Tesla shares have dropped 7% amid scrutiny from a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into a fatal March 23 crash involving one of its cars in semiautonomous Autopilot mode, reports CNBC. The drop also comes amid a voluntary recall of its Model S cars because of a faulty power steering component.
The state of play: The company will report deliveries of its entry-level Model 3 this week, per Fortune, which will once against test the company's stock price. Elon Musk told Tesla employees today that the company will miss its production goals for the Model 3 in the first quarter of 2018, per Jalopnik.
A new twist is unfolding in the fight between activist investors and the oil industry: an unprecedented move by federal regulators allowing a major producer to preemptively kill a shareholder resolution on climate change without a vote.
Why it matters: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s support of oil producer EOG Resources is emerging as a flashpoint in what has become America’s central battleground over climate change: what investors do about it. It’s an arcane fight, but a consequential one too, because PresidentTrump is reversing course on climate policy.
New Gallup polling finds that 25% of American adults are greatly concerned about energy prices and access, which is the lowest level — albeit by a hair — in 18 years of their polling on the question. The same survey, conducted early last month, shows that 59% of respondents prioritize environmental protection over fossil fuel development.
Why it matters: The Gallup data underscores how energy prices — which are low these days thanks partially to the U.S. oil-and-gas surge — influence public perception.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has issued a draft plan to weaken greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for automobiles. If approved by President Trump, the policy will create a conflict with California and the 12 states that follow its rules. They will likely keep the current tighter standards on the books while other states opt to follow the new, weaker rules.
Why it matters: The fuel economy standards for automobiles were a key pillar in the U.S. pledge to reduce greenhouse gases to 26–28% of 2005 levels by 2025 under the Paris Agreement. They would provide carbon savings equivalent to 272 million tons of CO2.
