The price of oil continued to surge this week after Russia announced a drop in oil exports following storm damage to a pipeline from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea.
Production could fall by up to 1 million barrels per day, or around 1% of global oil production as a result.
The price of Brent Crude Oil, the international benchmark, surged 5.3% last Thursday to US$121.60/barrel, the third highest settlement value of the year.
The oil price hike has seen investors race into EV stocks, whilst consumers are also shifting gear, buying the likes of Tesla and Nio’s at an even faster rate.
Tesla’s share price this week extended to an 8-day rally, its longest winning-streak since August 2021.
Over the past month, Tesla’s share price has gained almost 25% with investors banking on surging EV demand driven by skyrocketing fuel prices.
There were moves across the EV market too with manufacturers Nio and Lucid adding 3% and 2.45% respectively to their share price over the same period.
Meanwhile, Tesla delivered 936,172 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 87.4% on the vehicles delivered in 2020.
Whilst the high cost of fuel is driving demand for EVs, government incentives and bans on fossil-fuel vehicles are also playing a part.
Queensland is the latest Australian state to launch an EV-plan, announcing a $3000 subsidy per car for new battery-electric cars that cost up to $58,000.
A $10m fund for building fast-charging stations across the state, and a goal to be net zero by 2050 have also been earmarked.
Meanwhile, Canada, the UK and Norway have pledged to ban the sale of petrol/diesel cars, with Norway the frontrunner to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles with an ambitious target of 2025.
Despite a global semiconductor shortage and supply chain constraints, is the world on a road to EV domination, or will an oil price drop put the brakes on? Drivers, start your engines.