Wired: Tesla's Model X Is Here and It's as Awesome as We Hoped
The world's first luxury electric SUV is gorgeous. It’s futuristic. And once again, Tesla Motors is redefining the electric vehicle.
The Silicon Valley automaker has teased us for years with the Model X, and tonight it finally gave the world its first look at the production model, then handed six customers the keys.
Those people now own a $130,000 electric vehicle that will go 250 miles on a charge, carry seven people and haul more stuff than anyone but a hoarder might want with him. And although the X shares much of its DNA with the impressive Model S P90D sedan, in many ways it eclipses that phenomenal car. It’s not just the design, which is futuristic without being weird. It’s not just the performance, which is holy-shit fast. And it’s not even the dramatic “falcon” doors that lift like the wings of a bird.
It’s how all of those features come together in a vehicle that somehow makes an SUV not just cool, but desirable.
Politico Pro: Carbon Capture Technology or Your Money Back
The Department of Energy will send $2.48 billion back to the Treasury this week. Pro's Darius Dixon has the story: "The refunds amount to a small portion of the $31.8 billion sent to DOE in the massive 2009 stimulus law, but they are emblematic of the struggles 'clean coal' has faced in recent years. Of the money that DOE is returning, $1.27 billion was set aside for carbon capture projects that failed to win agency approval because of cost overruns, tricky negotiations and lengthy regulatory hurdles.
Reuters: So Far, Less Pain Than Feared as U.S. Shale Firms Renew Loans
A number of U.S. shale oil and gas companies are securing unchanged or even increased credit allotments during their semi-annual loan reviews, defying expectations that banks would slash small firms' credit lines in response to low crude prices.
According to a Reuters review of disclosures made by 19 independent U.S. shale oil and gas companies since Aug. 1, at least 11 have said their borrowing bases have been or will be maintained or increased. In contrast, just five talked about cuts.
It is too early to tell if the whole sector will emerge equally largely unscathed from the reviews. Many more companies from a batch of about 60 U.S. independents typically tracked by investment banks will probably make disclosures after the usual loan reset deadline of Oct. 1.
International Business Times: Push for Clean Energy Could Help Brazil's Ailing Economy, Analysts Say
With an economy in recession and a sprawling corruption case eroding public trust in government by the day, good news has been sorely lacking in Brazil this year. But President Dilma Rousseff elicited cheers from around the world this week as she submitted a set of pledges on climate change to the United Nations, making Brazil the first major developing nation to announce specific targets to rein in carbon emissions ahead of the highly anticipated climate change conference in Paris later this year.
The announcement from Brazil, the world’s seventh-largest economy and seventh-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, was a major step to building momentum for a global climate agreement. But some analysts say the plan’s push for clean energy could also present a rare ray of hope to boost jobs, economic growth and credibility in Rousseff’s government as Brazil continues to battle one of its biggest economic and political crises in years.
Wall Street Journal: Jeb Bush’s Energy Plan Includes Dropping Oil-Export Ban
In his third policy announcement this month aimed at accelerating economic growth, Jeb Bush is calling to remove the nation’s 40-year-old ban on oil exports, approve the Keystone XL pipeline and eliminate a raft of environmental regulations.
Mr. Bush is expected to outline his energy platform Tuesday afternoon at Rice Energy, a Pennsylvania oil and gas company. Mr. Bush is promising that this agenda, along with his plans unveiled earlier this month to lower tax rates and roll back regulations on business, would generate 4% annual economic growth -- a target the U.S. hasn’t hit in a sustained way since the late 1990s.