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Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas.
Nick Oxford | Reuters

A panic-induced sell-off in the oil market triggered by virus concerns has thrown the commodity’s upward march into question — but energy experts at Goldman Sachs don’t appear to be rattled.

Fears over the surging delta coronavirus variant and a fresh supply boost agreement from OPEC+ sent oil prices tumbling down more than 7% as the trading week opened Monday.

The drop was the steepest since March, a rude awakening for oil bulls who’d been enjoying the commodities’ highest prices in 2½ years.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $68.42 a barrel at 2:15 p.m. in London on Tuesday, down just over 7% from its Friday close of $73.59 a barrel. 

Oil analysts were quick to stress the uncertain road ahead for demand as new waves of Covid-19 infections ― many among communities that have high vaccination rates ― threaten the recent months of economic recovery.

“The market is clearly unsettled about the demand outlook. And rightly so. The rise in delta variant cases is raising questions about the sustainability of demand,” Stephen Brennock, a senior analyst at PVM Oil Associates in London, wrote in a research note Tuesday entitled “Oil takes a beating.”

But analysts at Goldman Sachs led by Senior Commodity Strategist Damien Courvalin see the current setback as merely a speedbump, with little concrete reason for oil bulls to be worried.

Supply driving the bulls?

Oil balances globally are tighter than they were before, despite the agreement between OPEC and its allies over the weekend to cumulatively increase crude production by 400,000 barrels a day on a monthly basis beginning in August. 

The International Energy Agency estimated a 1.5 million barrel per day shortfall for the second half of this year compared to its demand predictions in the absence of an OPEC supply deal.

And Goldman predicts the impact from delta to be in the neighborhood of “a potential 1 mb/d  (million barrels per day) hit for only a couple months, and even less if vaccines prove effective at lowering hospitalizations in DMs (developing markets), the origin of most summer demand improvements,” as per its latest report. 

Goldman’s call is in line with its previously bullish stance, which saw it forecasting Brent hitting $80 per barrel in the second half of this year.

The optimistic recovery outlook, paired with what it sees as a “slower” production ramp-up than expected from OPEC and tighter supply, so far means that “our constructive view on oil prices remains intact.” But the immediate-term demand hit from delta fears triggered a swap in the lender’s quarterly forecasts: It now expects Brent to average $75 per barrel in the third quarter of this year and only reach $80 by the fourth quarter.

“Oil prices may continue to gyrate wildly in the coming weeks given the uncertainties of the Delta variant and the slow velocity of supply developments,” Goldman’s analysts wrote. 

Nonetheless, they continued, “we believe that the oil market repricing to a higher equilibrium is far from over, with the bullish impulse shifting from the demand to the supply side.” 

The China factor

A less talked-about factor in the future demand picture is the world’s biggest oil customer: China. The recovery of the planet’s second-largest economy is showing signs of losing momentum, which would throw a major wrench in the trajectory for crude.  

China’s crude imports were down 2% in May from the previous month and the lowest monthly volume since the year began, according to PVM Associates, falling to 9.77 million barrels per day. In July, they fell further to 9.55 million barrels per day, according to Refinitiv Oil Research. The country’s imports for the first half of 2021 were down 3% from the same period in 2020, and the first contraction of that level since 2013.

“China’s latest GDP data suggest the nation’s V-shaped economic rebound from Covid-19 is cooling,” PVM’s Brennock wrote. “More worryingly, recent customs data out of China is giving the market some mixed signals that are tilted to the bearish side.”

The confluence of uncertain demand due to the delta variant, cooling import levels from China and re-introduced supply from OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, suggest bearish signals to the market. But how long the uncertainty will last and whether national vaccine campaigns can offset the mutating virus will ultimately drive the demand picture. In the meantime, supply dynamics, particularly current inventory tightness, continues to give some fuel to the oil bulls.  

“Questions are being asked whether the recently announced increase in OPEC+ supply will overwhelm the recovery in demand,” Brennock wrote. “Currently, this seems unlikely, although the evidence from the world’s top oil importing nation appears to favour the bearish narrative.”

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Anker SOLIX Halloween Sale takes up to 63% off camping-ready solutions from $279, Lectric XP Trike2 750 with $661 in FREE gear, more

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October 20, 2025

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Anker SOLIX Halloween Sale takes up to 63% off camping-ready solutions from 9, Lectric XP Trike2 750 with 1 in FREE gear, more


Kicking off this week’s Green Deals, we have the newly launched Anker SOLIX Halloween Sale that is taking up to 63% off power stations, like the new SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station and bundles starting from its second-best rate of $398, among others. We are also shining a spotlight back on Lectric’s ongoing Spooky Sale, particularly on the Long-Range XP Trike2 750 that is getting its largest bundle of $661 in FREE gear (a $558 bundle + $103 in mystery gifts) at $1,799. There’s also EcoFlow’s latest 48-hour Halloween flash sale that is taking up to 68% off four offers, a 2-in-1 Worx lawncare solution, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals from last week that are collected together at the bottom of the page, rounded up into our latest edition of Electrified Weekly.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Anker SOLIX Halloween Sale takes up to 63% off camping-ready units, like the new C1000 Gen 2 station at $398

Anker SOLIX has officially launched its Halloween Sale through the upcoming holiday, giving you ample time to take advantage of the up to 63% discounts on a collection of power stations and accessories, especially if you missed the Prime Day event. Among the lineup, we spotted the brand’s new C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station dropping down to $397.99 shipped this time, which also happens to match its pricing at Amazon. While it has been carrying a $799 MSRP since hitting the market at the top of September, we’ve been seeing it regularly keep down near $449, with Prime Day delivering the biggest discount to $379, while today’s $401 markdown from its MSRP gives you the second-best price we have tracked. Learn more about it by heading below or checking out our hands-on tested review here, and be sure to also checking out the early-bird savings on the new SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 power station here.

The first of Anker’s new gen 2 backup power solutions, the SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 power station comes as a lighter and more compact unit over the original C1000 model (which is sitting at the same price). Trading in its modular expandability for this decrease in size, it sports a 1,024Wh LiFePO4 battery that delivers up to 2,000W of steady power to devices and appliances, surging up to 3,000W as needed. There are 10 port options you’ll have to choose from: five AC, two 140W USB-C, one 15W USB-C, one 12W USB-A, and one 120W car output.

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Charging times on this new model have been sped up, with its AC input allowing for a faster 49-minute charge time to get the battery back to full. There’s also options to connect to a gas generator (providing passthrough charging), utilizing up to a maximum 600W solar input, using both AC and solar simultaneously, or by plugging into your car’s auxiliary port. You can get a rundown on what mine has been keeping powered in our hands-on tested review.

Anker SOLIX Halloween Sale C1000 series deals:

Anker’s other camping-ready SOLIX Halloween Sale deals:

Anker’s SOLIX Halloween Sale electric cooler deals:

You can check out Anker’s full SOLIX Halloween Sale lineup here on the landing page, which includes the larger home backup units. Be sure to also check out the early-bird deals of up to 50% discounts on the brand’s upcoming SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station ahead of its launch next week.

man and woman riding Lectric long-range XP Trike2 e-bikes down road

Lectric Spooky Sale offers largest $661 bundle of FREE gear with the new long-range XP Trike2 750 at $1,799

The Lectric Spooky Sale is in full swing with up to $762 in savings being taken off its e-bike bundles with bonus FREE mystery gifts on select models, making it a great time to upgrade your commute. Among the lineup that includes some of the biggest bundles on the XP4 750 e-bikes, we also spotted the biggest packages on the brand’s new Long-Range XP Trike2 750 getting $558 in FREE gear + $103 in FREE mystery gifts at $1,799 shipped, while the standard XP Trike2 is getting $257 in FREE gear at $1,299 shipped. The newer model just hit the scene back in August and has seen bundles of $493 and $455 accompany purchases so far. This sale is now increasing the savings with the largest bundles of free gear – $661 in total – which includes the two mystery gifts, front and rear cargo baskets, an upgraded saddle with a backrest, an Elite headlight upgrade, and a suspension seat post.

If you want to learn more about the XP Trike2’s capabilities, as well as the full lineup of deals, be sure to check out our original coverage of this sale here.

man connecting EcoFlow's DELTA 2 power station to solar panels outside next to lake

EcoFlow 48-hour flash sale drops expanded DELTA 2 bundle with 2x 110W solar panels to $919 low, more from $129

As part of EcoFlow’s ongoing Halloween Sale, you can find the next of the event’s 48-hour flash sales live, with up to 68% discounts on four different offers. Among them, we spotted the DELTA 2 Portable Power Station getting an extra battery and two 110W solar panels at $919 shipped, which is not available as a bundle on Amazon. Carrying a $2,646 MSRP, we’ve seen the costs previously taken lowest to $939 during the brand’s Prime Day Sale event that ended last week. Through October 21, however, you can pick up this solar-capable bundle with even more savings – $1,727 off the MSRP – while this flash offer lasts, giving you the best price we have tracked to date.

If you want to learn more about this well-rounded bundle, or the other offers, be sure to check out our original coverage of this flash sale here.

man using Worx GT3.0 20V 12-inch cordless string trimmer and edger on sloped hill

Keep weeds tamed and lines clean with Worx’s GT3.0 20V 12-inch cordless string trimmer/edger at $75

Amazon is offering the Worx GT3.0 20V 12-inch Cordless PowerShare String Trimmer/Edger with 2.0Ah battery at $74.99 shipped. While it carries a $130 MSRP, we’ve been seeing it keep down at $119 over the year, with it recently holding lower at $79 since late August, and some occasional drops as low as $70. We saw that low price back at the top of September, with today’s deal landing just $5 higher, giving you the second-best price we have tracked, which even beats out its Prime Day pricing from two weeks ago. You’ll also find this tool coming with two 2.0Ah batteries for $110, if you want extended runtimes.

If you want to learn more about this 2-in-1 tool, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

Best Fall EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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Two biggest advisory firms urge ‘no’ vote on Elon Musk’s ridiculous $1T pay day

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October 20, 2025

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Two biggest advisory firms urge 'no' vote on Elon Musk's ridiculous T pay day

Elon Musk Tesla Money hero

The two largest independent advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, have both recommended a “no” vote on the proposed pay package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, citing many concerns about shareholder dilution and other terms of the plan.

In September, Tesla’s board proposed a stock award worth up to $1 trillion for CEO Elon Musk. It includes several milestones regarding Tesla stock and product performance, each of which unlocks tens of billions of dollars for Musk.

It’s the largest award proposed for any CEO of any company by multiple orders of magnitude – with previous proposed Musk awards holding the second and third place positions as well.

In addition to that much-reported proposal, another proposal is up for a vote which would create a special share reserve of 208 million shares (current value $92 billion) which the Tesla board can give to Elon Musk with no string attached.

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Both proposals will be voted on by TSLA shareholders at Tesla’s shareholder meeting on November 6.

There are a lot of details and history behind this proposal which we at Electrek have covered extensively. Most recently, I went over most of the details of the stock award in this article: Elon Musk’s $1 trillion stock award gets more ridiculous the more you look into it.

But now, both of the largest independent advisory companies have chimed in to point out concerns about the proposals in front of shareholders.

ISS and Glass Lewis state concerns with Musk pay packages

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis are “proxy advisory” companies, both of which who do research and analysis of company proposals and then make recommendations to shareholders about how to vote for them.

Company boards often have their own recommendation on an issue, which may or may not be the best for shareholders – especially if those boards are lacking in independence, and may make recommendations that favor management personally over shareholders as a whole. So, it’s important for independent outside advisors to have a look at proposals and give their take.

Proxy advisory firms are generally less interested in the specifics of what industry a company is in, and just want to ensure good corporate governance – independent and diverse boards, appropriate executive compensation, and so on.

These recommendations are often followed by institutional investors – banks and other large companies that hold large chunks of shares in many companies, many of which they won’t track deeply. So they hire advisory firms to help them make decisions on votes.

ISS and Glass Lewis combined make up the vast majority of the proxy advisory market, so when they make recommendations, it can sway a lot of votes.

And, in looking at the proposals in front of Tesla investors for this year’s shareholder meeting, both of them have stated significant concerns.

On Friday, ISS stated that while it recognizes Musk’s “track record and vision” and the board’s intent to retain him for those reasons, the pay package “locks in extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years” and “reduces the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”

It also pointed out that the proposal is designed in such a way as to allow extremely high pay for Musk even if most milestones aren’t achieved, and stated that its “astronomical” size would dilute shareholder value and voting rights.

Glass Lewis’ recommendation counters Tesla board on most proposals

Electrek obtained a full copy of Glass Lewis’ report, but not of ISS’.

Today, Glass Lewis echoed ISS’ statement, saying that dilution to shareholders “warrants significant concern.” It recommended shareholders to vote against all three pay-related proposals (2, 3 and 4), and to vote against re-election of board members Ira Ehrenpreis and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, though it did recommend voting for the re-election of Joseph Gebbia.

Glass Lewis calls proposal 3 “particularly concerning,” as it ties a 208 million share award for Musk to the creation of a pool of 60 million shares for all other Tesla employees combined, and notes that the employee pool is only necessitated by the board’s previous action draining the pool of shares for employees and giving them all to Musk. It suggests that shareholders vote down this proposal, and that the company put up a separate, clean proposal to refill the employee pool.

And proposal 4, the $1 trillion award, is noted as being excessively dilutive for current shareholders and allowing too much concentration of ownership into Musk’s hands, along with producing more “key man risk” for Tesla. Glass Lewis states that attaching Tesla’s future so inextricably with Musk’s is risky, given his “vast and varied interests,” and suggests it would be reasonable to “sets parameters that limit the key man risk to which shareholders are exposed,” which the company has chosen not to do.

It also notes concern over promising billions of dollars of awards to Musk for doing some of the most basic things that a CEO is meant to do, such as developing a succession plan. Shareholders should “reasonably be concerned that the committee feels the need to compel Mr. Musk to perform such duties, particularly at such cost to shareholders.”

The milestones involved in the award are noted as potentially being easy to achieve, particularly given that the board can decide on a whim to grant a tranche of stock even if a product milestone isn’t reached, if market realities have changed between now and then (a “covered event”) resulting in those product milestones becoming unrealistic. The board is given significant discretion in this matter.

Finally, Glass Lewis points out the danger of allowing Musk to vote his entire ownership stake in favor of his own pay, which was not the case in the last shareholder vote over Musk’s pay. This means essentially a free 15% head-start on the vote, due purely to Musk’s own shares. Glass Lewis cites surveys of its clients and others, stating that a majority of both shareholders and non-investors think that executives should not be able to vote on their own pay packages in stating that Musk’s ability to vote on this proposal does not align with market expectations.

Glass Lewis also stated its concerns with a proposal for Tesla to invest in xAI. xAI is a private company which Musk started started to compete with Tesla (and is currently subject to a lawsuit for that reason). Glass Lewis said that this matter should be decided by the board, not shareholders.

In sum, Glass Lewis’ recommendations ran counter to the Tesla’s board recommendation in almost every case. The only proposals they agreed on are the election of Gebbia, ratification of Tesla’s auditor, and proposals 8 and 9, two shareholder proposals recommending Tesla adopt standards on sustainability and child labor.

Tesla responds by lashing out with attacks

Tesla has, expectedly, responded with attacks against both firms.

Both ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended “no” votes on Musk’s pay packages in the past, citing similar concerns over their size and the amount of dilution which they would cause to shareholders. And Tesla has spoken out against the two firms in those instances.

In this instance, Tesla attacked ISS, suggesting that its status as a disinterested advisor (which does not hold shares in the company) somehow makes it less capable of seeing the reality of the situation. It also notes past shareholder votes on other proposals, which were different from the proposals on the table today.

And after Glass Lewis’ recommendation today, Tesla levied another attack, making similar points about votes on past proposals, rather than the proposals in front of shareholders today.

Separately, Tesla also attacked a group of pension funds which are invested in TSLA, mocking them for having returns of 7-13% (which, collectively, is above average for large stable funds). Tesla even hired an outside PR company to publicize this attack.

Electrek’s Take

We’ve been clear here, over and over, about how ridiculous this stock plan is.

However, despite it seeming ridiculous at first glance, it only gets more ridiculous the deeper you look into it.

I went over it all this weekend in the article mentioned above, Elon Musk’s $1 trillion stock award gets more ridiculous the more you look into it. It’s long, but if you want more detail, that’s the place to go.

In short, the analyses presented by these outside firms looking at Tesla’s shareholder proposals, and the environment around them, are clear-headed and made in the interest of Tesla shareholders. If shareholders actually read the letters or analyses involved with their own interests in mind, they will likely be persuaded.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s responses have been filled with the sort of language that someone would expect out of an entity that is trying to deceive – the sort of language we’ve gotten used to in our politics. They read as campaign messages or advertising efforts, not as the result of deep analysis. And Musk also threatened his own company just yesterday, once again, in the hope that shareholders will feel trapped enough that they vote to retain him.

If the only place people read about this is on twitter, which Elon Musk bought for the purpose of spreading his own propaganda and shutting down dissent, they might get one sense of what the proposals mean. In that upside-down world, TSLA investors can only benefit as the stock goes up, and Musk only benefits if the stock goes up.

But looking into the actual details of the proposals, it becomes apparent that Musk can get awarded with a larger payday than any CEO ever for doing nothing at all, that that award comes at the cost of every other Tesla employee and the voting rights of every Tesla shareholder, and that better options are available which would maintain the rights of Tesla investors while also compensating its CEO (whose performance has been exceptionally bad recently).

But those options have not been provided to shareholders to vote on, as Tesla’s board is working more in the benefit of their friend Elon, rather than the benefit of TSLA shareholders as a whole.

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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.


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U.S. and Australia sign critical minerals agreement with $8.5 billion project pipeline

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October 20, 2025

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U.S. and Australia sign critical minerals agreement with .5 billion project pipeline

U.S. President Donald Trump meets Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the Cabinet Room at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 20, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday signed an agreement on critical minerals that includes plans for projects worth a total of up to $8.5 billion.

“There will be $1 billion contributed from Australia and the United States over the next six months with projects that are immediately available,” Albanese told reporters at the White House during a meeting with Trump.

Albanese said there will be three groups of joint projects between the two countries, which will include companies such as Alcoa. The U.S. will invest in rare earths processing in Australia, the prime minister said. One project is a joint venture between Australia, the U.S. and Japan, he said.

“What we’re trying to do here is to take the opportunities which are there,” Albanese told reporters.

China dominates the global rare earths supply chain, particularly refining and processing. The U.S. is dependent on Beijing for rare earths imports. Australia, a close U.S. ally, is one of the few countries in the world other than China that processes rare earths.

“In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters. The U.S. is also working with other nations to build a supply chain that isn’t dependent on China, the president said.

China-U.S. tensions

China announced strict export controls on rare earths earlier this month, pushing Beijing and Washington to the brink of a renewed trade war. Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1 or sooner if Beijing does not back down.

“They threatened us with rare earths, and I threatened them with tariffs, but I could also threaten them with many other things, like airplanes,” Trump said.

Trump confirmed he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month. The U.S. president said he will visit China early next year.

“We had presidents that allowed China and other countries get away with murder,” Trump said. “We’re not going to allow that, but we’re going to have a fair deal. I want to be good to China. I love my relationship with President Xi. We have a great relationship.”

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