MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A prototype, all-electric airplane took its first flight Tuesday morning in central Washington state.

The Seattle Times reports that if the Federal Aviation Administration eventually certifies the small airplane to carry passengers, it could become the first all-electric commercial airplane.

The plane, built by startup Eviation, was built to carry nine passengers and up two pilots. It took off from Moses Lake, Washington, at 7:10 a.m. Tuesday, and landed eight minutes later.

The company's goal is to show such electric planes are viable as commuter aircraft flying at an altitude of about 15,000 feet (4,572 meters).

The plane, designed by engineers in Washington state and Israel, is powered by 21,500 small Tesla-style battery cells.

New electric-vehicle automaker Rivian recalled nearly all of its vehicles, causing a Monday slip of its stock during trading on Wall Street, intensifying concerns from investors.

The company fears that it could have problems meeting production and sales targets for 2023, Reuters reported. And the specific details regarding the latest large recall are a source of concern for investors, with a fastener on the vehicles that might not have been tightened correctly in the factory, CNBC reported.

The company announced late on Friday that it needed to recall over 12,000 vehicles, which amounts to just about every electric vehicle the company has produced so far.

Included in the recall are Rivian's R1T pickup and R1S SUV manufactured through September. Some EDV delivery fans produced by Rivian are also included in the recall, which was produced for Amazon.

The company estimates that only about 1% of the 12,212 total vehicles included in the recall have the defect, but that didn't stop the company's stock from dropping over 10% during Monday trading.

The fastener defect is related to the front suspension, which the company says may not have been fully tightened in some vehicles. If the fastener isn't tight, it could affect front-end alignment causing vibrations and noise and influencing the steering feeling.

Electric vehicles are on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada this year, but it's not just about cars and trucks that we see on major roadways. The farming equipment industry is moving into the space.

John Deere is revealing multiple major pieces of farm equipment that will be powered by electricity, and the company's CEO says even though farmers make up a small percentage of the total population, advances in agriculture are essential to food production for everyone.

John May, the CEO of John Deere said to a crowd at CES 2023, “Why should you care about farmers when they represent less than 2% of the U.S. population?”

“You will not find two industries that have a larger impact on our world, and all of us, than agriculture, and construction,” May said.

As TechCrunch reported, John Deere's ExactShot sensor and robotics-based fertilizer application system would help increase the speed of repetitive tasks making the process more efficient, according to the company.

And the idea is also to have less waste while farming, leading to a more sustainable agriculture industry.

John Deere also presented a new excavator that is powered by a Kreisel battery and would reduce emissions and noise while farming.

May said at a keynote address, “You might want to think of them as robots that precisely execute jobs.”

“They’re real and are being used on farms today. If this sounds like a lot of technology, it is," he said.

Mercedes has unveiled a new all-electric concept car, the EQXX, that the company claims can go 620 miles on a single charge.The futuristic luxury car is also made with a host of innovative recycled and sustainable materials including mushroom fibers, ground up cacti and trash such as food scraps.Related video above: These are the 10 worst cars for depreciationMercedes' range claim for this concept vehicle is based on computer simulated testing, not actual driving, the company said. If the claim is accurate, though, the EQXX would be able to drive farther on a single charge than a Toyota Prius hybrid can travel on a full tank of gas, according to United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates. The Prius can only manage 588 miles. It's nearly as far as the 644 miles that a diesel-powered Chevrolet Suburban can go on a 28-gallon tank of fuel. It's also much farther than any other electric car currently available in the United States, according to the EPA.Mercedes plans to demonstrate the car's range in an actual driving test this spring, the company said.Mercedes has said it intends for half its sales to be electric cars by 2025 and, by 2030, for the brand to be virtually "ready to go all electric." Mercedes referred to the EQXX as a "technology blueprint for series production."Mercedes plans to put a car with the EQXX's battery and electric motor technology, as well as some of the car's other features, into production in 2024, said Markus Schäfer, chief technology officer of Mercedes' parent company Daimler.The EQXX achieves its remarkable range with a battery pack that is half as large and 30% lighter than the one in the Mercedes EQS, the German automakers current fully electric sedan, while storing the same amount of energy, according to Mercedes. At 620 miles, or 1,000 kilometers, the EQXX would provide about 133 miles more driving distance on a charge than the EQS based on European range estimates for that car.The EQXX gains those extra miles largely through efficiency, according to Mercedes. Mercedes claims the EQXX can travel more than 6 miles per kilowatt hour of electricity. That's almost three times farther per kilowatt hour than a Tesla Model S Long Range, according to U.S. EPA estimates. A kilowatt-hour is a unit of electrical energy stored in a car's battery so miles per kilowatt hour is like miles per gallon for a gasoline car. The figures are much lower, though, because a gallon of gasoline contains almost 34 kilowatt hours of energy.To reach that level of efficiency, Mercedes designers focused on aerodynamics. The EQXX has a drag coefficient of just 0.17, which is sightly more aerodynamic than a properly thrown football. It's also more aerodynamic than today's Mercedes EQS which, while still very aerodynamic, has a drag coefficient of 0.20. A Porsche 911 Turbo has a drag coefficient of 0.33, according to Porsche.The car is also designed to be as light as possible, according to Mercedes. Besides the relatively light battery pack it has wheels made from magnesium, and aluminum brakes. Springs in the EQXX's suspension are made from glass-fiber reinforced plastic instead of metal.The EQXX's body includes a web-like subframe designed to have metal only where it's actually needed for structural integrity and crash safety. Empty spaces in the frame are filled in with a material called UBQ, created by an Israeli startup. UBQ is made from landfill waste that can include things like mixed plastics, cardboard, gardening waste and even diapers, according to Mercedes-Benz. Solar panels in the roof supply supplemental energy for things like air conditioning, lights and the car's touchscreen systems reducing demands on battery power.Besides the UBQ filler material in the body, the EQXX also utilizes sustainable materials in other parts of the car. A leather-like material made from mycelium, the underground root-like structures of mushrooms, is used in the seat cushions. Another leather substitute, made from pulverized cactus fibers, is used elsewhere in the interior. The carpets are made entirely of bamboo fiber, according to Mercedes.Inside, the EQXX has an enormous touchscreen that stretches all they way across the dashboard. Unlike the ultra-wide "screen" in the EQS, which is actually three smaller screens under a single sheet of glass, the one in the EQXX really is a single four-foot wide screen. To save energy, unused portions of the screen dim.Mercedes engineers and designers have also tried to give the car's voice-control system more personality with a lifelike voice that's more emotionally expressive. The system is represented by a human-shaped avatar made up of tiny stars. The figure is modeled on the young Mercedes Jellinek, the daughter of Emil Jellinek, an early (and particularly demanding) customer of Daimler, now Mercedes' parent company.In 1900, he commissioned a new sports car model that he insisted be named after his daughter. The car was such a success that her name later became attached to every car the company made.

Mercedes has unveiled a new all-electric concept car, the EQXX, that the company claims can go 620 miles on a single charge.

The futuristic luxury car is also made with a host of innovative recycled and sustainable materials including mushroom fibers, ground up cacti and trash such as food scraps.

Related video above: These are the 10 worst cars for depreciation

Mercedes' range claim for this concept vehicle is based on computer simulated testing, not actual driving, the company said. If the claim is accurate, though, the EQXX would be able to drive farther on a single charge than a Toyota Prius hybrid can travel on a full tank of gas, according to United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates. The Prius can only manage 588 miles. It's nearly as far as the 644 miles that a diesel-powered Chevrolet Suburban can go on a 28-gallon tank of fuel. It's also much farther than any other electric car currently available in the United States, according to the EPA.

Mercedes plans to demonstrate the car's range in an actual driving test this spring, the company said.

Mercedes has said it intends for half its sales to be electric cars by 2025 and, by 2030, for the brand to be virtually "ready to go all electric." Mercedes referred to the EQXX as a "technology blueprint for series production."

Mercedes-Benz AG – Communications & Marketing

Mercedes plans to put a car with the EQXX's battery and electric motor technology, as well as some of the car's other features, into production in 2024, said Markus Schäfer, chief technology officer of Mercedes' parent company Daimler.

The EQXX achieves its remarkable range with a battery pack that is half as large and 30% lighter than the one in the Mercedes EQS, the German automakers current fully electric sedan, while storing the same amount of energy, according to Mercedes. At 620 miles, or 1,000 kilometers, the EQXX would provide about 133 miles more driving distance on a charge than the EQS based on European range estimates for that car.

The EQXX gains those extra miles largely through efficiency, according to Mercedes. Mercedes claims the EQXX can travel more than 6 miles per kilowatt hour of electricity. That's almost three times farther per kilowatt hour than a Tesla Model S Long Range, according to U.S. EPA estimates. A kilowatt-hour is a unit of electrical energy stored in a car's battery so miles per kilowatt hour is like miles per gallon for a gasoline car. The figures are much lower, though, because a gallon of gasoline contains almost 34 kilowatt hours of energy.

To reach that level of efficiency, Mercedes designers focused on aerodynamics. The EQXX has a drag coefficient of just 0.17, which is sightly more aerodynamic than a properly thrown football. It's also more aerodynamic than today's Mercedes EQS which, while still very aerodynamic, has a drag coefficient of 0.20. A Porsche 911 Turbo has a drag coefficient of 0.33, according to Porsche.

The car is also designed to be as light as possible, according to Mercedes. Besides the relatively light battery pack it has wheels made from magnesium, and aluminum brakes. Springs in the EQXX's suspension are made from glass-fiber reinforced plastic instead of metal.

The EQXX's body includes a web-like subframe designed to have metal only where it's actually needed for structural integrity and crash safety. Empty spaces in the frame are filled in with a material called UBQ, created by an Israeli startup. UBQ is made from landfill waste that can include things like mixed plastics, cardboard, gardening waste and even diapers, according to Mercedes-Benz. Solar panels in the roof supply supplemental energy for things like air conditioning, lights and the car's touchscreen systems reducing demands on battery power.

Besides the UBQ filler material in the body, the EQXX also utilizes sustainable materials in other parts of the car. A leather-like material made from mycelium, the underground root-like structures of mushrooms, is used in the seat cushions. Another leather substitute, made from pulverized cactus fibers, is used elsewhere in the interior. The carpets are made entirely of bamboo fiber, according to Mercedes.

Inside, the EQXX has an enormous touchscreen that stretches all they way across the dashboard. Unlike the ultra-wide "screen" in the EQS, which is actually three smaller screens under a single sheet of glass, the one in the EQXX really is a single four-foot wide screen. To save energy, unused portions of the screen dim.

Mercedes engineers and designers have also tried to give the car's voice-control system more personality with a lifelike voice that's more emotionally expressive. The system is represented by a human-shaped avatar made up of tiny stars. The figure is modeled on the young Mercedes Jellinek, the daughter of Emil Jellinek, an early (and particularly demanding) customer of Daimler, now Mercedes' parent company.

In 1900, he commissioned a new sports car model that he insisted be named after his daughter. The car was such a success that her name later became attached to every car the company made.

Related video above: California to ban new gas engine car sales by 2035

General Motors has set a goal of making the vast majority of the vehicles it produces electric by 2035, and the entire company carbon neutral, including operations, five years after that.

The Detroit automaker's push into electric vehicles has gone into overdrive this year.

GM has already announced that it will invest $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years, a 35% increase over plans made before the pandemic. It will offer 30 all-electric models worldwide by the middle of the decade. By the end of 2025, 40% of its U.S. models will be battery electric vehicles. The company plans to include crossovers, SUVs, sedans and trucks in its electric vehicle lineup.

GM said Thursday that it will source 100% renewable energy to power its U.S. sites by 2030 and global sites by 2035. That's five years faster than its previously announced global goal.

And it has a goal of making all new light-duty vehicles, the vast majority of its fleet, fully electric within 14 years. The company will concentrate on offering zero-emissions vehicles in different prices ranges. It's also working with others, including the Environmental Defense Fund, to build out the necessary infrastructure to power its electric vehicles and to promote their use.

To account for carbon emissions that it cannot eliminate, GM expects to invest in carbon credits or offsets.

The 112-year-old auto giant unveiled a new corporate logo this month to signify its new direction as it openly pivots to electric vehicles. It wants to be seen as a clean vehicle company, rather than a builder of cloud-spewing gas-powered pickups and SUVs.

GM scrapped its old square blue logo for a lower case gm surrounded by rounded corners and an ‘m’ that looks like an electrical plug.

It also announced a new partnership with Microsoft this month with hopes of accelerating its rollout of electric, self-driving cars.

GM's push for carbon neutrality comes a day after President Joe Biden signed executive orders that include moving to an all-electric federal vehicle fleet. His goal is to transform the nation’s heavily fossil-fuel-powered economy into a clean-burning one.

So far, Wall Street has cheered the shift by GM which says the industry has reached a history-changing inflection point for mass adoption of electric vehicles.

Its shares this year have outpaced even high-flying Tesla, rising more than 20% to date. Shares rose almost 2% Thursday.