Tesla's new proprietary chip for self-driving software is key to CEO Elon Musk's promise of a driverless robotaxi fleet by 2020. The chip alone won't deliver fully autonomous cars that can operate anywhere but it could help to increase the value of Tesla vehicles.
The big picture: Other carmakers are focused on autonomous driving for ride-sharing, but Tesla isn't accepting that consumers will abandon car ownership and is chasing a hybrid model of individual car ownership with the option for owners to earn money by sharing their vehicles via robotaxis.
A rare, long-term record of Greenland ice melt reveals the world's largest island shed ice nearly 6 times faster in the past decade when compared to the 1980s, an increase that is already contributing to sea level rise and altered ocean currents, a new study finds.
Why it matters: Greenland's fate will help determine the future viability of coastal megacities around the world, from New York to Shanghai, as sea levels rise in response to added freshwater.
A "catastrophic" breeding failure has devastated the emperor penguin colony at Halley Bay in the Weddell Sea of Antarctica, with no chicks surviving during each of the past 3 years, scientists said on Thursday.
Why it matters: This particular emperor penguin colony was previously the second largest in the world, with 15,000 to 24,000 breeding couples visiting the site annually. But the colony "has now all but disappeared," British Antarctic Survey researchers said in a statement accompanying the publication of their study in the journal Antarctic Science. Adult penguins have since fled the island, they said.
Powerful Cyclone Kenneth struck Mozambique on Thursday as one of the strongest storms ever to hit the nation, which is still recovering from the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in March.
Details: The storm — which quickly intensified during the course of the last 24 hours but weakened slightly as it neared landfall about 600 miles north of Beira, where Idai struck — made landfall as a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds at about 140 miles per hour, according to satellite estimates. This may qualify as the strongest-ever cyclone to hit Mozambique, and is the strongest-ever to hit the northern part of the country. It's also one of the strongest storms ever to hit the African mainland.
The announcement that the U.S. will not extend waivers for Iran oil export sanctions beyond May 2 sent oil prices up, though President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signaled that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would add supplies.
The big picture: This plan could strain production cuts Riyadh agreed to in December with OPEC, Russia and others that have buoyed prices by 37% in 2019. Saudi Arabia's broader cooperation with OPEC+ since late 2016 has provided much-needed cash to mitigate deficits, burnish sovereign assets for mortgage and fund the Crown Prince’s economic transformation plans.
Iraq is projected to be the third-largest contributor to global oil supply growth between now and 2030, adding roughly 1.3 million barrels per day if circumstances align, according to a new International Energy Agency report.
The big picture: That potential output rise would bring Iraq's total production to almost 6 million barrels per day in 2030, making it the world's 4th-largest producer.
Ford's $500 million investment in EV maker Rivian is a stark sign of how legacy automakers are looking outside their walls to find competitive advantages in the emerging market.
The big picture: It's the latest in a wave of corporate partnerships and joint ventures in the auto industry as big players seek their footing, a topic Axios explored here.
Activists wearing LED displays stating "climate emergency" glued themselves to the London Stock Exchange entrance to block access Thursday morning, on the final day of protests organized by Extinction Rebellion.
Details: London police have arrested more than 1000 protesters since the civil disobedience action began on April 15. Elsewhere in the city, demonstrators climbed on to a Docklands Light Railway train at Canary Wharf and sang songs as they displayed protest banners. Both groups of protesters were led away by police, AP reports.
Tesla swung to a bigger-than-expected profit loss in the first quarter, while revenue came up short as well, the company said in its quarterly report released late on Wednesday.
Between the lines: After 2 straight quarters of profitability, the company said price cuts on the Model S and Model X contributed to its profit shortfall. Its cash pile also shrunk by $1.5 billion from the prior quarter thanks to a bond repayment and more vehicles than expected in transit — not delivered — to customers.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Gore will not comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee compelling him to testify about the Trump administration's addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Driving the news: Earlier this month, the committee issued 3 subpoenas related to its investigation of the citizenship question, a controversy that has now been taken up by the Supreme Court. The Justice Department wrote in a letter that the committee's refusal to allow a DOJ lawyer to be present in the same room during Gore's deposition is unacceptable, and that Gore will not appear until that request is accommodated.
A study out Tuesday shows global temperatures will still far exceed the Paris goals even if the largest emitters like China, the U.S. and India were to aggressively cut emissions by mid-century, the second study unveiled yesterday shows.
Why it matters: Avoiding that places a huge burden on the developing world to deeply cut emissions fast — and creates a big responsibility to help those nations employ the tech to do it, according to the research published in the journal Earth's Future.
Equinor, the Norwegian oil-and-gas behemoth, on Wednesday became the latest major company to reach a deal with activist investors that bolsters its climate-related initiatives.
What's next: Equinor agreed to "align its business model with the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord, and will review its corporate lobbying policy and the carbon intensity of its products, the company said in a statement. It will also link executive pay to climate-related targets," Bloomberg reports.
New peer-reviewed studies examine how the world's largest carbon emitters could add to temperature extremes in specific regions, and how the same countries can spread technology that could help prevent runaway warming.
Why it matters: One provides a deeper understanding of why current policies will not only cause a temperature rise that blows past the Paris climate agreement goals, but will also lead to more acutely dangerous spikes.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Wednesday offered to pay $57 billion to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp., topping an existing agreement with Chevron that already would have been the largest oil merger in years.
Why it matters: The move reflects how big oil companies like Occidental are keen to expand their position in the shale patch, especially the surging Permian Basin, where Anadarko has a sizable position.
Facing a multi-front war in the post-Mueller world, President Trump is turning to litigation strategies that he long used in business — resist, delay and sue.
What they're saying: "Trump can run out the clock by taking a hardline position," a source familiar with the president's legal strategy told me. "The president thinks it's in his political interest to keep the fight going, and make it harder for the Democrats to have a coherent message."
Why it matters: Large-scale renewable energy systems are expensive and complex, and in some cases their manufacturers have declared bankruptcy before the end of their systems' maintenance and warranty periods. Insuring against such risks — as well as those associated with relatively untested new battery chemistries — could spur adoption of innovative technologies by utilities and transportation providers and in off-grid applications.
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