Sneaky safari: Thula Solutions’ electric 4×4 gets you closer to nature [video]

This one is outside the home. It's about a new electric off-road vehicle built for African safari tours, not anything you'd install at your house.

A South African company called Thula Solutions has built an electric 4x4 designed specifically for safari use, rather than converting an existing diesel vehicle. The pitch is a quieter ride that lets guides and passengers talk normally, keeps engine noise and diesel fumes away from wildlife, and cuts down on vibration, which the company says makes it better for photography. The vehicle, called the ESV 4x4, uses a 225-kilowatt electric motor (about 302 horsepower) powered by a 65-kWh battery, giving a claimed range of around 200 kilometers, or about 125 miles. That's low compared to an electric car, but Thula says it's built for slow, loaded-down crawling through game reserves rather than highway driving, and the range should cover up to three days of use between charges.

The company has been developing the vehicle for several years and has now moved into production, with some units shipped across borders.

There's nothing here that touches home energy upgrades or rebates — it's simply a look at a new use for electric drivetrains, this time in tourism and conservation work far from the driveway.