Why do e-bikes need dedicated tires? While shopping for new tires on my bike, I saw that some dealers had a specific section for e-bike tires, where the various brands production for e-bikes was present.

Why do e-bikes need dedicated tires?
They don't need them but they are good to have. I have an e-bike that I use as a daily commuter. Here are my thoughts:


E-bikes are heavier than regular bikes and put considerably more power out at the rear wheel (my motor has 350 watts, I add maybe 60-80 watts at most) compared to a regular bike which only has 80 watts alone.
if you have an ebike with a rear hub motor, that’s a considerable amount of unsprung weight at the rear. It’s much harder to hop curbs and potholes with an ebike so it’s getting whacked much harder
E-bikes travel at much higher average speeds than regular commuter bikes. I average 30km/h with peaks of 40km/h which is the electronic assist speed limit. More importantly, I don't make any attempt to conserve inertia as I do with a regular bike, so I stop at all the stop signs and traffic lights. Thus, there's a  lot of braking and acceleration that I do that is hard on the bike and its wheels.
Finally, the rear tire needs to be sturdy as it is getting more wear and also taking bigger hits on bumps at higher speeds than a standard tire.


All in all, I'm still on the original tire which is a regular tire. I'm on the tail end of its lifetime which has only been about 1/3 that of a regular tire. I will replace it either with a beefy "regular" tire or go with one from an e-bike line. I think the actual difference between the two (beefy regular or touring and a e-bike tire) will in reality be minimal.

Update 2018.7: I ended up replacing my rear tire ahead of schedule due to a sidewalk blowout. I’m not actually sure if it was natural wear or if the bike was shivved by a thief. Replaced with a tire from an ebike tire line. 

TL;DR: Ebikes require a strong, hard-wearing, high speed, puncture resistant tire. These are also roughly the same requirements as touring tires so some vendors are labeling their touring tires as "ebike ready."