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Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk reveals a Tesla Energy battery for businesses and utility companies during an event in Hawthorne, Calif., April 30, 2015.
Patrick T. Fallon | Reuters

Tesla wants to sell electricity directly to customers in Texas, according to an application filed by the company this month with the Public Utility Commission there.

The application follows the start of a big battery build out by Tesla in Angleton, Texas (near Houston), where it aims to connect a 100 megawatt energy storage system to the grid. Texas Monthly first reported on the application, submitted by a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla called Tesla Energy Ventures.

Tesla has also built several utility-scale energy storage systems around the world, including one east of Los Angeles, another underway in Monterey, California, and two in Australia — one in Geelong, Victoria, and another in Adelaide, South Australia.

However, Tesla hasn’t functioned as the retail electricity provider where it sets up these systems. Instead, big batteries built by Tesla tend to help other companies in energy generation, storage and consumption.

A cold snap seized Texas in February this year, stranding millions of residents without power or water for days on end.

Some officials initially blamed the intermittent nature of renewable energy, even though the state largely runs on fossil fuels.

It later emerged that state lawmakers and regulators, including the Public Utilities Commission and the Texas Railroad Commission (which is supposed to regulate the oil and gas industry) had ignored, or softened requirements to fix and prevent more vulnerabilities in the Texas electric grid. After prior blackouts, experts had called for efforts like weatherproofing facilities and turbines used to generate power with proper insulation and heaters.

The Texas grid is isolated from the rest of the U.S., so transmission of power from other states was not available to relieve those stuck in the cold. Instead, the Texas grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, a nonprofit group that essentially schedules the flow of electricity to more than 25 million households in Texas.

During the blackout crisis in Texas, Tesla CEO Elon Musk needled ERCOT on Twitter, writing that the group was “not earning that R.”

Musk’s name was not directly listed on the Tesla Energy Ventures application. At the helm of that subsidiary, in the role of President, is Ana Stewart, Tesla’s director of regulatory credit trading.

As CNBC has previously reported, Musk’s electric car and solar panel company has been able to fatten its margins with sales of green credits through the years. For instance, in the second quarter of 2020, regulatory credit sales were greater than the company’s free cash flow and amounted to more than four times Tesla’s $104 million of net profit for the quarter.

Businesses who need them — typically including automakers, oil and gas providers, and retail energy providers — buy environmental regulatory credits to comply with regulations that limit the amount of greenhouse gases they are allowed to emit each year.

According to her resume, which was part of the application, Stewart has helped Tesla net over $3.8 billion from regulatory credits since 2017.

Should it gain approval as a retail electric provider in Texas, Tesla Energy Ventures will use employees from Tesla’s energy division — the same one that sells solar rooftops — to drum up sales and provide customer service in the state. Tesla’s application also notes that it will work with Engie Energy Marketing on scheduling.

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Chevron sees no signs that U.S. is close to a recession, CEO says

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Chevron sees no signs that U.S. is close to a recession, CEO says

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth: No signs that we're in or close to a recession at this point

Chevron is not seeing signs that the U.S. is close to a recession even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on expectations for oil demand, CEO Mike Wirth said Tuesday.

“There’s no signs that we see at this point that we are in or close to a recession,” Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There are signs that growth may be slowing and we have to always be prepared for that.”

The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its growth outlook for the U.S. this year to 1.8%, down from 2.7% previously.

The oil market is expecting reduced demand as a consequence of Trump’s tariffs and the decision by OPEC+ increase production faster than expected, Wirth said. Chevron isn’t changing its capital spending plans in response to drop in prices, the CEO said.

U.S. crude oil prices have fallen about 11% since Trump announced his tariffs on April 2. West Texas Intermediate was last up about 72 cents at $63.80 per barrel. OPEC and the International Energy Agency have cut their demand outlooks for this year.

Wirth said U.S. onshore oil production in patches like the Permian Basin is likely to pull back if prices hit $60 per barrel. Offshore production likely won’t be affected, he said.

“That’s an area where if we were to be at a $60 price or even lower you’re likely to see activity pull back in this sector and you’ll see the production response over a few months,” Wirth said. “That’s what we should watch, not so much the deep water activity.”

Chevron is not expecting a major direct impact on its business from Trump’s tariffs as energy has largely been exempt from the levies, Wirth said.

“The effects that we feel are likely to be more the macroeconomic effects as they flow through the economy,” Wirth said. “The bigger issues would be what would it mean for growth, and global trade and how does that evolve.”

Executives at oil and gas companies were scathing in their criticism of Trump’s tariffs in an anonymous March survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warning that steel tariffs were raising their costs and low prices could impact their activity.

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Billionaire battle: Bezos’ $25K Slate EV breaks cover ahead of Tesla earnings call

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Billionaire battle: Bezos' K Slate EV breaks cover ahead of Tesla earnings call

Little is known about super-secretive EV startup Slate, but the fledgling brand is rumored to be backed by Jeff Bezos and determined to shake up the existing electric order with an affordable lineup of compact SUVs and pickups with that golden $25,000 price tag.

Now, at least, we know what it’s gonna look like. The battle of the billionaires is on!

Redditor jonjopop over at the spotted subreddit spotted what looks like an early prototype of an unbranded SUV with bizarre “CryShare” wrap. CryShare, as a concept, seems to combine the functionality of a ride sharing app like Uber or Lyft with the familiar (to parent, anyway) idea that small babies will often sleep better in a moving car than in their own cribs … but that’s not what’s important here.

Instead, focus on the vehicle itself – parked on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles without explanation or fanfare, this is our best look yet at the kind of vehicle(s) Slate is likely to reveal in the coming days.

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Stumbled upon the Bezosmobile [Slate Automotive…idk?] being revealed with an absolutely bizarre marketing campaign
byu/jonjopop inspotted

Other local automotive journalists caught wind of the public unveiling, too – and our friends at The Autopian (Hi, Matt!) sent their own David Tracy out on the streets of LA to check it out. Tracy took the following video and posted it to Instagram.

The Slate breaking cover and causing buzz just ahead of what’s sure to be a painful Q1 earnings call for Tesla is a masterstroke of marketing – especially as doubts surrounding the viability of a “less expensive” Tesla Model Y or Model 3 continue to mount amid the uncertainty of Trump’s tariffs and declining sales of the brand’s more profitable models both at home and abroad.

As with so much involving Slate, however, there is nothing here written in stone – or even cast in cheese. Nothing has been announced, nothing is promised, and for all we know this might have more to do with the affordable Rivian brand launch, a new BYD, or be a viral marketing bit from some local Art Center design student in (relatively) nearby Pasadena. In fact, about the only thing I think we can say about Bezos (?) new Slate project with confidence today is this: Elon could probably use that drink.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Reddit, The Autopian.


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Gold tops $3,500 an ounce as Trump attack on Fed shakes confidence in U.S.

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Gold tops ,500 an ounce as Trump attack on Fed shakes confidence in U.S.

Gold prices rebounded on Tuesday from a near four-week low reached in the previous session, as heightened concerns over the global trade war between the United States and its key trading partners lifted investor appetite for safe-haven assets.

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gold prices rallied Tuesday, hitting a record as President Donald Trump‘s repeated threats against the Federal Reserve’s independence have shaken investors and undermined confidence in the U.S.

Gold futures hit a session high of $3,509.90 per ounce Tuesday, after closing at a record $3,425.30 on Monday. The precious metal was last up 1.1% at $3,463.20. Gold has rallied about 31% since the start of the year and more than 9% since Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2.

Trump ratcheted up his public pressure campaign against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Monday, demanding he immediately lower interest rates and attacking him as a “major loser.” Equity markets sold off in response, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 970 points.

Gold is viewed as a safe-haven asset in times of economic uncertainty. Central banks around the world have been adding to their gold reserves, supporting the precious metal’s rally this year.

“Gold has continued to serve as an effective hedge amid ongoing trade uncertainty,” analysts led by Mark Haefele, global wealth management chief Investment officer at UBS, told clients in a Tuesday note.

“Despite this strong performance, we see further upside potential,” Haefele said. “We continue to see support from investment demand, ongoing central bank diversification and a volatile macro backdrop.”

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