How Elon Musk and Cheap Oil Doomed Push for Another Car Fuel
- Cars burning natural gas can’t compete with Tesla sales boom
- Pickens company zeroes in on municipal buses, fleet trucks
It might seem like there’s more news about electric cars than actual electric cars on the road. Automakers are pouring billions into an electric future but these ambitious plans present a jarring contrast to what’s actually happening today in showrooms. (Source: Bloomberg)
The idea was nothing short of revolutionary: convert the nation’s millions of trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles to run on natural gas instead of gasoline and diesel.
Back in 2008, the proposal by energy magnate T. Boone Pickens had some appeal. U.S. oil production was plunging, and the world’s biggest fuel-consuming country was becoming ever more dependent on foreign crude. Oil jumped to a record near $150 a barrel, while natural gas was comparatively cheap. Pickens co-founded Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to profit from the switch. The maker of natural gas filling stations was once valued at about $1.8 billion.