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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The 'anti-Tesla' gives American buyers more good news
The 'anti-Tesla' gives American buyers more good news originally appeared on TheStreet. Anyone who's tried to buy a new car recently knows that the market is becoming increasingly complicated, mostly due to rising prices. Data from the consumer price index (CPI) shows that new car prices have surged 22% since 2019. Despite decreasing slightly in 2024, they are back to trending upward. Meanwhile, mounting supply chain pressure has pushed up some used car prices to more than $30,000 for the first time in two years. 💸💰Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰💸 There's no question that so far, 2025 is a seller's market for the automotive industry. On top of that, President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to spark high economic uncertainty. The combination of high prices and a deteriorating labor market makes this an especially difficult time for automakers that primarily deal in expensive vehicles, such as Tesla () . But a new company in the space recently revealed something positive for consumers. Even as car prices rise, electric vehicle (EV) demand isn't slowing down. While Industry leader Tesla TSLA has reported declining sales across multiple markets, a report from Cox Automotive shows that EV sales rose more than 11% year-over-year (YOY) in Q1 of Tesla's problem has been its inability to sell the Cybertruck, its futuristic electric truck that hasn't been as popular as the company initially estimated. Photos have shown Cybertrucks sitting idly in parking lots across the country. Some drivers who did buy them have attempted to trade them in, despite high value depreciation. For anyone seeking a fuel-efficient truck, though, a company described as the 'Anti-Tesla' is working hard to provide a much more affordable alternative. A Jeff Bezos-backed startup called Slate Automotive is turning heads with its electric pickup trucks, described as 'affordable, deeply customizable, and very analog' with no infotainment screen. Slate's small, sleek, traditional-looking trucks even come with manual windows, harking back to a previous manufacturing era. In other words, its vehicles are a stark contrast to the highly priced, futuristic Tesla Cybertruck. As The Street reports, so far, demand for these vehicles has been high, with the number of pre-reservations exceeding 100,000 as of early May. While those figures aren't sales yet, they indicate that many consumers are interested in owning a Slate truck. Now the company may be about to add even more prospective buyers to that list. Jeff Jablansky, Slate's head of public relations, recently revealed that even without EV tax credits, the company's new trucks will be priced in the 'mid-$20,000s,' making them more affordable than many used vehicles. 'When [consumers] turn to something that is more affordable, it usually has higher miles, probably is older, the condition is not as great,' he states. 'So we're working in that framework.' More EV News: Fund manager has shocking Elon Musk and Tesla prediction Tesla faces big threat from rivals in key market Honda CEO shares a bold take on the future of electric vehicles Musk initially promised that the Cybertruck would cost only $40,000 before raising its price to $100,000. However, Jablansky adds that Slate won't budge on keeping its prices below $30,000. He also believes that the company will be able to deliver on the range it has promised, something else that Tesla did not do. Trump's tariffs have raised some concerning questions for U.S. automakers, as companies brace for rising production costs and supply-chain constraints. But since Slate's trucks are being built at the company's facility in Indiana, Jablansky sees the company as shielded from the impact of these policies.'The next year and a half, pretty much till delivery, we're refining what we've done. We're not making big engineering decisions — those have been done already. At this point, we're testing, evaluating, refining,' he says. If Slate is indeed more protected than its larger peers from the impact of Trump's tariffs, the company will likely be able to deliver on its promise to keep prices low as its trucks move from the production line to the road. Additionally, if new vehicle prices continue rising, consumer incentive to buy a new brand of truck for less money is likely to remain high. Slate's strategy of creating an affordable electric truck for workers that reintroduces basic design features could be poised to pay 'anti-Tesla' gives American buyers more good news first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
National Observer
10 hours ago
- Business
- National Observer
Clean energy project cancellations top $14 billion so far in 2025
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration Businesses have cancelled or delayed more than $14 billion of investments in US clean energy projects so far this year, reflecting their uncertainty and pessimism over federal support amid President Donald Trump's climate policy retreat, industry analysts reported Thursday. The sector still is showing resilience—at least $4.2 billion in new renewable energy, grid, electric vehicle and battery projects were announced over the same time period, from January through April, according to the tracking report by the nonprofit group Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, and its research partner, Atlas Public Policy. Some 10,000 jobs are expected to be created by these newly announced projects—including an electric truck assembly plant that the Jeff Bezos-backed startup Slate Auto said it would site in Warsaw, Indiana. That's equal to the estimated number of job losses from all the clean energy projects that have been abandoned so far this year. Nevertheless, it's a sharp reversal of trends E2 tracked in the sector over the previous three years, when $127.7 billion in new clean energy project announcements outpaced cancellations at a rate of nearly 50-to-1. Officials at E2, a nonpartisan group of clean energy business leaders and investors, said it was an ominous sign as the Senate prepares to take up Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill,' the House-passed tax and spending cut package that would eliminate most of the clean energy tax credits Congress passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. 'If the tax plan passed by the House last week becomes law, expect to see construction and investments stopping in states across the country as more projects and jobs are cancelled,' said Michael Timberlake, communications director for E2. 'Businesses are now counting on Congress to come to its senses and stop this costly attack on an industry that is essential to meeting America's growing energy demand and that's driving unprecedented economic growth in every part of the country.' The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the report. The biggest of the cancellations that E2 tracked came in April. The United Auto Workers announced that Stellantis would not go forward with a $3.2 billion battery plant it planned to add to a giant shuttered assembly facility it is reopening in Belvidere, Illinois. And global energy giant RWE announced it was shuttering its US offshore wind operations 'for the time being' due to 'the political environment' in the United States. RWE had invested $1.1 billion to develop wind projects offshore of New York, Louisiana and California. While E2 tracks public announcements of new projects and cancellations, other efforts at tracking what's happening in the clean energy sector provide a more detailed picture—and in some senses, a more optimistic one. The Clean Investment Monitor, a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the consulting firm Rhodium Group, tracks actual capital spending in the quarter of all projects that have broken ground, and also includes investment in decarbonization projects at energy and industrial plants as well as consumer spending—for example, on EVs, rooftop solar and efficiency upgrades. For the first quarter of 2025, Clean Investment Monitor reported $67.3 billion in spending, a 6.9 percent increase from the same period in 2024. However, it was a 3.8 percent falloff from the previous quarter, and the second consecutive quarterly decline after an unbroken record of quarterly expansion that began in 2021. Retail purchases of clean energy technology by households and businesses clearly were the driving force in investment in early 2025, the Clean Investment Monitor reported. Its analysis, like that of E2, noted the cancellation of a number of big clean energy projects over the quarter. And it warned of the headwinds for the clean energy supply chain, not only due to uncertain federal policy but the escalation of tariffs and broader macroeconomic pressures. The American Clean Power Association (ACPA), which tracks utility-scale electricity projects, also put out its first quarter report Thursday, showing that developers installed 7.4 gigawatts of solar, wind and storage capacity, marking the second-strongest start to a year on record. (The strongest start on record was 2024, when 8 gigawatts came on line.) That brings total utility-scale clean power capacity to more than 320 gigawatts, which the association estimates is enough to power nearly 80 million US homes. Of course, that electricity is not only powering homes but also businesses, where power demand is rising sharply due to data centers. It was a record-setting quarter for battery storage capacity, which surpassed 30 gigawatts, a 65 percent increase from last year. Indiana quadrupled its energy storage capacity in just one quarter, with the help of a big system owned by the energy company AES that opened in April at the site of a former coal power plant. Texas continued to lead the nation in both utility-scale solar and land-based wind capacity, with its total clean energy portfolio reaching more than 80 gigawatts, a 20 percent increase from a year ago, ACPA said. In all, eight of the top 10 states for clean power additions in the quarter voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election. The association also saw continuing growth in the project development pipeline, with a 12 percent year-over-year increase in projects under construction or in the advanced stages of development. If all are built, it would add up to $328 billion in investment, said the group's CEO, Jason Grumet. 'Clean power is shovel-ready at scale,' he said, while echoing E2's concerns about the retreat from federal support for the sector in Washington. 'With unprecedented demand growth for electricity, we must send consistent investment signals across the energy sector,' Grumet said. 'The greatest threat to a reliable energy system is an unreliable political system.'
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
Morning Midas, ship carrying 3,000 cars, abandoned after fire on electric vehicle deck
Morning Midas, ship carrying 3,000 cars, abandoned after fire on electric vehicle deck Show Caption Hide Caption Porsche sees market value cut in half amid billions in EV losses Porsche is dealing with financial difficulties after reporting billions of dollars in losses on its electric vehicle investments. Straight Arrow News A cargo ship carrying around 3,000 vehicles, including 800 electric vehicles, caught fire off the coast of Alaska June 3, causing its crew to be evacuated – its operator Zodiac Maritime confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY. The 22 crew members on the Morning Midas were abandoned the ship after they failed to put out the fire, Zodiac said in the June 4 statement. Zodiac said that there were no injuries to crew members, who were evacuated via lifeboat and transferred to a nearby merchant vessel in tandem with the U.S. Coast Guard. USA TODAY reached out to the Guard for comment on the incident Wednesday afternoon but did not receive an immediate response. Smoke was initially seen rising from a deck carrying electric vehicles, the company said. Zodiac did not disclose what specific models the vessel was carrying in its statement. "The relevant authorities have been notified, and we are working closely with emergency responders with a tug being deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations," the statement reads. The Liberian-flagged ship was located 300 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska, the Coast Guard said on its X account, and had left China's Yantai port on May 26 with a final destination of Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, according to LSEG data. In case you missed it: Slate EV to take on Elon Musk's Tesla; what to know about the Jeff Bezos-backed EV Electric vehicle fires cause trouble on seas EV-related fires on ships are challenging to extinguish due to the heat generated and risk of reignition, which could persist for days. In 2022, a ship carrying 4,000 luxury cars, including Porsches and Bentleys, sank off the Portuguese Azores archipelago nearly two weeks after it caught fire. Fires onboard vessels, particularly on container ships, car carriers and roll-on/roll-off ships are a big concern for insurers. Such incidents across all vessel segments hit the highest level in a decade in 2024, according to insurer Allianz Commercial. "The reality is the risk remains significant due to the size of these ships and the complexities involved in firefighting and salvage," Allianz said in its 2025 safety and shipping review report. This story has been updated with new information. Contributing: Reuters
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Chevron, Essential Utilities, And Horace Mann Educators Are Winners For Passive Income
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Companies with a long history of paying dividends and consistently hiking them remain appealing to income-focused investors. Chevron, Essential Utilities, and Horace Mann Educators have rewarded shareholders for years and recently announced dividend increases. These companies currently offer dividend yields of around 3% to 5%. Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) is an integrated energy company that produces crude oil, natural gas, and other essential products in the U.S. and internationally. Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Invest Where It Hurts — And Help Millions Heal: Chevron has increased its dividends consecutively for the last 38 years. In its latest dividend hike announcement on Jan. 31, the board raised the quarterly payout by 5% to $1.71 per share, equal to an annual figure of $6.84 per share. More recently, in its quarterly earnings release on May 2, the company maintained the payout at the same level. Currently, the dividend yield on the stock is 5.03%. The company's annual revenue as of March 31 stood at $192.94 billion. In its Q1 2025 earnings report on May 2, it posted revenues of $47.61 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $48.08 billion, while EPS of $2.18 matched expectations. Check out this article by Benzinga, which analyzes the surge in Chevron's options activity. Trending: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to . Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, and natural gas services in the U.S. Essential Utilities has increased its dividends every year for the last 33 years. In its most recent dividend hike announcement on July 31, it raised the quarterly payout by 6% to $0.3255 per share, equaling an annual figure of $1.302 per share. More recently, in its dividend announcement on Feb. 19, the company maintained the payout at the same level. The dividend yield on the stock is 3.42%. The company's annual revenue as of March 31 stood at $2.26 billion. In its Q1 2025 earnings report on May 12, the company posted revenues of $783.63 million and EPS of $1.03, both beating the consensus estimates. How is the market feeling about Essential Utilities? Check out this article by Benzinga to learn Mann Educators Corp. (NYSE:HMN) is an insurance holding company, offering products primarily to educators and other employees of public schools and their families in the U.S. The company has raised its dividends consecutively for the last 15 years. According to its most recent dividend hike announcement on March 3, the company's board increased the quarterly payout by 3% to $0.35 per share, which is equal to an annual figure of $1.40 per share. More recently, in its dividend announcement on May 14, the company maintained the payout at the same level. Currently, the dividend yield is 3.23%. Horace Mann Educators' annual revenue as of March 31 stood at $1.57 billion. In its Q1 2025 earnings report on May 6, the company posted revenues of $416.40 million, missing the consensus estimate of $420.15 million, while EPS of $1.07 came in above the consensus of $0.94. Chevron, Essential Utilities, and Horace Mann Educators are good choices for investors seeking reliable passive income. Their dividend yields of around 3% to 5% and long history of consistent hikes make them attractive to income-focused investors. Lower interest rates mean some investments won't yield what they did in months past, but you don't have to lose those gains. Certain private market real estate investments are giving retail investors the opportunity to capitalize on these high-yield opportunities. , which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate. The best part? Unlike other private credit funds, Looking for fractional real estate investment opportunities? The features the latest offerings. Image: Shutterstock Send To MSN: 0 This article Why Chevron, Essential Utilities, And Horace Mann Educators Are Winners For Passive Income originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
First-Time Real Estate Investor Opens Up: '$700K Duplex, Permit Issues, And A Nightmare Tenant'—Plus A $20,000 Fine
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. A first-time real estate investor in the Northeast shared a raw, detailed account on Reddit about the highs and lows of jumping into property ownership. In the post, the 38-year-old immigrant described buying a $700,000 duplex with big dreams of financial freedom—and the harsh lessons that followed. '$700K duplex, permit issues, and a nightmare tenant—I'm feeling overwhelmed,' he wrote, summing up his experience in the post's title. The investor explained that despite earning roughly $12,000 a month after taxes and having no consumer debt, his first year as a landlord has been anything but smooth. 'I'm new to real estate investing—and honestly, to investing in general,' he wrote. 'I wasn't raised in the U.S., and I don't have anyone in my network who could've guided me.' Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Invest Where It Hurts — And Help Millions Heal: After putting 3.5% down using a Federal Housing Administration loan and closing in summer 2023, he moved into the downstairs unit and renovated the upstairs for Section 8 tenants. He rented it out for $3,350 a month. Encouraged by that success, he spent another $45,000 to convert the basement into an Airbnb unit, which started strong and brought in over $7,000 in revenue and $6,000 in profit between November and December. But a plumbing issue late last year uncovered more than just a leak. 'The repair has cost me around $30K so far,' he said. Worse yet, inspections revealed the renovation was done without permits—something he said he was unaware was required. That oversight may now result in an additional $20,000 in fines. Trending: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to . The upstairs tenant has also become a major source of stress. While rent is paid on time, he described the tenant as 'loud, combative, and causing me serious stress.' He's now initiating eviction proceedings, even as the tenant threatens legal action against him. 'If I keep her, I will ruin my mental health,' he told commenters. 'My tenant wasn't inherited ... I actually selected them... but again lessons.' With a mortgage that recently rose to $6,600 per month due to a tax reassessment, and only $6,300 in rental income from both Airbnb and Section 8, he says he's just breaking even. 'At least I'm not coming out of pocket,' he ahead, he's planning to move into the basement and convert both the upstairs and downstairs units into full-time Airbnbs. 'One is a 3-bedroom and the other is a beautiful 1-bedroom—I believe this pivot could help me recover from all the unexpected costs,' he wrote. Despite the challenges, he remains optimistic and committed to his financial goals. 'I'm proud of what I've built, but I've made a lot of costly mistakes, and now I'm feeling discouraged.' Reddit users flooded the thread with support and advice. One summed it up: 'Everything is hard before it's easy. The first property is just about learning. As long as it doesn't lose you money, the education is the value.' . With over $1 million in dividends paid out last quarter and a growing selection of properties across various markets, Arrived offers an attractive alternative for investors seeking to build a diversified real estate portfolio. In October 2024, Arrived sold The Centennial, achieving a total return of 34.7% (11.2% average annual returns) for investors. Arrived aims to continue delivering similar value across our portfolio through careful market selection, attentive property management, and thoughtful timing in sales. Looking for fractional real estate investment opportunities? The features the latest To MSN: 0 This article First-Time Real Estate Investor Opens Up: '$700K Duplex, Permit Issues, And A Nightmare Tenant'—Plus A $20,000 Fine originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
