Gear

This solar-assisted electric speedboat is backed by a former Tesla exec

Blue Innovation Group’s R30 speedboat will cost you around $300,000.

by Jackson Chen
Blue Innovations Group

Blue Innovations Group

Electric vehicles aren’t all about cars. For proof, just take a look at the R30 speedboat from Blue Innovations Group, a fully electric speedboat that’s gearing up for a bigger reveal at CES 2023.

Blue Innovations Group

Blue Innovations Group was founded by Tesla’s former head of global manufacturing John Vo. After spending more than six years there, Vo set his sights on revolutionizing the boating industry with EV technology.

The R30 has a dual motor powertrain for 800 HP, giving it an impressive max speed of 45 mph. The 30-foot-long speedboat can fit 12 people.

Blue Innovations Group
Never run out of power

The 221 kWh battery means the R30 can run for eight hours, but you can also get more mileage with its extendable solar panels that provide an extra 2.7 kW of solar energy. If you don’t use the R30 every day, you could even keep the speedboat topped off with solar energy alone.

Blue Innovations Group

Shutterstock

Reservations for the R30 will open up on January 5, with the first deliveries starting in the second quarter of 2024. BIG says it will start alpha model testing in February 2023, before designing four beta models in October 2023.

Sticker shock

For now, BIG will have a prototype at its booth during CES 2023. The R30 won’t come cheap though, costing around $300,000. However, Vo says he expects the price to drop once mass production starts.

Blue Innovations Group

Thanks for reading,
head home for more!