EV Money More Red Than Green?

Is money where the rubber meets the EV road? Chevron now bets “Green Energy has peaked” & buys Hess for $53B after Exxon shelled out $60B for a shale giant. Then, GM “taps its brakes on EV plans as buyers hesitate” to buy over-hyped green guzzlers.

The WSJ editorial board followed the money this way: “The climate lobby’s pronouncements that the end of fossil fuels is nigh appear as premature as warnings two decades ago that supply would soon run out. Chevron on Monday announces a $53 billion bid for Hess Corp. Because it knows the world will need oil & gas for the foreseeable future no matter how much politicians subsidize green energy. Chevron’s Hess acquisition comes on the heels of Exxon Mobil’s $60B tie-up- with Pioneer National Resources.” How could this be when Uncle Joe keeps tilting billions at the EV windmill, er, conversion? Explained the editors: “Higher interest rates are prompting consolidation across the US economy, as smaller, less-capitalized companies struggle to borrow. Oil & gas giants are flush with cash owning to the run-up in prices over the past two years.”

Meanwhile, strike victim General Motors, the WSJ notes in a separate article, “is abandoning a self-imposed target to build 400K electric vehicles by mid-2024, [another] sign automakers are concerned about the viability of the market for battery-powered cars.” GM posted strong profits, but that’s largely thanks to the ongoing popularity of oil guzzling vehicles like the Silverado truck while it is having trouble energizing the EV market thanks to high prices & low delivery on efficiency promises. Losing $200M a week on the UAW strike ain’t helping, ironically because the rank & file are worried about losing their jobs to EV mania. In short, consumers & unions can follow the money just as smartly as companies.

Davd Soul