Formerly called Electricross, it was founded in 2006 by Neal Saiki, a former NASA engineer, in Santa Cruz, California.

The XU, a smaller street bike with a removable battery, based on the same chassis as the Zero dirtbikes was produced from 2011 to 2013.

In 2012, Zero introduced the ZF9 Power Pack with the Zero S & DS models making them the first production electric motorcycles that can exceed an EPA-estimated 100 miles on a single charge.

[10] The 2015 models had battery pack size increased to 12.5kWh, for a total possible maximum capacity of 15.3kWh including the optional Power Tank.

The air-cooled motors on the SR, DSR, and FXS were revised to reduce heat produced during high output.

Other changes for 2017 include a locking tank box and more durable paint on S/DS/SR/DSR models, and the ability for owners to update their bike's firmware through the mobile app.

[17] The fleet motorcycles are based upon the company's standard models but outfitted with equipment such as police lights, sirens, crash bars, and storage accessories.

[citation needed] Some electric motorcycle competitors like Energica and (Harley-Davidson) LiveWire offer CCS.

[28] Team HotChalk set a Guinness world record for the furthest distance traveled on an all-electric off-road motorcycle in 24 hours at just over 500 miles.

[33] Zero's main competitors were the now defunct[34] Victory Empulse[35][36][37] (formerly Brammo),[38] and halted[39] Alta Motors, but current and upcoming models from Evoke, Lightning, and Energica compete with Zero's product lineup.