States and cities filed lawsuits against U.S. agencies for weakening vehicle fuel economy standards. The Biden administration wanted cars that use less gas. The current administration reversed that. Local governments are f*cking livid about it.
Picture the legal filing. Lawyers arguing that people should be forced to buy more efficient vehicles. Lawyers on the other side arguing that people should be allowed to buy trucks that get eleven miles per gallon. Both sides billing $800 an hour. The cars remain exactly the same during the entire lawsuit.
Retail traders saw this headline and immediately searched for EV stocks to buy. They found three companies that make electric sedans nobody drives and a startup that promises to deliver a hydrogen-powered SUV in 2031. Portfolio down 40% by lunch. They blamed manipulation.
The revised standards rolled back Joe Biden's push toward electric vehicles. Biden wanted everyone driving Teslas. The new rules let people keep buying F-150s. States with large budgets and nothing better to do decided this was worth suing over. Federal agencies will spend eighteen months drafting responses. The fuel economy standards will change again before any judge reads a brief.
Here's what matters: none of this affects car prices, gas prices, or what's in your driveway. It's regulatory theater performed by people who don't pump their own gas. The lawsuit will drag on for years. Attorneys will get paid. Politicians will issue statements. You'll still be sitting in traffic in a car that costs too much and breaks too often.
Somewhere a day trader just went long on a bankrupt battery manufacturer because he thinks fuel economy lawsuits mean lithium prices will moon.
Photo by Melvin Chavez on Unsplash
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