Gasoline is cheaper now than a year ago — and could fall below $3
A Sheetz customer gets gasoline at a gas station in Plains, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 19, 2022.
Aimee Dilger | Reuters
Gasoline prices are now cheaper across the U.S. than they were a year ago, and the price per gallon could fall below $3 for most Americans by the end of the year.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.329 on Thursday, below the $3.343 a year ago, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unleaded gasoline was at a record $5.01 per gallon June 14 and stayed high through the summer and fall.
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Gas prices fell 15 cents per gallon in the past week and are down from $3.80 a gallon a month ago.
“For the next 55 days, it looks good for consumers but ugly for refiners,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis and co-founder of OPIS, formerly Oil Price Information Service. “They’re running refineries so hard because of the diesel shortage that they’re making too much gasoline. We’re running about 7% behind last year in terms of demand.”
Kloza expects to see gasoline below $3 a gallon for most Americans, before prices start to tick back up when refiners begin to produce summer blends in February. “You just can’t run refineries at these high rates and make too much gasoline for the summer because there’s no place to put it. I think we see the lowest prices of 2023 in the next 55 days,” he said.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, expects the national average will fall below $3 a gallon by Christmas, barring an event that drives oil prices higher. Even with OPEC+ reaffirming a 2 million barrel a day production cut this past week, oil prices have still fallen.
West Texas Intermediate oil futures were trading at $73.81 a barrel Thursday morning and are down 1.9% for the year so far. De Haan said a wild card for oil is the timing of the reopening of the Chinese economy, after Covid shutdowns. That would push demand sharply higher for oil and other commodities.
But for now, gasoline prices are in decline.
“$2.99 looks like a pretty strong shoe-in at this point. The question is if it’s going to be at 11 p.m. on the 23rd or 11 a.m. on the 24th,” De Haan said. Gasoline prices are wide ranging by region, with the average at $4.66 per gallon in California but already below $3 per gallon in some states, including Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama.
De Haan said the price could drop as low a $2.75 per gallon before it begins to rise again later in the winter. Refinery utilization was more than 95% last week, an unusually high level for this time of year, he added.
“Gasoline inventories saw a massive build. That’s probably going to provide refiners a little bit of ammunition to slow things down,” De Haan said.
Kloza said the U.S. currently has 26 days of supply, more than ample with the decline in demand to a four-week average of 8.4 million barrels a day.
Diesel inventories have also been growing and that could help drive down prices. The average price for diesel was $5.00 per gallon, down from $5.81 in June. Diesel is in short supply globally because Russia was a large oil and fuel exporter to Europe. As a result, diesel’s price decline has been much shallower, and its price is far from the average $3.61 a gallon it was a year ago.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia exported 2.4 million barrels a day of refined petroleum products, including more than 1.1 million barrels a day of diesel exports, according to Bank of America. About half of the refined products went to Europe.
De Haan expects diesel could eventually drop below $4. “I think diesel could fall into the $3s,” he said. “That’s the bigger factor right now in inflation. ... Gasoline is now lower than its year ago level. Gasoline has been deflationary. Diesel could drop another $1 to $1.50 a gallon,” he said.
With 272 miles of range and more room inside its walls than your first apartment, GM’s Chevy Brightdrop electric van is one of the best commercial EVs you can buy. And if you’re a Costco Executive member, you can get one for yourself or your business with an absolutely incredible $31,500 discount. (!)
Fleet electrification expert Tony Nisam took to LinkedIn yesterday to post a deal that he ran across at a Washington State Costco that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in “regular” Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in “LIMITED-TIME” Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.
Do a bit of math (add up 25,500 + 3,000 + $2,750 + 250), and you’ll calculate an almost unheard of $31,500 discount on one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market – ICE or electric. And that’s before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised at Blade Chevrolet, the Mount Vernon, Washington, where VIN 2G58J2TY6S9104313 (the exact van shown, below) is shown as stock number 16757.
If you’re not a Costco member yet and you’re looking for a new truck for your business or even a unique #vanlife ride with zero emissions, modern tech, and a nationwide dealer network, GM makes that $130 Executive membership seem like a no-brainer.
Kind of a big deal
“But wait,” says the floating, disembodied ghost of the great Billy Mays. “There’s more!” In addition to the $31,500 worth of discounts Costco Executive members get, there are deals to be had on chargers AND a number of other state and local utility incentives your business might qualify for, bringing the cost of adding a new Chevy Brightdrop to your fleet even lower. In northern Illinois, for example, ComEd commercial customers can get up to $7,500 in rebates for a new Brightdrop Zevo van.
Is a $39,000 price cut enough to get you to take a look at a new Brightdrop? At $45,235 (from a starting price of $84,235), can you afford not to? Head down to the comments and let us know.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Tony Nisam.
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Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruck’s range extender from the options in its online configurator.
Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?
When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.
The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.
Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.
As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.
However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.
Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.
Initially, Tesla said that it would come “early 2025”, but we reported that it was pushed to “mid-2025” late last year.
At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.
Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit”, as seen on the image above, but now it’s not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.
It’s unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.
In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:
Electrek’s Take
I’m curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?
At first, I was curious about the product even though I didn’t think it would make up for Tesla’s significant miss on Cybertruck specs.
However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think it’s pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.
It’s going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now that’s if it makes it to market.
With the option being removed from the configurator, there’s no production timeline available. Again, the last one was “mid-2025”, which is soon.
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Environment
EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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