{"id":6373,"date":"2026-01-16T23:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/168.107.17.222\/?p=6373"},"modified":"2026-06-26T23:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:23:45","slug":"from-bars-to-batteries-trinity-shows-will-i-am-isnt-just-designing-a-vehicle-hes-shaping-his-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ayoyo.com.cn\/index.php\/2026\/01\/16\/from-bars-to-batteries-trinity-shows-will-i-am-isnt-just-designing-a-vehicle-hes-shaping-his-future\/","title":{"rendered":"From Bars to Batteries: ‘TRINITY’ Shows will.i.am Isn\u2019t Just Designing a Vehicle, He\u2019s Shaping His Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Last week in Las Vegas, William Adams \u2013 better known as will.i.am \u2013 unveiled \u201cTRINITY,\u201d a three-wheeled electric vehicle designed to rethink how cities move by blending the agility of a motorcycle with the safety of a car. The vehicle, which looks like a concept from a cyberpunk future as much as a modern urban solution, is the latest in a line of technology stories with the Black Eyes Peas frontman at their center: from a wearables collab with Gucci in 2015 to his more recent futuristic car with Mercedes-Benz, Adams\u2019 interests outside of music are well-documented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With TRINITY, Adams has pivoted from the passenger seat of automotive culture to the driver\u2019s side of manufacturing. The three-wheeled EV can reach 0-60 mph in just two seconds, and was designed to dismantle the \u201cdangerous\u201d inefficiency of the status quo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink about FedEx, UPS and Amazon that deliver products with one person in the car with small packages,\u201d he tells Hypebeast. \u201cThink about how much congestion that causes for a city. And folks that are on bikes and motorcycles in harm\u2019s way. Them shits is dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he\u2019s already looking ahead. Where some of his previous projects felt like limited creative explorations with luxury houses or tech giants, TRINITY feels more like a personal mission. For him, TRINITY isn\u2019t a one-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know how you can prompt the LLM and out comes an outcome? You could do the same thing with your life. You could prompt it. But instead of language, it\u2019s people. You prompt your life with people. And those people are the result of how your dreams materialize. And the GPU to prompt that life is called Earth. It\u2019s the same\u2014right?\u201d
Inspired by his 2006 investment in Tesla (\u201cbefore Tesla launched the Roadster\u2026 I\u2019ve seen what $80K can grow into\u201d) and the rapid rise of China\u2019s electric mobility sector, will.i.am is clear that the project isn\u2019t just another gadget \u2013 it\u2019s \u201ca true opportunity to change the fabric of our communities,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His vision is for the company to operate under a business model rooted in cultural stewardship, one he calls a \u201cVoltron movement.\u201d Moving beyond collab culture, he sees a future where TRINITY is franchised to the \u201cchampions\u201d of local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot collabs,\u201d he clarifies. \u201cOwnership. Collabs was [sic] yesterday.\u201d Anyone he works with will \u201chave a piece,\u201d he tells us. TRINITY in Virginia? Pharrell, obviously. New York? Nas. And London? \u201cSkepta,\u201d he says without hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about us,\u201d he says. \u201cYou know, the most beautiful thing \u2013 I get emotional, bro. I got this text the other day,\u201d he continued, pulling his phone out to show us. The text read: \u201cCongratulations on TRINITY brother. Keep going. Don\u2019t look down and don\u2019t look back.\u201d It was from Pharrell. \u201cI\u2019ve looked up to Pharrell my whole career,\u201d will.i.am admits. \u201cThat meant everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has to be an us move,\u201d he reiterates. \u201cBlack and brown, from the core.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s why he chose crowdfunding over traditional VC routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI invested in Tesla in 2006, before they even launched the Roadster. I\u2019ve seen what 80K can grow into.
\u201cHow do I fund the first fleet?\u201d he asks rhetorically. \u201cDo I go to VCs? Do I go and sell my Tesla stock to fund it? I could do that. Or do I go to the community and bring the flock? That is the most logical move. It has to be us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built for dense cities, TRINITY sits between categories \u2013 it\u2019s fast, compact and designed to reduce the risks that come with two-wheel transport. \u201cMotorcycles are dangerous,\u201d will.i.am believes. \u201cHere is a vehicle that moves like a motorcycle but with the safety of a car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What truly separates TRINITY, though, is its intelligence \u2013 and who gets to shape it. \u201cRight now, these AIs don\u2019t have a point of view,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re riddled with bias.\u201d His answer is hyper-local. \u201cIf the vehicle is made in the community, the vehicle becomes more empathetic for the community because the community forged its perspective.\u201d The same logic extends to policing. \u201cEventually, police cars will have an agent in them,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut who formed its perspective?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backed by partners including NVIDIA, Qualcomm and West Coast Customs, TRINITY is as much an education play as it is a mobility one. \u201cWe could go to Watts, the South Bronx, Fifth Ward,\u201d he says, adding that he wants to create \u201cmicro-sites that build and educate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, culture remains the connective tissue. From producing the campaign music to editing visuals on his phone \u2013 \u201cI edited this whole commercial with my thumbs\u201d \u2013 will.i.am is keeping authorship close. The campaign name, \u201cHaters Gonna Say It\u2019s Fake,\u201d is intentional. \u201cI\u2019m going to address it head-on,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re fucking with the realness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRINITY\u2019s Kickstarter campaign launches this month and you can sign-up here to stay updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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