Almost two years into his push to unwind Obama-era energy regulations, President Trump's attempt to help the coal industry faces an uphill climb, while separate market forces may ultimately limit his moves to expand the oil boom into new regions.
Where it stands: When it comes to one of Trump's biggest energy pledges — to end what he and other Obama critics called the "war on coal" — the president hasn't turned the tide. The most recent Energy Information Administration forecast shows coal's share of electric power sliding down again to 26% next year, compared to 28% in 2018. The same analysis sees U.S. coal production falling another 3% in 2019.
After a year of competition, the price of Brent crude closed at $52.20 a barrel, and congratulations began to pour in on Twitter. It was last Friday and — for the third time in four years — I looked like a strong shot to win the Oil Bet, an annual contest among some two dozen energy analysts, academics and reporters to project Brent's year-end price. A snarky suggestion from a former BP executive was that Goldman Sachs — itself far out of the money — put me on the payroll.
Yes, but: In the most topsy-turvy market in a decade, everyone knew that actually anything could happen, and on Monday, in the final two hours of trading for the year, it did — oil prices made a dramatic bullish lurch. The crown went to Brian Scheid, of S&P Global Platts.
Shares of Tesla fell 9% after announcing it delivered 90,700 vehicles in the fourth quarter, fewer than the 92,000 estimated by FactSet, and the company said it would slash the cost of all of its models by $2,000, a buffer for the reduced tax credit for electric vehicles that took effect on Jan. 1. A Tesla spokesperson tells Axios that its deliveries were "roughly in line with Wall Street’s estimates," per its own internal tracking that forecast 91,046 deliveries.
The big picture: The company still delivered three times as many cars as it did in last year’s fourth quarter, as the Wall Street Journal points out. Tesla also boosted production, with 86,555 vehicles in the fourth quarter — 8% more than it did last quarter. Next month, we’ll find out whether that translates into another profitable quarter, when the company reports quarterly results.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) broadly supports the "idea" of a "Green New Deal," one of her Senate aides told Axios.
Why it matters: Warren's comments signal the building momentum among Democrats behind the idea, and raises the likelihood that it will be on the national political agenda as the 2020 election cycle unfolds. The Green New Deal is the sweeping climate, energy and economic framework championed by progressives including Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
