The car of the future is an EV golf cart

Summary of The car of the future is an EV golf cart

by The Verge

30m•July 21, 2026
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Overview of The Verge Cast: The car of the future is an EV golf cart

This episode is centered on a growing category of ultra-compact electric vehicles that sit somewhere between a golf cart and a car. The Verge’s David Pierce and transportation editor Andy Hawkins discuss startups like Chip Motors and Amble, the Fiat Topolino, and why these low-speed EVs may be finding a real market in the U.S. as second vehicles for short, local trips. The conversation covers affordability, regulation, design, teenage adoption in Sunbelt communities, and whether these vehicles could eventually play a role in autonomy or ride-sharing.

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  • The company’s angle is less “smartphone replacement” and more “anti-smartphone” philosophy.
  • The device reflects a broader cultural shift toward people wanting less visible, less distracting tech.

Anthropic’s copyright settlement

  • A judge approved a $1.5 billion settlement in a lawsuit brought by authors over alleged use of millions of books for AI training.
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The environmental cost of AI infrastructure

  • The Verge highlighted reporting on the real resource use of data centers and GPUs.
  • The point: the AI industry’s energy, water, and material costs are easy to underestimate.

The Main Topic: EVs That Aren’t Really Cars

What Chip Motors is building

  • Chip Motors is a Miami-based startup making a tiny electric vehicle that looks like a shrunken Jeep Wrangler.
  • It’s capped at 25 mph, seats four to six, and has no doors.
  • The company’s goal is to create a “right-sized” vehicle for short trips instead of forcing people into oversized SUVs or trucks.

Why this category is growing

  • The market for cheap cars has largely disappeared, with average new-car prices around the $50,000 range.
  • Many buyers want a second vehicle that is cheaper, simpler, and more practical for errands, school runs, and neighborhood trips.
  • Broader shifts are helping too:
    • decline of sedans
    • popularity of e-bikes
    • electrification
    • demand for simpler, lower-maintenance transportation

Who is buying these vehicles

  • The strongest early market appears to be:
    • Sunbelt and warm-weather communities
    • Florida beach towns
    • suburban areas with golf cart infrastructure
  • In some places, teens are already driving them to school, practice, and local activities.
  • The vehicles are especially appealing as safer, slower, easier-to-manage alternatives for short trips.

Why These Vehicles Are Easier to Bring to Market

Regulatory loophole

  • Many of these vehicles qualify as low-speed electric vehicles under federal rules.
  • That means they avoid many standard car requirements, including:
    • airbags
    • crumple zones
    • anti-lock brakes
    • advanced driver-assist systems
    • backup cameras
  • Basic requirements are much lighter:
    • headlights
    • taillights
    • turn signals
    • mirrors
    • parking brake
    • seatbelts

Manufacturing advantages

  • These vehicles should, in theory, be easier and cheaper to build than full-size cars.
  • Startups can rely on:
    • contract manufacturers
    • off-the-shelf parts
    • lighter compliance burdens
  • The real differentiation comes from design, branding, and the user experience rather than complex automotive engineering.

The Big Question: Will Americans Actually Buy Them?

Reasons for optimism

  • They solve a real problem: most driving is short-distance, not highway travel.
  • They fit the logic of a second vehicle better than a full-size SUV or truck.
  • They reduce range anxiety by limiting use to short, local trips.
  • They may be especially compelling in communities already built around lower-speed transportation.

Reasons for caution

  • The U.S. is still a big-car, big-road country.
  • Many areas don’t have the infrastructure for low-speed vehicles.
  • These vehicles are generally limited to roads with posted limits of 35 mph or lower, which narrows their usefulness.
  • Adoption may remain regional rather than truly national.

The Future: Autonomy, Ride Sharing, and “Reinventing the Car”

Possible next step

  • Chip’s CEO believes these vehicles could eventually evolve into:
    • shared autonomous shuttles
    • robo-taxis
    • primary vehicles in some communities
  • The idea is that low-speed, constrained environments may be easier places to deploy autonomy than highways.

Remote parking and teleoperation

  • Chip is already experimenting with remote operator-assisted parking.
  • That part of the vision seems more speculative and less proven than the vehicle format itself.

Bigger industry implications

  • If this category succeeds, it could reshape how people think about vehicles:
    • slower
    • smaller
    • cheaper
    • more purpose-built
  • The episode frames this as part of a broader “right-sizing” trend in transportation.

Key Takeaways

  • A real market may exist for small, low-speed EVs as second cars.
  • The combination of high car prices, suburban short-trip driving, and lighter regulation gives these vehicles a plausible opening.
  • The strongest early adoption will likely be in Sunbelt communities and other places with compatible roads and infrastructure.
  • The big challenge is not just technology — it’s changing American driving culture and road design.

Closing Thought

The Verge’s overall stance is cautiously enthusiastic: these EV golf-cart-like vehicles may not replace normal cars, but they could become a compelling, practical alternative for many everyday trips if the market, infrastructure, and culture align.