Tesla yesterday rolled out an insurance line for vehicles in California and plans to eventually expand it to other states.
Why it matters: The electric automaker said it's "designed to provide Tesla owners with up to 20% lower rates, and in some cases as much as 30%," adding that it "reflects the benefits of Tesla's active safety and advanced driver assistance features that come standard on all new Tesla vehicles."
Data: Pew's July 10-15 survey on 1,502 adults, with a margin of error of ±3.0 percentage points for U.S. adults and ±4.4 percentage points for Republicans/lean Republican and Democrats/lean Democrat; Chart: Axios Visuals.
Pew Research Center data shows that public concern about climate change has risen over the last 6 years — but the angst isn't exactly shared across political lines.
Why it matters: The latest survey comes as Democratic White House hopefuls are floating expansive (and expensive) climate platforms, while the Trump administration is continuing efforts to unwind Obama-era policies.
BP's decision to offload its Alaska holdings highlights the uncertainty around whether the state — once at the heart of U.S. production — will ever regain its crude mojo.
Why it matters: Hints of the answer will come when the Interior Department sells leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as soon as this year, after a 2017 GOP tax bill opened the region following decades of political battles. It could hold over 10 billion barrels of oil in a state where the oil industry is a large part of its economic well-being. But, environmentalists strongly oppose drilling in the ecologically sensitive region.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules Thursday designed to ease Obama-era regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas business.
Why it matters: Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas. The oil and gas industry is a significant source of emissions from wells plus natural gas pipelines, compressors and other equipment.
In golf, you don't want to be in the "tall grass." So far in 2019, the same rule applies to private equity's energy sector investments.
Driving the news: The Blackstone Group earlier this year invested $3.3 billion for a 44% stake in Tallgrass Energy, a Kansas-based midstream energy infrastructure company. But the stock has tanked since then, with Blackstone now opting to double down by offering to take over the entire company.
Elon Musk promised thousands of jobs and a solar energy revolution in upstate New York. But it hasn't worked out as planned, even though taxpayers already shelled out $750 million. Dan digs into the troubles for Tesla subsidiary SolarCity with Vanity Fair's Bethany McLean, who says, "Tesla is a religious war between the believers and the doubters."
President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico to enable federal assistance, with Tropical Storm Dorian fast approaching and the U.S. territory on hurricane watch — as forecasters warn it could take a direct hit Wednesday.
Why it matters: Puerto Rico is struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria. It declared bankruptcy in 2017 amid "the biggest government financial collapse in United States history." Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced has already signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency on the island, per Bloomberg's Michael Deibert.