Oil industry that Trump wants to ‘drill, baby, drill’ has taken a beating since he took office
An operator for Baker Hughes conducts a wireline survey on a Chesapeake Energy natural gas rig in the North Texas Barnett Shale near Burleson, Texas.
Matt Nager | Getty Images
President Donald Trump wants the oil and gas industry to “drill, baby, drill” in pursuit of his energy dominance agenda, but the companies involved in the actual drilling and servicing of wells have instead taken a beating during his first 100 days in office.
U.S. crude oil prices have fallen below $65 per barrel, down more than 20% since Trump’s second term began, making it unprofitable for many companies to boost production, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Executives on the frontline of the U.S. shale oil boom were scathing in their criticism of Trump’s policies in anonymous responses to that same survey. They used the word “uncertainty” in their comments more than in any quarter since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago, according to Mason Hamilton, vice president of economics and research at the American Petroleum Institute.
Oilfield service firms Baker Hughes, Halliburton and SLB are warning that investment in exploration, drilling and production will slow this year due to falling oil prices. Shares of Baker Hughes and SLB are down more than 20% since Trump’s inauguration while Halliburton has slumped 32%.
The S&P 500 energy sector has fallen more than 11% since Jan. 20, more than the broader market’s decline of nearly 8%.
SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch told investors last week that Trump’s tariffs are causing economic uncertainty that could hurt demand, while the group of producers known as OPEC+ is accelerating supply faster than originally anticipated.
“In this environment, commodity prices are challenged and until they stabilize, customers are likely to take a more cautious approach to near-term activity and discretionary spending,” Le Peuch said last week on SLB’s first-quarter earnings call with analysts and investors.
Less drilling
The North American petroleum market faces more downside risk than the rest of the world because onshore oil production in the U.S. is more sensitive to commodity prices, the SLB CEO said.
Baker Hughes forecasts global upstream investment in exploration and production will decline by high-single digits this year compared to 2024, with spending in North America falling by low double digits, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli told investors on its earnings call, also last week.
“The prospects of an oversupplied oil market, rising tariffs, uncertainty in Mexico and activity weakness in Saudi Arabia are collectively constraining international upstream spending levels,” Simonelli said.
But the situation is fluid, with little visibility into what the second half of the year will bring, especially for more economically-sensitive activities such as drilling and completion of wells, the Baker Hughes chief said. There’s even a risk that the outlook could deteriorate further, he said.
“These expectations assume a stabilization of oil prices around the current levels and [that] tariffs hold at the current 90-day pause rates,” Simonelli said. “A sustained move lower in oil prices or worsening tariffs would introduce further downside risk to this outlook.”
For his part, Halliburton CEO Jeffrey Miller said customers are “evaluating their activity scenarios and plans for 2025.” Miller warned on Halliburton’s recent earnings call that a reduction in activity could result in “higher-than-normal whitespace,” referring to periods when equipment is not being used.
SLB expects revenue to be flat or grow by mid-single digits in the second half of the year. Baker Hughes sees a tariff impact of $100 to $200 million to its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, assuming tariff rates don’t increase further this year. Halliburton is forecasting that trade tensions will hit its earnings by 2 to 3 cents per share in the second quarter.
Energy secretary promises ‘clarity’
Drilling contractor Patterson-UTI Energy also sees an uncertain outlook, though activity levels haven’t been affected yet, CEO William Hendricks said on the company’s earnings call last Thursday. Patterson-UTI’s stock has tumbled about 35% since Trump came to office.
“If oil prices remain near current levels for an extended period, we could see some of our customers reevaluate their plans,” Hendricks said. The CEO said exploration and production companies are waiting to see if oil prices bounce back to the upper-$60-per-barrel range.
“In the lower-60s, we could see some softening if it stays in there,” Hendricks said. “Certainly, there would be some E&Ps that make some decisions to reduce their budgets. But even in the low-60s, I wouldn’t expect a drastic response from the customer base that we work for,” he said.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged to oil and gas executives at a conference in Oklahoma City last week that there is “a lot of anxiety and uncertainty” in the industry right now.
“That’ll be gone in a few weeks. Maybe it’s a few months, but I think in a few weeks we’ll get some clarity on that,” Wright said, defending Trump’s trade policy. The oilfield services provider that Wright founded, Liberty Energy, has swooned nearly 46% since Trump’s inauguration.
Wright argued at the Oklahoma conference that U.S. reindustrialization as a result of Trump’s trade policy will ultimately boost energy demand. In an interview with CNBC on Monday, the energy secretary said he does not expect U.S. oil production to drop meaningfully.
“Our administration, we don’t have any impact on the short-term movement of oil prices or any price for that matter,” Wright told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan. “We are trying to do everything we can to lower the cost to produce a barrel of oil,” he said, pointing to Trump’s efforts to slash regulations and speed permitting.
A new review of US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data by the SUN DAY Campaign reveals that solar delivered almost 9% of US electricity in the first half of 2025. Wind and solar combined produced just over one-fifth of the country’s electricity, while renewables as a whole hit nearly 28%.
Solar’s record-breaking growth
EIA’s latest monthly Electric Power Monthly report (with data through June 30, 2025) confirms that solar kept its streak as the fastest-growing major source of US electricity. In June 2025 alone, solar soared. Utility-scale solar power plants cranked out 30.1% more electricity than in June 2024, while rooftop and other small-scale solar systems grew by 10.5%. Combined, solar generation jumped 25% year-over-year and made up 10.2% of US electricity that month.
Looking at the first six months of 2025, utility-scale solar expanded by 37.6%, and small-scale systems rose 10.7%. Together, they grew nearly one-third (29.7%) compared to the same period in 2024. That meant solar provided 8.7% of all US electricity in January-June, up from 6.9% the year before.
That’s a milestone: Solar is now producing almost 45% more electricity than hydropower (6.0%), and it’s generating more than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined.
Wind is still a front-runner
Wind turbines supplied 11.6% of US electricity in the first half of 2025 — a 2.4% boost compared to the same time in 2024. Wind’s output was almost double hydropower’s contribution.
Wind + solar are beating coal and nuclear
Together, wind and solar accounted for 20.3% of total US electricity in the first half of 2025, up from 18.6% last year. That’s a bigger share than coal or nuclear. In fact, wind and solar generated 25% more electricity than coal and 15.6% more than nuclear over the same period.
Renewables overall are surging
All renewable sources combined – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal – generated 27.7% of US electricity from January through June 2025, up from 26.1% a year ago. Their output grew three times faster than total US electricity generation overall (9.2% vs. 3.0%). Renewables are now second only to natural gas, whose generation actually dropped 3.7% in the first half of the year.
Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign, added that this growth happened before the passage of the Trump/Republican “megabill,” which could slow future renewable expansion. “Nonetheless, EIA notes that US developers expect half of new electric generating capacity to come from solar in 2025 and another 13% from wind.”
Read more: EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May
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The new and improved Hyundai IONIQ 5, or the hot-selling Chevy Equinox EV? Which electric SUV makes the smarter lease? Here’s the rundown.
Over 607,000 electric vehicles were sold in the US in the first half of 2025, thanks to some big discounts. Many automakers are currently offering generous savings, as Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is set to end federal EV incentives at the end of September.
According to Cox Automotive’s latest EV Market Monitor report, EV incentives reached a record of nearly $8,500 in June, or about 15% off the average transaction price (ATP).
That’s more than double the incentives offered on gas-powered vehicles. Seven electric vehicles had an ATP below $40,000, including the Chevy Equinox EV. The Equinox EV was the top-selling EV in the price range.
Starting at just $34,995, GM calls it “America’s most affordable 315+ range EV.” The electric Equinox has already propelled Chevy to become the number two EV brand in the US behind Tesla.
Through the first half of the year, the Chevy Equinox EV accounted for nearly a third of GM’s electric vehicle sales. And it could have sold even more. A dealer in California reached out to Electrek, claiming they had to wait over a month to receive Equinox EV models. It’s now on track to be among the top three selling EVs in the US.
Which EV to lease: Chevy Equinox EV or Hyundai IONIQ 5
With leases starting at just $289 per month, it’s no wonder the electric SUV is flying off the lot. The offer is for 24 months with $3,909 due at signing.
Alternatively, you can opt for 0% APR financing for 60 months, which Chevy is offering on all 2025 electric vehicle models.
| 2025 Chevy Equinox EV trim | Starting Price | EPA-estimated Range | Monthly lease Price (August 2025) |
| LT FWD | $34,995 | 319 miles | $289 |
| LT AWD | $40,295 | 307 miles | $351 |
| RS FWD | $45,790 | 319 miles | $416 |
| RS AWD | $49,090 | 307 miles | $453 |
The base 2025 Chevy Equinox EV LT starts at $34,995 with up to 319 miles of range. The interior boasts up to 57.2 cu ft of space and a 17.7″ infotainment screen.
How does it compare to the IONIQ 5? Hyundai has upgraded its best-selling electric SUV with major improvements, including increased range (now up to 318 miles), a revamped interior and exterior, and a built-in NACS port to access Tesla Superchargers.
After cutting lease prices again last month, the new and improved 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 is now listed at just $179 per month.
In some places, such as California and other ZEV states, Hyundai is offering leases starting at as low as $159 per month.
However, that’s for the base SE mode, which has an EPA-estimated driving range of 245 miles. The longer-range IONIQ 5 SE RWD, with 318 miles range, can still be leased for just $199 per month right now. Both offers are for 24 months with $3,999 due at signing.
| 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Trim | EV Powertrain | Driving Range (miles) | Starting Price* | Monthly lease price August 2025 |
| IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range | 168-horsepower rear motor | 245 | $42,500 | $179 |
| IONIQ 5 SE RWD | 225-horsepower rear motor | 318 | $46,550 | $199 |
| IONIQ 5 SEL RWD | 225-horsepower rear motor | 318 | $49,500 | $209 |
| IONIQ 5 Limited RWD | 225-horsepower rear motor | 318 | $54,200 | $309 |
| IONIQ 5 SE Dual Motor AWD | 320-horsepower dual motor | 290 | $50,050 | $249 |
| IONIQ 5 SEL Dual Motor AWD | 320-horsepower dual motor | 290 | $53,000 | $259 |
| IONIQ 5 XRT Dual Motor AWD | 320 horsepower dual motor | 259 | $55,400 | $359 |
| IONIQ 5 Limited Dual Motor AWD | 320-horsepower dual motor | 269 | $58,100 | $299 |
Hyundai is also throwing in a complimentary ChargePoint Level 2 home charger with the purchase or lease of a new 2025 IONIQ 5. All IONIQ 5 trims are listed with 1.99% APR financing for up to 60 months.
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 offers up to 59.3 cu ft of cargo space with a dual 12.3″ driver display and infotainment system setup.
Both the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Chevy Equinox EV are hard to pass up right now, with lease prices expected to be as low as they will ever be.
Looking to snag the savings while they last? You can use our links below to find offers on the Chevy Equinox EV and Hyundai IONIQ 5 near you.
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Nissan has officially confirmed the icon will be making a comeback. Although Nissan is no longer building GT-R models, CEO Ivan Espinosa said Godzilla will “evolve and reemerge” in the future. Here’s what we know so far.
Nissan confirms the GT-R will evolve and reemerge
It seems like we’ve been talking about the next-gen Nissan GT-R for years now. After the last model rolled off the production line at the automaker’s Tochigi plant in Japan on Tuesday, Nissan’s CEO made it clear that the GT-R will be making a comeback.
After bidding farewell to the R35, Espinosa gave the many GT-R fans worldwide hope, saying, “I want to tell you this isn’t a goodbye to the GT-R forever.”
He added that it’s Nissan’s “goal for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return.” Although this is the end of the line for the R35, the company remains committed to the GT-R nameplate and wants to “reimagine it for a new generation.”
According to Espinosa, Nissan doesn’t have any finalized plans yet, but he promised that “the GT-R will evolve and reemerge in the future.”
Nissan says the next Godzilla will ensure the GT-R’s legacy lives on, but will pack even more performance. The big question is, what type of powertrain will it arrive with? Will it be electric? A hybrid? Or, will it still be gas-powered?
At the New York Auto Show in April, Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for Nissan North America, told The Drive that the next GT-R will be a hybrid, rather than an all-electric.
However, Nissan previewed an electric GT-R a few years ago with the Hyper Force EV concept. The electric sports car concept was promoted as a “game-changing hyper EV” with over 1,300 horsepower (1,000 kW).
All that power is expected to come from solid-state batteries. Just last week, Nissan secured a partnership with LiCAP Technologies to produce all-solid-state EV batteries on a mass scale, one of the biggest hurdles to getting the new technology to market.
Since Nissan aims to launch its first EV powered by solid-state batteries in 2028, we could see the GT-R reemerge as a plug-in hybrid until the technology is ready.
Either way, it will likely be a few years before we see an electrified Godzilla. If it evolves into an EV or hybrid, it remains up in the air for now.
While Nissan says an all-electric GT-R won’t deliver the performance needed to live up to the nameplate, others are proving otherwise. BYD’s first electric supercar, the Yangwang U9, set a new EV speed record this week after hitting nearly 300 mph.
How do you feel about it? Should the GT-R go all-electric? Or will Nissan settle for a hybrid? Drop us a comment below and let us know which one you’d buy.
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