As the war in Iran drives gas prices skyward, some consumers are considering electric vehicles as a cost-saving measure. The U.S.’s national average gas price is now over $4 per gallon, according to AAA, and a 2022 AAA survey found that “$4 is the threshold at which a majority of Americans will make changes to their driving habits,” said Vox.

What did the commentators say?
Many drivers look to EVs because they “assume their electricity prices won’t be affected” by global crises, said The Associated Press. The fickle nature of oil prices means consumers with gas-powered vehicles are “more vulnerable to fluctuating prices that result from global conflict.” Electricity prices are “regulated and much less volatile,” said Erich Muehlegger, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, to the AP. 

Drivers who switch to EVs can save up to $2,000 per year on gas, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And while Congress “eliminated a federal tax credit that could close the price gap between new electric vehicles and cars that run on gasoline,” some states still “offer credits, rebates or other financial support for electric car buyers,” said The New York Times.

However, potential savings in gas prices could be offset by an increase in energy costs. Electricity prices have been “increasing nationally for a variety of reasons, including surging power demand from new data centers,“ said the AP. And the upfront sticker cost of an EV is “still more than that of a gasoline-powered vehicle.”

What next?
Other factors could preclude a spike in EV sales. It’s “unclear how long high fuel prices will last,” since this depends on the Iran war, said Vox. The limited “availability of chargers for electric vehicles is another barrier to adoption,” and a general economic downswing can “put a damper on consumer confidence more broadly.”

For now, the EV market seems to be swinging upward. March was Subaru’s “best month ever for electric vehicle sales,” said the automaker in a press release, while Toyota Motor North America saw EV sales last month “up 6.6% on a daily selling rate basis,” said the company.

“If you look backward in this business, you will be crushed,” said Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs in 2008, a year after he changed the world forever with the release of the first iPhone. “You have to look forward.” And though the company may be “allergic to nostalgia,” it’s “begrudgingly engaging in a series of concerts and commemorations” to mark its 50th anniversary, said Steven Levy at Wired, and “we are being blitzed by books, articles and oral histories” about the tech giant’s origins. 

Tariffs take a bite 
Launched by Jobs from his California garage along with Steve Wozniak in 1976, Apple went on to pioneer the personal computer, transform the music market and revolutionize how people use phones and technology in the internet age. The company is now valued at more than $3.6 trillion, and 27% of the global population — about 2.2 billion people — use one or more of its products. 

“No country has been more central to Apple’s rise or more fraught for its future than China,” said France 24. After taking over as CEO following Jobs’ death from pancreatic cancer in 2011, Tim Cook made China the primary manufacturing base for Apple devices. 

China is also one of Apple’s largest consumer markets, but the company “faces mounting pressure” on two fronts, said the outlet. Trade tensions and tariffs have “accelerated efforts to diversify manufacturing” to elsewhere in Asia, while “competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei has eaten into Apple’s Chinese market share.” 

‘The future belongs to AI’ 
“The world in which Apple once thrived no longer exists,” said Lionel Barber, a former editor of the Financial Times, at The New Statesman. A “25-year-long process of hyperglobalization in which money, technologies and ideas have flowed freely” is “now fading amid economic nationalism driven, in part, by a technological arms race between the U.S. and China” and a “global tariff offensive” led by President Donald Trump.

Apple is also facing a threat to its dominance closer to home with a series of antitrust cases against it. And while the company may have “absolutely owned” the internet and mobile era, the “future belongs to AI,” a category in which Apple seems to have been lacking, said Wired. 

Apple’s “obsession with user privacy” has made it hard to perfect an AI system, yet this focus could help position the company as the driver behind personalized AI, said France 24. Making that profitable is a “goal that has proved elusive for much of the AI industry.”

An aerial view shows the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Carson, California, amid mounting concerns over surging gas prices and the ongoing global fuel crisis as a result of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
Jae C. Hong / AP Photo

Elephants are among the planet’s most majestic creatures, walking steadfastly through the savannas, forests and deserts of Africa and Asia. These gentle giants are also the largest living land mammals, and being able to see them in person is a sight to behold. You can enjoy this bucket-list experience during an ethical tour, hotel stay or park visit that puts the animals first.

Chobe National Park, Botswana
So many elephants live in Chobe National Park — an estimated 120,000 call it home — that there’s a “good chance” you will spot a few “wherever you go,” said Thrillist. Botswana has the world’s highest elephant population and is a longtime “haven for the trunked pachyderms,” thanks to strong anti-poaching and conservation efforts.

Elephant Valley at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California
At the immersive new Elephant Valley, visitors come face to face with a herd of eight elephants led by their matriarch, Swazi. The space was expanded to give the animals “more areas to roam, bathe and sleep” and additional “opportunities to keep them engaged,” said KPBS. There are several lookout points where you can snap stunning pictures and videos. 

Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home, Sri Lanka
The home is a “halfway house” for orphaned and injured elephants, giving them a safe place for rehabilitation before being returned to the wild, said Lonely Planet. Visitors are invited to observe the elephants from a viewing platform and watch as they eat and interact. There are typically 40 juvenile elephants out and about.