Skip to main content

Oil prices plunge negative to hit all-time low

U.S. crude oil prices have plunged to all-time lows, raising further concerns over the future of electric vehicles as gas becomes more affordable.

Future speculation on the May contract for West Texas Intermediate crude oil has kept plunging Monday. After falling to below $1 per barrel, prices went negative for the first time ever.

Recommended Videos

BREAKING: Crude oil price on May contract goes negative for the first time https://t.co/HlsH3slbGO pic.twitter.com/394UjlZ0vg

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) April 20, 2020

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The May contract applies to fuel that is set to be delivered, while most of the United States remains on lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no buyers for the oil because of various suspensions to operations and travel, which means that the storage tanks of refineries and airlines are still full, CNBC reported.

The price of crude oil prices is the most important factor in the cost of producing gasoline and diesel. The plunging oil price likely means that gas prices in the United States will continue to remain cheap. As of April 17, the average price across the country was $1.82 per gallon, with at least a dozen states seeing gas prices of below $1, according to ABC7 News.

Electric vehicles affected by gas prices

There were already concerns that the electric vehicle industry will be hurt by lower gas prices. Electric vehicles are generally more expensive than their gasoline-powered counterparts, but buyers opt for them in order to save on fuel costs. When gas is cheap, one advantage of purchasing electric vehicles dries up.

“Saving on fuel costs is still a component for many EV shoppers,” Karl Brauer, the executive publisher of AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book, told Digital Trends. “It’s more of a consideration for some than others, but saying it’s a nonissue for all of them isn’t accurate.”

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
Honda unveils sleek electric sedan and SUV prototypes at CES 2025
Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda’s next-generation electric vehicles are a step closer to production. At CES 2025, the automaker unveiled prototypes of the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, the first two of its 0 Series EVs that will start rolling off assembly lines in Ohio next year.

The two EVs follow 0 Series concept cars Honda unveiled at CES 2024. These are closer to what buyers can expect to see in showrooms, hence the label of “prototype” rather than “concept.” How close exactly? When Honda unveils a prototype, that vehicle generally makes the transition to production with minimal changes. But that would be particularly remarkable here.
They still look like concept cars

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more