Reviewer uses $4,999 Yarbo autonomous snow blower to clear NJ driveway during storm

Tom Moloughney, a tech reviewer and senior editor at InsideEVs, watched an autonomous 230-pound Yarbo Snow Blower clear his long New Jersey driveway during Winter Storm Fern, posting video of the run to his X account.

The machine retails for $4,999 and, according to Yarbo's website, can clear up to 12 inches of snow, throw it as far as 40 feet, and operate in temperatures down to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit; Moloughney said he was testing it on a roughly 6,000 sq. ft. driveway as the storm dumped about six inches of snow in his town, the National Weather Service said.

Videos Moloughney shared showed the Wi‑Fi‑connected unit clearing a driveway, a walkway and the curved area in front of his two‑car garage. When the battery ran low it returned to a charging pad, recharged for about an hour and a half, and then resumed work — allowing Moloughney to say, "I'm inside sipping a coffee while it's doing its job."

Moloughney said the robot was not flawless: it required extensive digital setup, struggled to establish GPS connectivity in parts of the driveway, and previously could not remove a sheet of ice left by hail. He nevertheless later called its overnight performance "kicking ass." Moloughney and Yarbo did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.

Moloughney wrote he planned to keep running the Yarbo throughout the storm, sending it out repeatedly until the snow stops and the driveway is cleared.

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