Musk announcement the decision via X — the social media site he purcahsed two years ago — on Saturday. The Tesla CEO was expected to visit India early next week to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year," Musk wrote.
Elon Musk.
Antonio Masiello via Getty Images
Musk didn't publicly share many details about the trip, but sources told Reuters he planned to announce a $2 to $3 billion investment in India. Musk wants to build a new factory in India, where the EV market is tiny but gaining steam, thet outlet reported.
Musk hinted at India's growing EV market in an X post last week.
"India commits to sell only electric cars by 2030. It is already the largest market for solar power," he wrote.
BI reported in early April that Musk's Tesla has struggled to compete in China's EV market as rival companies make "aggressive price cuts." An equities strategist told BI that Tesla's troubles in China likely contributed to the company's first-quarter delivery miss.
Tesla also recently recalled almost 4,000 of its Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedals. Musk wrote on X that Tesla was unaware of any "injuries or accidents" related to the problem.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File
Sergey Lavrov suggested that Russia likely intended to launch an operation to seize Kharkiv.
He is the first senior Kremlin official to identify the city as a potential target.
He said the city is important in Russia's "sanitary zone" plans to protect its borders.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has strongly suggested that Russia intends to seize the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, making him the first senior Kremlin official to identify the city as a potential target outright.
During a radio interview with Russian state propagandists, Lavrov said Ukraine's second-largest city had "an important role" in Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to create a demilitarized "sanitary zone" to protect Russian border regions from Ukrainian attacks, the think tank the Institute for the Study of War said in an update on the conflict on Friday.
Moscow has already made it clear that it believes the only way to defend Russian territory is through such a buffer zone, which would put its settlements out of reach of Ukrainian fire.
"Against the backdrop of drone attacks and the shelling of our territory: public facilities, residential buildings, measures must be taken to secure these territories," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in March.
"They can only be secured by creating some kind of buffer zone so that any means that the enemy uses to strike us are out of range," he added.
Russia has ramped up its attack on Kharkiv in recent weeks, bombarding the city with missiles, guided bombs, and drones in what officials believe is an attempt to cut the city off from supplies and force the evacuation of civilians, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials.
In March, the commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform that he could not ignore reports about Russia's plans to attack Kharkiv and that his troops were preparing for such an event.
"We are carrying out a whole complex of works on the fortification of territories and positions, installing a complex system of fences, and planning the use of our troops in the event of such actions," he said.
Putin has wanted to take Kharkiv since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The city has symbolic as well as strategic value for the Russian president, as it has a majority Russian-speaking population and was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Russia lost nearly all of the territory it had gained in the wider Kharkiv region in 2022 after a rapid Ukrainian counterattack resulted in one of Ukraine's most significant victories of the conflict.
During interviews with the radio stations Sputnik, Govorit Moskva, and Komsomolskaya Pravda, Lavrov also said that Russia was willing to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but that doing so would be "pointless for many reasons," Russian news agency Tass reported.
He added that Russia would not halt its military operation in the event of future talks.
Chinese automaker BYD briefly eclipsed Tesla as the world's top seller of electric vehicles.
Even without access to the American market, BYD's affordable EVs are popular in China.
Here's how a little-known Chinese brand proved it could go toe-to-toe with an industry giant.
BYD may not be a household name in America, but it recently made itself known in a big way.
For a brief moment earlier this year, the Chinese automaker unseated Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars.
Even though you won't see a BYD car in America (yet), the company has built an affordable brand that's popular in China and elsewhere.
Here's the story of the company that proved it could outsell Elon Musk.
BYD doesn't stand for anything — officially.
The BYD nameplate is associated with the slogan "Build Your Dreams," but that came after the company was formed.
picture alliance
Wang Chuanfu and a cousin founded BYD in 1995. Then a 29-year-old government researcher, Wang came from a family of rice farmers. He earned a university scholarship and eventually moved to the Special Economic Zone in Shenzhen to start his new company.
The "YD" in the name comes from Yadi, the village in Shenzhen where the company was originally located, according to one South Korean newspaper. The "B" was added later, supposedly as a promotional tool. Wang has said in interviews that, taken together, the "BYD" name didn't stand for anything in particular.
It was only later that Wang derived the slogan "Build Your Dreams." The company has also acquired another nickname: "Bring Your Dollars."
The company was originally a cell phone battery manufacturer.
Hu Jintao, China's vice president in the 1990s, tests a Samsung cellphone. Samsung was one of BYD's earliest customers.
Kim Jae-Hwang/AFP via Getty Images
The company's original business wasn't cars. It was cellphone batteries. BYD challenged established Japanese suppliers Toyota and Sony by providing a cheaper alternative. By 2002, companies like Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung were all using BYD batteries.
They started making cars in 2003.
Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images
BYD moved into the car business after buying Xi'an Tsinchuan, a failing state-owned automaker that was then an arm of defense contractor Norinco, according to the South China Morning Post.
The company launched its first car in 2005. The BYD F3 was a compact sedan that resembled the Toyota Corolla. It sold for as little as 40,000 yuan, or about $5,850.
Warren Buffett was a key early booster.
Wang Chuanfu (left) welcomed investors Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates to celebrate the launch of the BYD M6 in 2010.
Visual China Group via Getty Images
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett was one of the high-profile names to take interest in BYD early on. Looking to invest in China's booming car market, Buffett toured BYD's headquarters.
While the Berkshire Hathaway tycoon was there, Wang reportedly took a sip of battery fluid to prove how clean his batteries were, according to The Wall Street Journal. Buffett was so impressed by the experience, he offered to buy 25% of the company.
Wang declined that offer, but Buffett was not deterred. Berkshire Hathaway acquired a 10% stake in BYD — for $232 million — in 2008.
Their first electric car drew scorn from Elon Musk.
Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images
The company debuted its first fully electric vehicle, the e6, in 2010. Benefiting from Chinese government subsidies, it was able to compete with its Japanese counterparts.
But not everyone was impressed. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in a 2011 interview, laughed when he was asked whether he considered BYD a serious rival to Tesla.
"Have you seen their car?" he said. "I don't think they make a good product. I don't think it's particularly attractive. The technology is not very strong."
BYD's hybrid cars turned it into a titan of Chinese automakers.
Wang Chuanfu introduced the BYD Qin in 2012.
AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan
BYD established itself as one of the top automakers for hybrid vehicles in China in the 2010s. Its most popular offering was the Qin, introduced in 2012, which became one of the bestselling cars in China.
That wasn't the only offering that propelled BYD to prominence, however. The company also released the Tang, a hybrid SUV, and partnered with Daimler AG (now Mercedes-Benz) to make its Denza line.
BYD took the EV crown from Tesla — briefly.
A BYD ATTO 3 in Bangkok.
Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Even though most of its sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 came from the Chinese market, BYD made headlines across the globe when it seemingly did the impossible — it unseated Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars.
The Chinese automaker rode the EV wave on the back of its new Seagull, which debuted for 73,000 yuan (about $10,000), as well as its Song, Qin Plus, Dolphin, Yuan Plus, and Han EVs.
Tesla reclaimed the crown in the first quarter of 2024, though both companies saw steep declines in their sales.
Don't expect to see a BYD car on American roads anytime soon.
New BYD cars wait to be loaded onto a ship in China's Shandong province.
Future Publishing
For a time, it looked like we were just a few years away from getting Chinese electric cars in the United States. A BYD executive said as much in 2017, and the company even hired Leonardo DiCaprio as a brand ambassador for English-speaking customers.
But the company says it has abandoned its plans of selling its EVs to Americans. Analysts have pointed to geopolitical tensions and trade barriers between the two countries, as well as the slumping demand for EVs in the United States.
Taylor J. Swift said he has to work to get people to take him seriously in his political job but he likes his name.
Courtesy of Taylor J. Swift
Taylor J. Swift said in high school he was teased for having the same name as the famous pop singer.
At his current job, in politics, he uses his name to stand out and make lighthearted conversations.
Swift said he has to work to get people to take him seriously.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Taylor J. Swift, a 30-year-old at the POPVOX Foundation in Washington, DC. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was 15 when I heard about the singer Taylor Swift for the first time. At first, I thought, no big deal, she's a singer with a hit song or two, this won't impact me — but I was wrong. As time continued, I started to find it frustrating.
I was just a kid trying to live my life, and I was now sharing a name with a big singer. Additionally, I had just moved back to Ohio to live with my dad, so I was the new kid at school, with the name Taylor Swift. To top it off, I had a Justin Bieber haircut, I had glasses, and I was on the debate team, it wasn't a fun time.
Similar to most kids, I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be, but a couple of high school bullies and a choir teacher who would make jokes about my name didn't help. When it came time to go to college, and I was getting ready for a fresh start, I knew I had two choices. I could change my name, or I could start fresh and embrace it.
It took a lot of self-realization, but after a while, I decided I'd run with Taylor Swift instead of choosing the name TJ, an abbreviation of my first and middle name. I remember thinking, I was given this name for a reason, and I'm going to grow, and become who I'm meant to become with it.
Even though my name comes up in every social interaction, including in my political career, I've decided to embrace it, have fun with it, and see it as an overall positive. I like my name and I think it has helped me more than it has hurt me, even at work.
My name helps me stand out at work
As someone who works in the congressional advocacy space, where I help advocate for things like better wages, pay benefits, and technology, it helps to have a name like mine because people usually remember it. When I introduce myself to new staffers, new constituents, new lawmakers, or interns, they'll remember me for weeks, and sometimes even months later. That's a good thing.
When you're in my line of work you meet a lot of people. At some point, it feels very transactional. So, it's good to have something that helps you stand out — for me, it's my name. When people remember my name they also remember the ball I'm trying to push forward, and that's what's important.
I use my name to make conversations more light-hearted
With my work, we host an event where we onboard our congressional interns in Congress. With this event, our main goal is to help reduce their anxiety when it comes to networking, and we try to show them their work as interns truly matters. At the event, when my name comes up on the big screen in front of roughly 350 interns, people in the crowd start to chuckle. Then they think, maybe I shouldn't laugh.
It's weird to laugh at someone's name — I get it. To make them feel less weird about it, I pause, grab the microphone, and say, "Yes, my name is Taylor Swift. Please feel free to make jokes, I'll just shake it off, later," a Taylor Swift reference. Then everybody laughs and they become more comfortable.
When at work, I'll use other song lyric references, like, "I know this project has been hard, but 'we're not out of the woods yet'" and "I know, this mistake was my fault. 'I'm the problem. It's me.'"
Political work can be stressful, so if making a joke about my name makes someone laugh, smile, or remember me, I do it.
Getting people to take me seriously takes work
At first, people may think, who is this person? How can I trust someone with the name Taylor Swift? With that said, I have to work to get people to take me seriously.
In the past, I think my name has thrown people off a bit. But, then as I engage in conversation with them, or if I'm briefing a member of Congress, or holding some sort of meeting, they see I'm serious about the work we're doing. I very much take pride in the work that we do, and after a minute, or two, people see how dedicated I am to the cause we're working on and my name doesn't take away from that.
I use my middle initial to help avoid confusion
When I do interviews with the press, I ask them to please quote me as Taylor J. Swift, so no one confuses me as the pop singer. This way, no one wonders why Taylor Swift (without the J) is speaking on congressional modernization and oversight. I also include the "J" on my business cards or when applying to jobs, to avoid confusion.
Even still, people do wonder. For example, just this past weekend, I booked a dinner reservation for two under the name Taylor Swift. I could tell the hostess seemed a bit disappointed when I showed up. Like normal, they joked about how I wasn't the real Taylor Swift, so I just laughed and said, I hear it all the time but I just shake it off.
I now think, that if my name is the biggest struggle I have in life, I'm doing OK. It feels trivial to believe otherwise.
If your name has an effect on your career or job and you want to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at mlogan@businessinsider.com
The Celebrity Apex ship hosted some 500 passengers all from Canada's Newfoundland province.
picture alliance vis Getty Images
500 passengers on a Caribbean cruise were from Canada's East-coast province, reports said.
The Celebrity Apex ship hosted a special party for the Newfoundlanders.
One passenger said it was amusing to hear the distinct Newfoundland accent when walking around the ship.
Passengers aboard a Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month were surprised when it turned out that 500 were all from Canada's easternmost province, said reports.
The cruise, which left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 6 to sail around the Caribbean, hosted 3,000 guests of which 250 couples, came from Newfoundland, or were Newfoundlanders living in other parts of the world.
In pictures from the voyage, the contingent can be seen wearing t-shirts with the Newfoundland and Labrador flag on the front and draping the flag over their deck chairs.
500 people on a cruise to the Caribbean realized they were from Newfoundland.
The cruise line roped off a main pool area to host a party exclusively for the Newfoundlanders on board, which turned into a full kitchen party with music from the East Coast. 📸: The Canadian Press pic.twitter.com/uUP3b5ILEl
Passenger Pam Pardy, told CBC News that she had been amused by how frequently she heard the distinct Newfoundland accent and local phrases when walking around the ship.
"You get your lounge chair and the girl next to us dropped her sunglasses, and she goes, 'Oh me glasses, I can't leave they' — everybody understood what everybody else was saying," Pardy said, per CBC.
She told CBC that she had booked the trip more than a year in advance, though she later learned from her travel agent that a large group of Newfoundlanders had also booked on to the same cruise.
"From what I understand, it was just a total fluke," Pardy said.
Pardy admitted that her first thought of vacationing on a ship with her fellow Newfoundlanders filled her with dread. "I was kind of like, 'Oh God, that's going to be horrible," she told BBC News.
But the sense of community between the guests, Pardy said, was special and unique. "There was something familiar and comforting, but at the same time exotic," she told the BBC, adding the weather in Newfoundland is "a real big drag."
On the last night of the voyage, the Newfoundlanders gathered on the deck to take a group picture and sing the Ode to Newfoundland, the province's official anthem.
Celebs rushed to the defense of Lauren Sanchez this week after NYC restaurateur Keith McNally insulted her appearance in an Instagram post.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
NYC restaurateur Keith McNally insulted Lauren Sánchez in an apparently unprompted Instagram post.
Celebrities defended Sánchez, an Emmy-winning former news anchor and fiancée of Jeff Bezos.
This is not McNally's first controversy. He's also insulted James Corden and Adele on Instagram.
Restaurateur Keith McNally, who's no stranger to controversial Instagram posts, has made a habit out of insulting celebrities. And his latest target is Lauren Sánchez, the fiancée of one of the most powerful people in the world, Jeff Bezos.
But with some major heavyweights in her corner, Sánchez has the upper hand.
McNally, who owns more than a dozen restaurants including NYC's famed Balthazar, wrote a seemingly out-of-the-blue Instagram post attacking Sánchez and Bezos on Monday.
"Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos' New wife — Lauren Sanchez — ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING?" he wrote in the original post, accompanied by a series of pictures of the couple, according to The Cut. "What an ugly and Fucking SMUG – LOOKING couple they make. Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?"
McNally's post was later edited, though, as of Friday, it read: "What a Bizarre-looking couple. Is this what having 1000 billion dollars does to people?"
But before McNally watered down his insults, Sánchez's reputation proved she was not to be trifled with.
Scores of celebrities rushed to defend Sanchez, also an actress, pilot, philanthropist, and founder of an aerial filming company. Her relationship with Bezos became public after Bezos' divorce from MacKenzie Scott in 2019. Since then, the two have been pictured in the throes of unabashed fun, often aboard Bezos' $500-million yacht, as Sánchez's reputation as a mover-and-shaker attracts a growing rank of diehard fans.
Chrissy Teigen commented on McNally's post, writing, "She's actually incredibly dynamic, accomplished and kind, and everyone who knows her would say the same."
Jessica Seinfeld, who's married to Jerry Seinfeld, wrote in a since-deleted post, "This post is a reflection of your twisted, pitiful, and hideous mind. Lauren has twice the character you do," according to The Cut.
And MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle commented that Sánchez is "accomplished, kind, smart and loved," adding that McNally's post was "mean for no reason," The Cut reported.
Though Sánchez herself has not directly reacted to McNally's insults, she did follow them with a few Instagram Stories calling for kindness.
In a Story posted on Tuesday, which is no longer viewable, Sánchez shared a quote that read, "People will love you. People will hate you. And none of it will have anything to do with you," according to The Independent.
Sánchez also shared a quote attributed to fashion designer Rachel Zoe. "Lead with kindness, root for other people, cheer for those you love. Just honestly wish everyone the best," it read, according to The Independent.
Representatives for McNally and Sánchez did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
If his edited-down post is any indication, McNally sure learned the hard way not to mess with Sánchez, or her famous friends.
But, this is not McNally's first rodeo — the restaurant owner has insulted other big names in recent years too, some more warranted than others.
McNally accused Corden of being abusive to his staff at Balthazar on two occasions, saying that during one visit to the SoHo hotspot Corden yelled "like crazy" at servers and in another visit, was "nasty" to the restaurant manager. McNally called Corden a "tiny Cretin of a man" on Instagram and said Corden was banned from the restaurant.
But, McNally said that after Corden had called and "apologized profusely," he would be allowed back.
However, the beef didn't stop there. Corden told The New York Times a few days later that he didn't do anything wrong, leading McNally to strike back. In another Instagram screed, McNally mocked Corden's acting skills, insulted his fanbase, and urged him to admit wrongdoing.
The issue appeared to die down after Corden later apologized on-air.
Megastar Adele has also been the subject of McNally's disdain, which in her case, appeared to be unprompted.
In 2023, McNally attacked the singer-songwriter on Instagram, calling her appearance on Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" segment "profoundly inauthentic," "sickening," and "HORSE SHIT."
He wrote that Adele's "make-up was so hideously overdone and fingernails so long she resembled a particularly scary Cruella de Vil."
I began working fully remote roles immediately after graduating college in the spring of 2020.
While remote work is glorified for its flexibility, I found myself lonely and stuck inside.
I quit my dream job to get out of the house more and integrate into my community.
In the spring of 2020, my life felt like it was squeezed between the palms of an arm wrestling match. With graduation approaching, messages from our professors and parents relayed like narratives: Time to go out into the world. But this world looked different than what they had experienced post-grad; it was shuttered amid a pandemic.
Cities were emptying, companies were folding, and the consensus was to do anything but go out. As I delved into an arduous job search, remote work began to seem like an attractive option — albeit my only one.
I finally landed my dream job, but that remote lifestyle became my downfall.
Remote work seemed like the perfect fit at first
My TikTok is often filled with videos depicting life after college: quiet commutes, mundane work days, monotonous routines, and lonely houses. In many ways, remote work seemed to circumvent that notorious corporate slog. No time wasted sitting on the freeway or train; no dress code, nor need to cover tattoos; no dog or human sitter; no fluorescent lights or cubicles.
When I landed my dream job at a high-profile magazine, I thought it was perfect. The job would allow me to live in a coastal town rather than move to the city. I could play my jazz records, take yoga breaks, and spread out all over the floor of my living room. Most importantly, it would allow me to visit my family freely and for as long as I liked.
The pandemic padded my transition to full-time remote work. Since nearly everyone else stayed home, too, it felt normal to be stuck inside from morning to night.
But things changed when the pandemic rules lessened
I quickly found myself growing restless. Before lockdown, I had spent all day every day out of the house. With a full-time remote role, I quickly became frustrated with staying indoors all day. These feelings only intensified as my job became increasingly more demanding, leaving me unable to get out before dark.
In 2022, I moved to San Francisco, a decision made possible by my fully remote role. While I was grateful for the freedom to live wherever I wanted, my job had never felt so controlling. With little opportunity to step away from my bedroom desk during work hours, my ability to get acquainted with my new home city was stunted. Even with several great roommates and a solid base of friends in the Bay, I felt entirely disconnected from the community.
My days were spent communicating with people through a screen. I was existing in a world largely immaterial; collaborating over Slack and Microsoft Teams and Airtable and Google Docs and Sprinklr — everything but a physical table.
I realized that as a remote worker, you lack both your second (work) and third (social) places. Social media and Microsoft Teams are not adequate replacements for these spaces — if anything, they exacerbate the need for them.
I eventually traded in my good-on-paper job for a better day-to-day life
I've always been ambitious and hardworking. But sometime last year, I felt that while I was excelling as a journalist, I was failing as a 25-year-old.
Ultimately, I left my remote job in pursuit of a freelance schedule that would give me the space to integrate myself into San Francisco. I wanted to bring more dimension and spontaneity to my life — to get a little lost, bump into people, and create a new routine based on my environment, not my inbox.
I'm very lucky to be in a position to do so. I'm a single person in a flexible living situation with no dependents, and my industry offers more possibilities for freelance work than most.
Now, while my career feels more precarious, my days are rounded and diverse. My work is a combination of in-person and remote. I can get outside, work in cafés, and connect with people during "work hours."
If you had told me a year ago that I'd be trading my role at a high-profile magazine to work part-time at a yoga studio and struggle as a freelance writer, I'd be afraid for the future. And I still am — but my anxiety about the future is insignificant compared to how anxious and discontent I was in my day-to-day life working remotely. I would rather be slightly rattled by "what now" than saddled with "what if."
An electric vehicle charges in Torrance, California.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
EV Charger Reviews evaluated the most electric vehicle-friendly states.
They evaluated states based on factors including electricity costs and state tax credits.
Maine was ranked the top state for EVs, followed by Colorado and Vermont.
Around 8% of all cars sold last year were electric vehicles. That's 1.2 million EVs sold in the US alone in 2023.
As more car owners make the switch to sustainable energy, the infrastructure around EV ownership becomes factored into decisions like choosing a place to live and buying a home.
The electric-vehicle resource website EV Charger Reviews determined the best states to own an electric vehicle by studying the same factors in each state: the number of registered EVs, electricity cost, the number of electric vehicles per charging port, tax credit amounts, annual gas savings, the ratio of a square mile per one charging port, and the number of electric vehicles per service center.
EV Charger Reviews used data from sources such as the US Department of Energy, the US Census Bureau, and the US Energy Information Administration to evaluate the EV factors in all 50 states. Each factor was assigned a numerical score and ranking, which helped determine the states' overall scores.
Here are the top 10 most EV-friendly states.
10. Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island.
Mihai_Andritoiu/Shutterstock
EV Charger Reviews reported Rhode Island has 4,300 registered electric vehicles and a ratio of 14 EVs per charging port throughout the state. Rhode Island also offers electric vehicle owners a $2,500 tax incentive to encourage more residents to make the switch. However, Rhode Island's electricity is the fifth most expensive out of any state.
Rhode Island earned a total score of 64.56, ranking it 10th overall.
9. Delaware
Dover, Delaware.
Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
Delaware's $2,500 EV tax rebate, numerous service centers, charging ports every 10 miles, and affordable electricity make it the ninth-best state for EV owners.
It earned a total score of 64.75 from EV Charger Reviews.
8. Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts.
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Massachusetts has nearly 50,000 registered EVs with charging ports every 3 square miles, EV Charger Reviews found. Its $3,500 tax incentive also makes EV ownership appealing, even though service center and electricity costs are higher than average.
Massachusetts earned a total score of 65.94, ranking it eighth.
7. Kansas
Topeka, Kansas.
Real Window Creative/Shutterstock
In Kansas, charging ports are only available every 149 square miles. The annual tax incentive of $2,400 also comes with a registration fee of up to $100.
However, with a ratio of 14 EVs per charging port, EV Charger Reviews found that the state has "one of the best charging infrastructures in the US," earning a score of 66.21.
6. California
Los Angeles, California.
Neal Pritchard Photography
California has more registered EVs than any other state, which also means that charging ports can get a bit crowded. There are charging ports available every 10 miles, but the ratio remains high at 55 EVs per port.
While electricity costs are higher than average, EV owners in California save about $1,700 on gas each year.
California's score totaled 67.05, placing it sixth overall.
5. Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut.
Mark F Lotterhand/Shutterstock
Buying an EV in Connecticut pays off with a generous $7,500 tax credit. Connecticut also has charging ports every 6 square miles — a ratio of 26 EVs per charging port — though service-center wait times tend to be higher.
EV Charger Reviews gave Connecticut a score of 71.24.
4. Oregon
Portland, Oregon.
Shutterstock/Sean Pavone
Oregon features lower-than-average electricity prices and a $4,915 tax credit for EV owners, according to the study. Because of the popularity of EVs, charging ports are only available every 78 square miles, with a ratio of 37 EVs per port.
Oregon scored 71.66 in EV Charger Reviews' ranking.
3. Vermont
Montpelier, Vermont.
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Charging stations appear every 25 miles in Vermont, and the lower EV ownership rate compared to other states means short wait times at charging ports. The state's annual $4,000 tax credit is also a strong incentive.
Electricity costs are higher than average, but EV owners still save around $1,200 on gas each year, leading to a score of 71.69 from EV Charger Reviews.
2. Colorado
Vail, Colorado.
Kevin Ruck/Shutterstock
There are around 6,000 registered EVs in Colorado. With charging ports every 48 square miles, that comes out to 27 electric vehicles per port.
EVs can save Colorado drivers around $ 1,400 per year, even though electricity prices are slightly higher than average. Colorado also offers a $5,000 tax credit to EV owners, minus the annual registration fee of around $50.
All of these benefits rank Colorado as the second-best state for electric vehicles with a score of 73.19.
1. Maine
Portland, Maine.
Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images
With its $7,500 tax incentive, $1,200 annual savings on gas, and low wait times at charging ports and service centers, EV Charger Reviews found that Maine is the best state for EVs with a score of 77.71.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has a tougher job thanks to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, his ousted predecessor
AP; Getty
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was forced to cut deals to win the speakership.
McCarthy's agreements are now making Speaker Mike Johnson's life more difficult.
In particular, McCarthy granted power to conservatives who frequently defy Johnson's wishes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson can blame his problems on his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Anyone may have struggled to wrangle this slim Republican majority. But it's the concessions that McCarthy made to achieve his long-held ambition that made it near impossible for Johnson, or likely anyone else, to be an effective speaker.
In January 2023, McCarthy and his allies were forced to cut a deal with the 20 holdouts that ground business in the chamber to a halt by refusing to accept the California Republican as their leader. To break the stalemate, McCarthy offered a series of concessions.
Two of the biggest carrots have since become powerful sticks for conservatives to swing against him and now Johnson. The House Freedom Caucus cares so much about protecting the power these agreements gave them that they have tapped a crack team, known as the Floor Action Response Team (FART), to monitor any potential changes.
The most noticeable was making it possible for any single lawmaker to file a motion to vacate, the formal process by which the House can rid itself of a speaker. McCarthy reportedly once viewed such a low threshold as a redline, but still agreed to the rules change. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, later made history by taking advantage of the rule to force McCarthy's ouster. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has started the process to oust Johnson.
But congressional experts at the time were as worried about another part of McCarthy's deal. He offered three seats on the powerful House Rules Committee to more conservative members. It may not seem like much, but the panel, known as the Speaker's Committee, is how the speaker maintains control of the floor.
The speaker should be able to guarantee the outcome he or she wants because they get to pick the committee's members. The rules committee determines the procedures for how legislation reaches the floor, wielding power to limit potential poison-pill amendments and to limit debate. For those reasons, conservatives have clashed with the panel recently because they want more open debate. McCarthy, and just about every other recent speaker, has pledged more debate on the floor, but in practice, that can be a hard promise to keep.
The Rules Committee keeps the House moving, but Johnson has been forced to maneuver around it in the face of likely opposition to major bills. But the end around comes with a steep cost, the requirement that legislation receive two-thirds support instead of just a simple majority. As a result, Johnson has been forced to rely on House Democrats to avoid partial government shutdowns, fund the Pentagon, and pass a $79 billion bipartisan tax bill.
McCarthy wasn't trying to make his life harder. Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican who until recently chaired the Rules Committee, told Politico that the Californian wanted to know about potential problems earlier on.
"The reality is, I mean, this is McCarthy's idea is that if I'm going to have a problem, I want to see it in the Rules Committee and not on the floor," Cole said. "We've never had a problem in passing a rule."
Cole stressed that the problem was not with his panel but with what happened later on the floor. It is worth noting that Johnson has had to bypass the panel completely. And when the panel's work reaches the floor, the chaos deepens. Since Republicans took control in 2022, the GOP has failed seven times to pass the rule on the floor, which is an important legislative step as after passing the rule, debate on the actual legislation can begin. In comparison, the House went over two decades without such a failure, per CNN.
All of these headaches, and the need for McCarthy's deals in the first place, are exacerbated by the reality the House GOP has one of thinnest majorities in history. Republicans began the current Congress with a 221 to 218 majority. Since then, the GOP's numbers have been whittled down by former Rep. George Santos' expulsion and early resignations by members who have tired of the daily drama. Unlike the Senate, states cannot appoint someone to fill a vacant seat. Instead, states must hold special elections. It can take months for that process. And in the case of Santos, the GOP could also lose the seat. Johnson will soon only have a one-vote majority for any party-line legislation.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich summed up Johnson's reality rather grimly.
"Well, he has the narrowest majority in modern times, and it's not a true majority, because he's got six or eight narcissists — people who think that they individually get to screw up everything," Gingrich told Politico.
The mountain of debt is a breeding ground for economic problems, including higher inflation, lower quality of life, and — in the worst-case scenario — a destabilization of the wider financial system, according to Les Rubin, a markets veteran who has called the US debt situation one of the "greatest Ponzi schemes" in the world.
It's critical for the US to sell its debt to investors, which range from institutions, individuals, and other countries. But higher debt levels cast doubt on whether the US will be able to make good on its promises to keep paying it back, and the more people hesitate to buy the US debt securities, the more the economy is hurt, Rubin says.
The most recent auctions of 10 and 30-year bonds were met with low enthusiasm as investors see higher for longer interest rates and stick inflation. The US will hit the market again in May with a $385 billion sale of new bonds.
"What would happen if we can't sell the debt is that we end up with an inability to function as an economy. The government survives on debt. If we literally could not sell our debt, we could not pay our bills," Rubin told Business Insider in an interview.
Debt itself is inherently inflationary, meaning consumers can expect higher prices if the government doesn't slow its borrowing.
That's because debt provides a measure of stimulus to the economy, which speeds up hiring and wage growth. If the economy is already at full employment, that means higher inflation as well, according to Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University.
Inflation has been at least a full percentage point above the Fed's 2% target for nearly the last two years. Prices accelerated 3.5% year-per-year in March, the third-straight month inflation came in hotter-than-expected.
A smaller budget
Higher debt could also lead to a poorer quality of life for Americans, Zagorsky added. That's because the more the debt grows, the more the government has to shell out in interest to service that debt — and the less money the US has to spend on other priorities like Social Security and other crucial parts of the social safety net.
The US spent $429 billion last year on interest payments alone, according to Treasury data. That's 240% of what the government spent on transportation, commerce, and housing combined.
"Pretty soon one of the most important things the federal government's going to be spending money on is not defense, not on education. It won't be on housing, it'll be on interest," Zagorsky said.
In the worst-case scenario, he sees markets melting down if debt levels get too high and people believe the US might not pay it back.
"Trillions of dollars that are on the balance sheets around the world will become substantially reduced in value or worthless. Interest payments could be curtailed. It would be a devastating blow to the world economy that would lead to eventually, chaos. We can't let it get there," he said.
There's little the government can do to stop those problems from brewing, other than to stop taking on so much new debt, Zagorsky and Rubin say. Technically, the government could print money to pay off its dues, but that would result in hyperinflation as the money supply skyrockets.
Robust economic growth can make debt more sustainable, but the debt is growing way faster than the economy — the national debt balance rose 86% over the last decade, while GDP grew by 63%, according to Fed data.
Economists are uncertain of when exactly the national debt will become a true problem for the US. If the pace of borrowing doesn't slow, Rubin anticipates a crisis of some sort materializing within the next decade.
"It starts slowly and then it accelerates rapidly. Right now I don't think anything is imminent. I would say we have 10 years or less to fix this problem. I think that may be the optimistic scenario," Rubin said.