Current conditions: Firefighters in South Korea are struggling to contain wildfires that have charred more than 36,000 acres • Reports of fire ant stings in Australia have exploded in recent weeks after torrential rain from Cyclone Alfred forced the invasive pests above ground • Temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, breaking a daily heat record in place since 1990. Today is expected to be even hotter.
THE TOP FIVE
1. BYD overtakes Tesla with $100 billion in annual sales
China’s BYD reported annual sales over $100 billion for the first time, dealing yet another blow to its chief U.S. rival, Tesla. The company’s shares have risen by 91% over the past 12 months. Tesla, by contrast, has yet to hit $100 billion in annual revenue, and its shares have dropped about 30% since the start of 2025, wiping out its post-election bump.
Tesla sales have been falling in some key markets in response to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration and his meddling in European politics. In a poll provided to Heatmap last month, nearly half of likely U.S. voters said that Musk’s behavior had made them less likely to buy or lease a Tesla. As Bloomberg noted, BYD doesn’t sell in the U.S. due to tariffs on Chinese cars, “but it’s made big inroads into markets in Europe, places in Asia like Singapore and Thailand, as well as Australia.” On Sunday it rolled out its Qin L EV, which is a rival to Tesla’s Model 3 electric sedan, at half the price.
BYD
2. A clean energy lobbying blitz is about to descend on Washington
More than 100 clean energy companies, trade associations, and other industry stakeholders are descending on Capitol Hill this week to amplify an ongoing lobbying push to preserve clean energy tax credits in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill, Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo reports. Their mission? Convince Republicans on the House Ways and Means committee that the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are key to executing President Trump’s energy agenda.
The Ways and Means Committee oversees tax writing, meaning that it will be responsible for proposing which of Trump’s tax cuts to include in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill, how to pay for them, and which of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits should stay or go. Although the Senate will also have a say, the signal in Washington right now is that whatever version of the bill the House passes is going to be pretty close to the final bill. “That’s why it’s so important for any Republican members who see the benefit of what’s happening in their communities and how their constituents are saving money on energy to be talking to their colleagues right now in Ways and Means,” said Andrew Reagan, the executive director of Clean Energy for America. Pontecorvo spoke with Reagan about this week’s lobbying push. Read their full conversation here.
3. Hyundai to invest $21 billion in U.S.
Hyundai Motor Group announced on Monday it plans to build a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana, part of a larger $21 billion investment in the South Korean automaker’s U.S.-based manufacturing operations. The company’s executives held a joint press conference at the White House to unveil the plans alongside President Trump and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. The plant will produce 2.7 million tons of steel a year to be used to make Hyundai vehicles (and cars for its sister brands Kia and Genesis) at Hyundai plants in Alabama and Georgia. Other manufacturers may also use the steel.
Trump said the announcement was proof that his tariff threats work, but it’s also considered a boost for electric vehicles. The $21 billion investment includes money for projects to build more hybrids and EVs, EV batteries, and charging infrastructure in the U.S. Last year, Hyundai was America’s second best-selling EV maker. Tomorrow it will celebrate the recent opening of its new EV and battery plant in Georgia.
4. SCOTUS puts an end to landmark youth climate case
The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it will not hear an appeal in a landmark youth-led climate case, putting an end to the 10-year legal battle. In Juliana v. United States, 21 young people sued the federal government, arguing it violated their constitutional rights by rolling out policies supporting fossil fuel usage. A lower court dismissed the suit in 2020, saying that the court system was not the right place to argue about climate change and that “the plaintiffs’ impressive case for redress must be presented to the political branches of government.” This case has served as a framework for other environmental lawsuits in recent years, some of them successful. A plaintiff in one of those cases said Juliana had “left an indelible mark on the landscape of climate litigation.”
5. Commonwealth Fusion System begins assembling its SPARC tokamak
U.S.-based fusion power company Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced today it has started building its SPARC tokamak in Devens, Massachusetts. CFS says that by 2027, its SPARC tokamak will be “the world’s first commercially relevant fusion energy machine to produce more energy from fusion than it needs to power the process.” This month the company installed the tokamak’s cryostat base, which will help to keep the system’s magnets cool. With assembly of SPARC underway, “we can now see the beginnings of the actual machine we’ll use to prove the commercial viability of our technology,” the company said in a press release.
THE KICKER
Researchers in Europe have developed a highly-efficient transparent solar cell that could pave the way for solar windows.
BYD
