Why gas is so expensive in California

Published

1 year ago

March 8, 2024

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California is home to some of the highest gas prices in the United States, according to AAA.

The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.40 as of Thursday, according to the organization’s data. In California, the average was $4.87, more than any other state.

Several factors go into what drivers pay for gas, including refining costs, taxes, distribution and marketing, and crude oil prices, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

High taxes are partly to blame in California. The state has the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, according to EIA.

But there’s more to the story.

An isolated market and a special fuel blend

California requires a special blend of gasoline that reduces pollution — and costs more money.

“California also has seen a drop of 66% in the amount of refineries in operation from where we were 40 years ago,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “So there are fewer refineries producing this special blend of gasoline.”

California has an isolated refinery market. The special fuel blend that is consumed in California is produced by 11 major refineries within the state, according to the California Energy Commission.

“Not many other states use the same blend of fuel, which limits California’s supply when there’s an outage, when there’s an issue at one of our refineries,” Anlleyn Venegas, a senior public affairs specialist at AAA, told CNBC.

The isolated market means that any outages will lead to volatility in prices at the pump.

“Part of the reason why prices have been so high is that California has really restricted the ability for refineries to expand and grow,” said De Haan. “California has been rather hostile to refinery expansions or oil industry investments, trying to push them away and transition California to more electric vehicles.”

California plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 as it transitions to cleaner vehicles. A quarter of new cars sold in California in 2023 were zero-emission vehicles, according to the California Energy Commission.

“The high price of gasoline does encourage more EV adoption,” De Haan said. “Americans getting hit with $5 and $6 [per] gallon prices in California is likely accelerating the shift away.”

In 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law to combat alleged price gouging at the pump. The law aims to increase transparency in the oil and gas industry and created an independent watchdog called the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight.

“There hasn’t really been much impact,” De Haan said. “But I do believe that in the months ahead, there probably will be more … talk on this subject.”

Driving behaviors, smart shopping can cut fuel costs

Families are spending thousands of dollars on gasoline each year. In 2022, the average annual spending per consumer unit on gasoline and other fuels was $3,120, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That tally was up 45.3% from 2021, as more people resumed commuting after the pandemic and fuel prices rose.

“Adopting new and improved driving behaviors can contribute to significant savings,” Venegas said.

For drivers who aren’t going electric, here are a few ways to save on gas, according to AAA:

Plan your route before you go

Don’t drive aggressively

Watch the video above to learn more about what is driving gas prices higher and what drivers can do about it.

Environment

Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Published

5 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Environment

OpenAI says Robinhood’s tokens aren’t equity in the company

Published

7 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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OpenAI says Robinhood's tokens aren't equity in the company

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.

“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”

The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”

Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.

“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.

BYD launches new discounts, offering +50% off smart driving tech

Published

11 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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BYD launches new discounts, offering +50% off smart driving tech

Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.

BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech

After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”

Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.

BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).

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It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.

The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).

Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).

Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.

BYD-Tai-3-electric-SUV — BYD Fang Cheng Bao Tai 3 electric SUV (Source: Fang Cheng Bao)

The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.

BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.

The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.

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