't take away this right,” Smith said. “I want to emphasize that if you're not doing anything, don't expect the best scenario, expect the worst because that's the direction that we're going in.”
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