⚡️Wright’s Day and the Big Beautiful Bill's Byrd Bath

Secretary Wright Preview

We look forward to seeing those that can join us this morning for the conversation between Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Breitbart News’ Matthew Boyle.

This conversation couldn’t be more timely. Following the strikes on several Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, President Trump issued a clear mandate for American energy officials.

In addition to potential international pressures on energy production and prices, the demand curve in the U.S. continues to increase substantially — particularly given the near record heat 150 million Americans are facing right now. PJM Interconnection has declared an energy emergency alert as power demand hits a 14-year high of 160 gigawatts.

Northern Virginia—home to the world's largest data center concentration—sits in the emergency zone. The region's 150+ data centers consume over 5,000 megawatts, with demand projected to nearly double by 2040. The Department of Energy has issued emergency orders to keep aging plants online for grid reliability.

🚨JUST ANNOUNCED: Following Boyle’s conversation with Secretary Wright, he will talk with API President and CEO, Mike Sommers.

We'll share more from today’s conversations with you following the event.

Tesla Robotaxi Hits The Road

This weekend marked a defining moment in America's transportation future. Tesla deployed its first paying robotaxi service in Austin—10 Model Y vehicles operating without human drivers and carrying passengers.

The (Competitive) Street View: While Google’s Waymo has operated in San Francisco for three years, and is launching in additional cities regularly, Tesla takes a differentiated approach: vertical integration from AI chips to software. All built in-house, Musk's team developed everything "from scratch within Tesla”.

Tesla's camera-only technology versus competitors' more expensive lidar systems represents a strategic choice. If successful, it proves Tesla as a mobility platform can deliver autonomous capabilities faster and cheaper than major competitors. The promised $30,000 Cybercab could truly change the way many people think about cars and driving.

Better in Texas: The deployment comes with necessary constraints: safety monitors, limited areas, teleoperator backup. Texas Governor Abbott just signed autonomous vehicle regulations with a business-friendly approach, where permits are "easy to get, easy to lose," unlike California's bureaucratic maze.

This is big business: Tesla's stock has surged 50% since April, with the company describing a future of widespread robotaxi usage. America wins by building the future instead of regulating it into submission. From Austin's streets to the global stage, the race for autonomous dominance is in early laps, but the rubber is (finally) meeting the road.

The Big, Beautiful Bill’s Byrd Bath

As we have suspected and previewed at the time of introduction, several provisions faced tough scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian under the Byrd rule.

• The litigation shield that would come from a fee paid by project builders has been ruled out of compliance and will not be included in the bill.

• Senator Mike Lee’s proposal to sell off some federal land was also struck down (and provides a really interesting case study on modern-day political advocacy)

• On the other side of the coin, Senator Ted Cruz made further edits to the moratorium on state AI laws, such that the change was deemed to be Byrd compliant. Now, it is a regulatory pause but paired with a smaller subset of yet-to-be obligated BEAD (broadband) funding, as reported by Punchbowl.

There may still be some rulings made up until Wednesday.