Formula E has announced its 2024 Season 10 calendar, with 16 races across 11 cities around the world. New for this season: Shanghai and Tokyo are hosting races, marking the first time the series has raced in Japan.
Formula E is FIA’s top-level electric open-wheel racing series, now entering its 10th season. It recently announced that its fanbase grew 17% globally last year and overtook NASCAR as the fourth most popular motorsport series in the world.
The philosophy of the series is to bring zero-emission racing directly into the heart of cities, since electric cars don’t create nearly as much disruption in terms of noise and exhaust as belching V6s or V8s do. So for the most part, these races happen on city streets, with all-weather street tires, rather than on purpose-built racing circuits.
Over the course of the series’ history it has visited a total of 30 cities, and this year it’s adding two more to that list.
Most prominently, the racing will come to Tokyo, the most populous city in the world. This is the first time Japan has hosted a Formula E race, though several nearby countries in East Asia have already hosted the series (Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc).
Formula E’s visit to Japan is interesting because while Japan is full of racing fans and is a global auto industry stalwart, the Japanese auto industry has been reluctant to fully embrace electric cars. Only 3% of cars sold in Japan in 2022 were electric, which is even lower than the rather low 6-7% of the US market. So it will be nice for those race fans to witness the joy of going to a race without all the stink and noise of obnoxious gas engines, and maybe have their perceptions slightly shifted as a result.
In addition, Shanghai, the most populous city in China, will host a race for the first time. Previously Formula E has been to China’s capital, Beijing (which held the series’ very first race in season 1), and Sanya, a Chinese coastal resort city. It has also raced in Hong Kong.
The Shanghai race will be a “double-header,” with two races back-to-back on the same weekend. Formula E has hosted several race weekends like this in the past, and is planning to do five of them again this year. This year, doubleheaders are coming to Berlin, Shanghai, London and Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. There is also a planned doubleheader in Italy, but Formula E hasn’t finalized which city that race will be in – in the past, it’s been Rome, but it looks like there’s a chance of that changing.
As for the US, the racing returns to Portland, where the series debuted last year with quite an interesting race. This race was anomalous due to Portland’s wide and high-speed racing circuit, in contrast to the street circuits of most other races. This resulted in drivers strategically saving energy and staying in a close pack, almost like a Peloton from a cycling race. Then came the end of the race where, after much jockeying for position, everyone finally let loose in an explosion of action.
Formula E is currently about to start season 10 testing in Valencia and recently announced a new rookie driver, Gabriela Jilkova, who will drive for Porsche in the winter tests. She is the first female driver to drive for the series since 2016.
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Season 10 Calendar
Event
Round(s)
Location
Date(s)
1
1
Mexico City, Mexico
Jan. 13, 2024
2
2 &3
Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Jan. 26 & 27 2024
3
4
Hyderabad, India
Feb. 10, 2024
4
5
São Paulo, Brazil
Mar. 16, 2024
5
6
Tokyo, Japan
Mar. 30, 2024
6
7 & 8
Italy TBD
Apr. 13 & 14 2024
7
9
Monaco, Principality of Monaco
Apr. 27 2024
8
10 & 11
Berlin, Germany
May 11 & 12 2024
9
12 & 13
Shanghai, China
May 25 & 26 2024
10
14
Portland, United States
Jun. 29 2024
11
15 & 16
London, United Kingdom
Jul. 20 & 21 2024
Electrek’s Take
As a racing fan, I find Formula E one of the more exciting series out there. The cars are a lot closer in performance to each other than in other series (*cough* F1 *cough*), and the racing and qualifying format encourages unpredictability.
As a result, you see a lot more passing in Formula E, and a lot more race winners, than in Formula 1. In some races, Formula E will have about as many passes in a single race as F1 has in an entire season (last year, the Portland ePrix had 403 overtakes, whereas F1 races averaged 45 overtakes per race). And a few seasons ago, Formula E had eight different race winners from seven different teams in the first eight races, whereas last year in F1, the same driver won 15 out of 22 races (and the team won 17 out of 22).
So, tuning into a Formula E race means you’ll actually see something interesting and different, whereas tuning into Formula 1 is like endlessly watching reruns. I know which one I’d pick (and have – I don’t watch F1 anymore).
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
British oil giant BP on Tuesday posted slightly weaker-than-expected first-quarter net profit, following a recent strategic reset and a slump in crude prices.
The beleaguered oil and gas major posted underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $1.38 billion for the first three months of the year. That missed analyst expectations of $1.6 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
BP’s net profit had hit $2.7 billion a year earlier and $1.2 billion in the final three months of 2024.
The results come as the energy major faces fresh pressure from activist investors less than two months after announcing a strategic reset.
Seeking to rebuild investor confidence, BP in February pledged to slash renewable spending and boost annual expenditure on its core business of oil and gas.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday that the firm was “off to a great start” in delivering on its strategic reset.
“We had a great operational quarter. We had our highest upstream operating efficiency in history. Our refineries in the first quarter ran at the best they’ve run in 24 years. We had six exploration discoveries in a row, which is really unusual and we started out three major projects,” Auchincloss said.
For the first quarter, BP announced a dividend per ordinary share of 8 cents and a share buyback of $750 million.
Net debt rose to $26.97 billion in the January-March period, up from $22.99 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. BP had previously warned of lower reported upstream production and higher net debt in the first quarter, when compared to the final three months of last year.
Shares of BP fell 3.3% on Tuesday morning. The firm is down roughly 8% year-to-date.
Activist pressure
BP’s green strategy U-turn does not appear to have gone far enough for the likes of activist investor Elliott Management, which went public last week with a stake of more than 5% in the London-listed firm.
The disclosure makes the U.S. hedge fund BP’s second-largest shareholder after BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, according to LSEG data.
Elliott was first reported to have assumed a position in the oil and gas company back in February, driving a share price rally amid expectations that its involvement could pressure BP to shift gears back toward its oil and gas businesses.
BP’s Auchincloss declined to comment on interactions with investors when asked whether the firm was under pressure from the likes of Elliott to go beyond the plans announced in its February pivot.
Notably, BP suffered a shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting earlier this month. Almost a quarter (24.3%) of investors voted against the re-election of outgoing Chair Helge Lund, a symbolic result that reflected a sense of deep frustration among the firm’s shareholders.
Mark van Baal, founder of Dutch activist investor Follow This, told CNBC last week that he hoped the shareholder revolt means Amanda Blanc, who is leading the process to find Lund’s successor, will look for a new chair who is “climate competent” and “will not respond to short-term activists so quickly.”
Lund is expected to step down from his role next year.
Takeover candidate
BP’s underperformance relative to industry peers such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell has thrust the energy major into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Energy analysts have questioned, however, whether any of the likeliest suitors will rise to the occasion.
BP’s Auchincloss on Tuesday said that he wouldn’t speculate on whether the company is a takeover target, but confirmed the oil major had not asked for any sort of protection from the British government.
“What I will say is we’re a strong, independent company and we’ve got sector-leading growth. And if we can deliver the sector-leading growth, and the first quarter is a fantastic example of that, then I have no concerns. I think we’re going to do great,” Auchincloss said.
Murray Auchincloss, chief executive officer of BP, during the “CERAWeek by S&P Global” conference in Houston, Texas, on March 11, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices have fallen in recent months on demand fears. International benchmark Brent crude futures with June delivery traded at $65.19 per barrel on Tuesday morning, down more than 1% for the session. That’s lower from around $84 per barrel a year ago.
Asked whether weaker crude prices could put the some of the firm’s reset plans in jeopardy, Auchincloss said, “Not really. We have a balance of products that we think about that generate revenue for us. So, oil, natural gas and refined products as well.”
— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.
Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check outEnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get startedhere. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.