Oil alliance OPEC+ zeroes in on group compliance after postponing output hike
Dilara Irem Sancar | Anadolu | Getty Images
The OPEC+ alliance is once more cracking down on group compliance with oil output cuts, as it presses ahead with a three-pronged plan of formal and voluntary production trims.
Two OPEC+ delegates, who could only comment anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks, told CNBC that the coalition has sharpened its focus on the conformity of its members with their output pledges, amid repeat overproduction from heavyweight members such as Iraq and Kazakhstan.
Russia, whose barrels are sanctioned in the West and transported with lower visibility across a shadow fleet, has also at times exceeded its assigned quota under the alliance’s formal policy, one of the sources said.
Eight OPEC+ members, including kingpin Saudi Arabia, were due to begin returning 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts to the market starting in October. Earlier this month, they postponed this phaseout to start in December instead. OPEC+ nations are operating two other production declines: under official policy, they will produce a combined 39.725 million bpd next year. The same aforementioned eight members are separately curbing their output by another 1.7 million bpd throughout 2025, also on a voluntary basis.
Undercompliance has been a repeat bane of the OPEC+ alliance, casting a shadow over the credibility of its intentions to cut output – at a time of market uncertainty exacerbated by war in the hydrocarbon-rich Middle East, recent stock sell-offs and a fragile post-Covid recovery in the world’s top crude importer, China.
Oil prices have remained subdued for the better part of the year and dropped sharply on Thursday, following a Financial Times report stating that OPEC+ de facto leader Saudi Arabia was prepared to suffer through a low-price environment and abandon an unofficial $100 per barrel price target to bolster its output after December.
Brent crude futures with November expiry were trading at $71.44 per barrel at 2:30 p.m. London time, down 0.17% from the Thursday settlement. The front-month November Nymex WTI contract was at $67.75 per barrel, flat from the previous session’s close.
“I would read it more as the Saudis sending some warning to the cheaters within OPEC. Because I think Saudi Arabia has seen most of the burden of the production cuts,” Carole Nakhle, founder and CEO of Crystol Energy, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy Friday, referring to the FT report.
Speaking of the group’s possible approach to price targeting, Nakhle added, “Of course, the higher the better for them, but nothing has been set in stone.”
OPEC+ ministers, including Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, have previously insisted that their policies target diminishing global stocks rather than an explicit price, although decisions to tighten supplies typically offer support to crude futures in the long term. But several member countries, including the Saudi kingdom, underpin their annual budgets on the assumption of a fiscal break-even price — which the International Monetary Fund estimates must hit $96.20 for Riyadh to meet its obligations this year.
Riyadh is locked in an extensive and costly program spanning 14 giga-projects, including the futuristic desert development Neom, to materialize Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambition of economic diversification away from reliance on hydrocarbon revenues.
Despite the economic pressures of enforcing the Vision 2030 program, Saudi Arabia has yet to change its OPEC+ approach and does not target an explicit oil price, one of the OPEC+ sources told CNBC, noting that Riyadh can reshape its budget or shore it up through alternative, non-oil revenues.
Earlier this month, Saudi Minister for Investment Khalid al-Falih pushed back against lingering skepticism over the country’s economic diversification plan, touting “green shoring” investment opportunities to lure foreign financing.
The prospect of Saudi Arabia weaponizing its vast production capacity to settle OPEC+ disputes is not without precedent. Back in 2020, Riyadh and Moscow engaged in a weeks-long price war in the wake of the abrupt but fleeting dissolution of the OPEC+ alliance, flooding the market at a time of already excess supply and dried-up demand amid the spreading Covid-19 pandemic — and briefly ushering WTI futures into negative territory.
OPEC+ receives monthly production figures — which assist it to calculate member compliance — from seven independent secondary sources. The coalition’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, a technical group that oversees OPEC+ conformity, is due to next meet on Oct. 2.
Tesla has mysteriously announced that it is holding an ‘all-hands’ meeting in public live-streamed on X amid a tough quarter.
This is a first for the company.
This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.
At around 9:00 PM ET Thursday, Tesla posted a live stream on X with some sound checks titled “all hands meeting Q1 2025”, but it went down shortly after.
At 9:30PM ET, the stream went live again, but nothing started until 9:57 PM when a video about Tesla’s business started.
This new strategy of holding a surprise public meeting comes at the end of a challenging quarter for Tesla, as the automaker is expected to deliver fewer cars than it had in any quarter in the last 3 years.
- Musk is now on stage:
A “all-hands”, or town hall, is a company-wide gathering where all employees, leaders, and stakeholders discuss company-wide matters, ensuring everyone is on the same page and updated on key information.
- Musk says that Tesla is the top place to work.
- Musk release safety data:
- Musk says that a better to think about a sustainable economy is “abundance for all.”
- Musk claims that “everyone in the world will be able to get everything they want” – “good or service”.
- He says that AI and robotics are the keys to that – hence why Tesla is working on Optimus.
- Musk claims that Model Y is going to be the best-selling car this year despite having still 3 full quarters to go in the year.
- The CEO jokes about people burning down Tesla vehicles.
- Musk says “people should also buy the Model 3”.
- He again claims that the Cybertruck is bulletproof despite this being a stretch.
- Musk says that Tesla will make “millions of Tesla Semi trucks” and they will be autonomous in the future
- Musk again claims that “autonomous Teslas will be everywhere”. We will have regulatory approval globally in 5 years.
- The CEO again claims that “almost the entire existing fleet is autonomous”
- Musk references the stock market, as Tesla stock is crumbling, and repeated his self-driving claims about increasing value of Tesla vehicles through software updates that will make the cars autonomous.
- Musk literally just said “hold on to your stocks”
- Tesla’s stock is down 40% so far this year.
- Musk talks about Megapacks and Powerwalls. No real new information so far.
- Musk: my predictions have been pretty good.
- The CEO says that he believes Tesla makes the lowest cost per kWh battery cell in the world.
- Musk releases a few manufacturing updates:
- Musk says that Tesla is making progress with Dojo, which had fallen behind. The first version is active, but operating at “5% capacity”.
- Musk says it is a “significant milestone” to see the cars drive themselves at the factory, six years after he said that Tesla would make cross-country trips autonomously.
- Musk claims that Optimus is “the most sophisticated humanoid robot on earth”
- Boston Dynamics posted this yesterday:
- Musk claims that the difference is that Optimus has “real-world AI” even though he started a separate AI company: xAI.
- Musk now takes questions from employees.
- The CEO says that Tesla will make about 5,000 Optimus robots this year – 50,000 in 2026 and start selling them externally in the second of 2026.
- He says that it will be available to Tesla employees first.
- It’s getting pretty boring at this point. I might end this live blog.
Electrek’s Jamie Dow on the live stream: this whole thing is an AI video trained on elon videos from 10 years ago.
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Rooftop tent specialist iKamper has unveiled a new all-season tent designed exclusively for Rivian EV owners. The Skycamp Mini was designed to protect its inhabitants from high winds, UV Rays, and inclement weather and just popped up in the Rivian Gear Shop this afternoon. Check it out.
iKamper is an outdoors gear specialist founded in 2012 and based in the Pacific Northwest. The company specializes in vehicle accessories made from premium materials to withstand tough terrain and, as its website states, “adventures around the globe.”
Naturally, an EV automaker like Rivian is a match made in heaven, as the company ethos is based around nature and exploration (it even calls its branded EV chargers the Adventure Network). One of the perks of being a Rivian R1T or R1S owner is the accessories available in Rivian’s gear shop, including options like a travel kitchen, field kit, and surfboard mounts.
When Rivian’s flagship models debuted, so did a three-person tent designed in collaboration with Yakima, which is still available today for $2,800. Now, Rivian has introduced a second rooftop tent option to its customers, which is available through iKamper. It costs quite a bit more, but it also looks pretty stellar.
iKamper’s new Rivian branded tent available in Gear Shop
Rivian shared a brief release with Electrek following the unveiling of the brand-specific rooftop tent from iKamper it calls the Skycamp Mini. Per the release:
Building off the platform of the famed Skycamp 3.0 Mini, the Rivian x iKamper Skycamp Mini features PFAS-free construction with a Rivian-inspired aesthetic, including exclusive color options, blacked-out hardware, Rivian-keyed mounting bracket locks and a sleek, aerodynamic hardshell that minimizes drag to maximize range. Outfitted with iKamper’s deluxe RTT Comfort self-inflating air mattress, this new collaboration delivers refined craftsmanship and rugged durability for year-round adventure.
As you can see from the images above, the Skycamp Mini features locking mounting brackets compatible with Rivian’s Adventure Key Set and an aerodynamic hard shell storage case that sits on the truck bed or roof of a R1T or R1S, respectively, atop the EV’s cargo crossbars (sold separately).
The rooftop tent kit includes iKamper’s FTT Comfort 4-inch mattress. According to its creators, the tent can sleep one to two people and withstand wind up to 35 mph, protecting Rivian owners from the sun and rain. Kaila Vandermey, commercial lead for Rivian Adventure Gear spoke:
Rivian vehicles are built to empower exploration. Partnering with iKamper on the Rivian x iKamper Skycamp Mini, is the perfect accessory to complement and elevate that adventurous lifestyle. No matter where your adventure takes you, this mini rooftop tent delivers the freedom to explore and rest wherever you choose.
You can view more images of the iKamper Skycamp Mini on the Rivian Adventure Shop homepage. Still, it redirects you to the iKamper website to purchase one for a starting price of $4,595. That’s not all, though. To support this product launch, iKamper said it will include its Disco Series Stove outdoor cooking system as a bonus for customers who preorder the Rivian-specific rooftop tent while supplies last.
What do you think? Dope, or nope?
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Environment
Tesla protesters get rolled coal by diesel lover: no one knows which side is which anymore
In a new viral video, a diesel truck driver rolled coal over dozens of Tesla protesters peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.
It’s not clear which side is which at this point.
“Rolling coal” is a term used when truck drivers with modified diesel engines deliberately emit large amounts of black or grey smoke, sometimes directed at specific cars or people – often as a form of anti-environmentalism protest or to be obnoxious.
It is illegal in most jurisdictions due to violating clean air laws.
Tesla drivers used to be the target of diesel truck owners rolling coal. I wrote about it several times to point out that some truck owners hate Tesla for no reason.
It’s impressive how quickly the world changes.
Now, you have thousands of people around the US protesting at Tesla locations. You would think that those Tesla-hating truck drivers would be on the protesters’ side, but that’s not the case anymore.
Instagram user Pierce6.4 posted a video of himself rolling coal in his Ford F-250 6.4 on protestors in front of a Tesla store this weekend:
The video went viral and was reposted by several pages on Facebook and X. Most commentators on Pierce’s page joked about how he should have gotten closer.
Not only are rolling coal diesel truck drivers now against peaceful people protesting Tesla, but some Tesla fans and shareholders are with those diesel truck drivers.
On a Tesla shareholder’s Facebook group, a top contributor posted the video favorably, and another added he is surprised to be on the same side as the diesel truck driver:
It shows a clear divide within Tesla fans as the brand and its CEO are increasingly politicized.
Electrek’s Take
We live in the weirdest timeline possible. A few years ago, peabrain truck drivers were rolling coal on Tesla drivers to protest against electric vehicles.
Now, you have environmentalists protesting Tesla and truck drivers rolling coal on Tesla protestors.
If you would have told me this is where we would be just 3 years ago, I would have never believed you.
First off, there’s obviously no excuse for this. These people peacefully protested, which is their right under the US Constitution.
Attacking them like that is not only dangerous and polluting, but it is, at its core, un-American.
Secondly, the fact that they are people who call themselves Tesla fans cheering shows that the community has lost its moral compass.
It’s all about money and the stock; it’s not about the mission anymore.
Where is the outrage from Tesla fans? I have condemned vandalism against Tesla vehicles and property, but this is objectively worse. It’s a direct physical attack on Tesla protesters. It’s not acceptable.
As a long-time Tesla fan and defender of its mission to accelerate the world’s transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy, I never felt so disconnected from this community.
This highlights Tesla’s main issue right now under CEO Elon Musk: it is becoming an entirely politicized brand.
For the left, Tesla is Musk’s personal piggy bank to finance the rise of fascism in the US.
For the right, Tesla is Musk’s personal piggy bank to finance the rise of fascism in the US
While that’s happening, Tesla can’t succeed at its mission to transition the world to a sustainable economy, and we all lose.
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