Trump EPA pick says he’ll protect clean air… by making the air dirtier?
It looks like the next EPA head will likely be Lee Zeldin, a former New York Congressman and failed gubernatorial candidate, and he’s already promising policy moves that would make the air dirtier and increase health and fuel costs for Americans.
The nominee doesn’t have a particularly extensive environmental background, without a lot of specific advocacy on environmental topics.
As a result, various environmental protection organizations have released statements pointing out his poor record on environmental legislation in the past and expressing concern at his likely destructive rollbacks to come. In 2020, while he was in Congress, he received the worst environmental score out of the entire New York congressional delegation.
Estimations of the likelihood of these destructive actions can be informed by the period between 2017-2021, which was marked by severe corruption by two EPA heads with deep ties to the oil & gas and coal industries.
The first of those EPA heads, Scott Pruitt, gained prominence by suing the EPA to stop clean air, and in his tenure ended up being so corrupt that he was forced to resign – quite a feat given that administration’s over 3,700 conflicts of interest.
The second, Andrew Wheeler, was a coal lobbyist who tried to orchestrate a $70 billion bailout for the coal industry and showed incredible ignorance and mendacity when discussing the state of his own agency’s regulations.
What we do know about Zeldin’s plans were announced this morning, when he noted to the media that he wants to pull back on the EPA regulations of the last four years.
While we don’t know what specific regulations he intends to target, it is likely that there would be sweeping and/or scattershot actions to reduce the progress of the last four years. Regulations implemented by the EPA under President Biden will save Americans $250B/year in health and energy costs and save 200k lives in total.
Rolling back those regulations, as Zeldin has said he wants to do, would cost Americans money in the form of higher health and fuel costs, and would cause more death.
The reason these rollbacks would cause more death and higher costs is because they would increase air pollution, which is a major driver of death and disease and a major drain on economic productivity. The rollbacks would also increase costs because the targeted regulations are focused on efficiency, and reducing efficiency means higher energy costs for the nation in total.
We also know that Zeldin has received a similar amount of money from the oil & gas industry as Trump’s first corrupt EPA pick. Zeldin has received $269,608 in lifetime political bribes from the Oil & Gas industry – not his largest chunk of donations when sorted by industry, but still significant. This is similar to the pricetag on corrupt oil & gas stooge Scott Pruitt, who earned around $300k in bribes from oil & gas for his work to advance dirty air prior to his appointment as chief saboteur of the EPA.
In exchange for these relatively low pricetags, the richest and most destructive industry in the history of the world – which receives over $700 billion in subsidies yearly in the US alone – received significant boosts from destructive actions at the agency that is tasked with keeping the air you breathe clean.
Alongside his statements today, Zeldin also said that will make these rollbacks “while protecting access to clean air and water,” but it remains to be seen how that is possible. Given that the specific policy actions he has already suggested are incredibly destructive to clean air, this particular quote rings as if it may be untrue. He also said something about artificial intelligence, which it’s unclear what the EPA has anything to do with (unless he was referring to doing something about the massive unnecessary energy use from the sector, but that seems unlikely).
Zeldin said that he wants to ensure US “energy dominance,” which is unlikely to happen with any strategy that focuses away from the technologies of the future. The EPA’s actions of the last four years, and President Biden’s actions as a whole, have all coalesced around a strategy of bringing EV and battery manufacturing to the US so that the US can be ready to provide the products of the future.
Mr. Trump, in contrast, is already seeking to roll back the policies that have successfully led to hundreds of billions in investment and hundreds of thousands of jobs in green industry, despite him being ignorant of what those policies are in the first place.
While in Congress, Zeldin voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, the bill that brought those jobs and billions in investment to the US. But in yet another piece of Orwellian doublespeak, Zeldin said today that he wants to “bring back American jobs to the auto industry,” despite it being clear that he and Mr. Trump both want to roll back policies that have brought back American jobs to the auto industry.
All that said, Zeldin also was a member of a bipartisan “climate solutions caucus” in 2016, and voted against a republican amendment to slash EPA funding in 2020. So it’s not all bad, it’s just 86% bad.
And there is one more silver lining here. Earlier this year, the “Supreme” Court stupidly opined that government agencies should be restrained in their ability to do their jobs when it eliminated something called the Chevron doctrine.
You can read more about that here, but in short, the opinion would make it harder for EPA to change regulations going forward. So Zeldin might have his work cut out for him, as he will likely have to fight against the scientists at his own agency and the courts to implement the dirty-air policies that he has already indicated he wants to implement.
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Yet another big name in auto is pulling back on its EV plans, blaming slower than expected demand for electric vehicles.
Porsche drops in-house EV battery plans
Volkswagen’s luxury sports car brand, Porsche, announced this week that it no longer plans to build EV batteries in-house.
Cellforce, Porsche’s high-performance EV battery company, will shrink and only focus on research and development, rather than production.
In a statement, Porsche blamed “the slower ramp-up” of EVs and “challenging market conditions” in its biggest markets, the US and China, for the changes.
CEO Oliver Blume, confirmed the news, saying “For volume reasons and a lack of economies of scale, Porsche is no longer pursuing its own production of battery cells.” The staff reductions, will be handled in “a socially responsible matter,” Porsche said. Volkswagen’s battery unit, PowerCo, will take on several former employees.
Porsche plans to continue to continue offering internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid, and all-electric options across every segment “well into the 2030s.”
Following the Taycan and Macan Electric, Porsche is still planning to launch the all-electric Cayenne and 718 models. The German automaker promises future models will still “bring trend-setting technologies in electromobility into series production.”
A separate report from German magazine WirtschaftsWoche claimed on Wednesday that Porsche is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Oliver Blume.
German automaker Opel drops EV commitment plans
Porsche isn’t the only German automaker adjusting EV plans. Opel is one of the many brands under the Stellantis Group, alongside Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, and several others.
Although it was one of the many automakers to commit to offering an all-electric lineup, it’s now backing off its promise.
During Stellantis’ EV Day in 2021, Opel announced its intention to transition to all-electric vehicles by 2028, accompanied by a slate of new models. Former CEO Michael Lohscheller, now chief executive at Polestar, said, “As of 2028, Opel will only offer electric cars in our core market Europe.”
On Monday, the German auto giant abandoned its plans for an all-EV lineup, saying it will continue to focus on its current “multi-energy” strategy.
Opel is the first German auto brand to offer a fully electrified model for every vehicle in its lineup, including electric (EVs), plug-in (PHEVs), and even internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
In response to media reports claiming it has changed its strategy, the company said in a statement, “This does not have to be limited to 2028 if the demand side requires otherwise.”
Although the company will continue to focus on EVs in specific regions, like the UK, France, and Germany, it will also offer other powertrain options based on demand.
Opel, alongside British sister company Vauxhall, is one of the top-selling brands in Europe. In Germany and the UK, Opel and Vauxhall ranked first in the ever-expanding B-hatch segment through the first half of the year.
The German auto giant becomes the latest brand to scale back EV plans or shift to hybrids, following Volvo, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and others.
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As it gears up to unleash an “avalanche” of new EVs, a top Kia official is warning against changing policies. Not only would it be a setback for the industry, but it would also cost the company a fortune.
Kia is warning against changing policies for EVs
Unlike some automakers (looking at you, Mercedes-Benz), Kia believes it’s best for Europe to stick to its plan to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.
“We have an avalanche of electric cars coming,” Kia’s top executive in Europe, Marc Hedrich, said (via Automotive News). Kia’s European boss warned that if the company were to suddenly stop launching EVs, “it would cost us a Fortune.”
Hedrich’s comments come as pressure builds from other automakers, especially in Germany, to reverse the ban on new ICE cars.
Meanwhile, just a week ago, Kia’s first European-made electric vehicle, the EV4, rolled off the assembly line. The EV4 is Kia’s first electric hatchback. Unlike the sedan model, which is made in South Korea, the hatch variant is assembled at Kia’s Zilina plant in Slovakia.
Kia invested over 100 million euros ($125 million) to upgrade the facility for EV production. Next year, Kia will begin building the EV2, its new entry-level electric car that will sit below the EV3.
Hedrich’s warning is a stark contrast to Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius, who criticized the EU’s policy earlier this month.
Kallenius said that the policy would handicap European brands, which are already struggling to compete with Chinese automakers. Instead, he is calling for tax incentives and cheaper power prices to support the transition to EVs.
When asked about Kallenius’ comments, Hedrich took a slight jap, saying, “That is the same guy who a few years ago promised his company would only sell EVs in Europe by 2030.”
EU President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with several top European automotive executives to devise a plan to ensure the sector remains competitive.
Kia does not support a delay, Hedrich made clear, with several EVs set to arrive over the next few months. After launching the EV3 and EV9 in 2024, Kia opened orders for the EV4 (hatchback and sedan variants) earlier this year. The company’s EV5 SUV is set to launch later this year, followed by the smaller EV2. Both the EV2 and EV4 will be assembled in Slovakia to expedite deliveries.
Electrek’s Take
The EV3 is already the best-selling electric vehicle among retail buyers in the UK and sixth in Europe through the first half of the year.
With the EV4 and EV5 joining the lineup this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, why would Kia support going backwards? And that’s not to mention Kia’s new PBV electric van business, which kicked off with the PV5 this year.
Even investing in new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) technology at this point seems a little late to the party.
As Hedrich put it, “PHEVs are definitely a transition technology which is highly dependent on local government rules.” Since the rules vary by region, “it’s extremely difficult to build a business case” around them, he added.
Kia’s European boss believes the EU’s ban on ICE vehicles could help German automakers. However, more competitive models are needed to boost demand, he predicted.
Do you agree with Kia? Chinese brands like BYD are quickly winning over market share with lower-cost, often more advanced EVs. And European automakers are almost entirely dependent on Korean or Chinese battery makers. If automakers continue delaying the inevitable transition to EVs, they will only fall further behind in the global market.
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Environment
Tesla self-driving is still not working in Vegas’s single lane tunnels, but Elon says 50% of US this year
Tesla has reportedly begun testing self-driving features in the Boring Company’s single-lane tunnels in Las Vegas, but it is still “ways off,” according to the Las Vegas Convention Center, which owns the tunnels.
Yet, Elon Musk believes Tesla’s self-driving will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.
The Boring Company, a startup founded by Elon Musk, aims to construct single-lane tunnels beneath cities in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.
In 2021, it began operating its first Loop, ~1.7 miles (2.7 km) of tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), with Tesla vehicles ferrying passengers between three stations around the convention center.
LVCC was the first to trust the Boring Company to deploy its ‘Loop’ and the service has been underwhelming so far, but The Boring Company did expand the network a bit in Las Vegas, connecting the LVCC Loop to a few hotels with new tunnels.
Elon Musk stated that the ultimate goal was for self-driving Tesla vehicles to transport people through these tunnels at high speeds.
Many people noted that a controlled environment with single-lane tunnels, devoid of other vehicles or pedestrians, would be the easiest environment to deploy self-driving technology. However, four years after launching the LVCC Loop, The Boring Company is still using Tesla vehicles with human chauffeurs.
Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), confirmed to Fortune that The Boring Company started testing Tesla’s autonomous driving in the Vegas Loop, but he believes it is still “ways off”.
He shared some details about the testing so far:
Thus far, all of the initial testing has been done with the standard Full Self-Driving (FSD) software that consumers can get in their personal Tesla vehicles, and with a Boring Company safety operator in the driver’s seat, according to Hill, who awarded the Boring Company its first transportation contract and who has overseen all of Boring’s initial construction and tunneling in the broader County thus far. Hill said that Boring Company is operating the vehicles, but was unsure of Tesla’s exact role in the testing apart from furnishing the vehicles and the self-driving software. There have been no scrapes or accidents thus far, though safety drivers have “periodically” had to intervene and take control of the vehicles, Hill said.
Nonetheless, Hill believes that the loop will eventually become autonomous, but he is unsure when this will happen.
While they are still working on making self-driving work in those single-lane tunnels, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla’s Robotaxi service will cover half of the US population by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
As I previously stated, there’s no way that Tesla could cover half of the US population with an actual Robotaxi service by the end of the year.
But the fact that it doesn’t actually operate any real Robotaxi service changes things.
In the Bay Area, Tesla claims to have launched its “Robotaxi”, but it is essentially using its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature with Tesla employees supervising the vehicles from the driver’s seat.
This is basically the same thing as an Uber driver who has a Tesla with FSD.
Therefore, technically, Tesla could cover half of the US population by recruiting a few drivers in all 40 biggest metro markets in the US to drive around in Tesla vehicles with FSD and claim that its “Robotaxi” covers half of the US population.
It would be a ridiculous thing to do and only celebrated by the most cultish of Tesla fans, but at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked.
My personal opinion is that the right thing to do is to deliver on what you promised: unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles built since 2016 and the promises made to other customers, such as the Las Vegas Convention Center.
If your self-driving technology is not working in a single-lane tunnel without other road users, it will not work on surface streets.
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