Donald Trump Is Lying About Gas Costing $1.99 In Some States

Good morning! It’s Thursday, December 18, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you’ll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning’s edition, Trump went on TV and lied about gas prices (amid a million other far more important things), California regulators put a Tesla sales suspension order on hold, Polestar gets a $600 million lifeline from Geely and Volkswagen is going ahead with its cost-cutting plans in Germany.

President Donald Trump is a bizarre man known for giving bizarre speeches, and last night’s televised appearance was one for the ages. He used his time to discuss so-called economic gains during his time in the White House, even as regular Americans struggle to make ends meet — talking at length about how he himself brought down the high prices of the Biden Administration. He also made some outrageous claims about gas prices, saying, “Gasoline is now under $2.50 a gallon into much of the country. In some states, it, by the way, just hit $1.99 a gallon,” according to the New York Times. The man has such a way with words.

As you may have guessed, this is a hell of an exaggeration at best, and a blatant lie at worst. A quick look at AAA’s national gas price tracker will tell you that the average price for a gallon of regular now sits at $2.90. Hell, there are only three states where the average gallon of gas is under $2.50 a gallon: Iowa ($2.47), Arkansas ($2.46) and Oklahoma ($2.34).

Even if you delve into each of those states’ cheapest counties when it comes to gas prices, the lowest numbers you’re going to find are Canadian Country, Oklahoma ($2.26), Faulkner County, Arkansas ($2.31) and Mahaska County, Iowa ($2.19). You’re all smart people, so I don’t have to tell you that none of these prices are actually lower than the $1.99 Trump is claiming.

I suppose, in an effort to be fair, I can say that there is a possibility that there are individual gas stations throughout the country that are offering gas below $2 per gallon, but I’ve gotta assume those are extremely few and far between.

Even the Energy Information Administration, a government statical agency, has gas prices pegged at $2.90 per gallon on Average. Admittedly, that is about 12 cents cheaper than it was the same time last year, and it’s the lowest it has been since Trump took office in January (when the average gallon of gas cost $3.10), but it’s still a far cry from $1.99… or even $2.50.

A California regulator is giving Tesla more time to address accusations that it created misleading marketing and overstated the capabilities of its self-driving software by deferring an order for the automaker to suspend all sales in its state. The Department of Motor Vehicles ordered the suspension of Tesla’s manufacturing and sales licenses for 30 days, which was adopted from a judge’s proposal. However, the sales license was put on hold for 90 days, and the manufacturing license hold is paused indefinitely.

In 2022, the DMV accused the Austin, Texas-based automaker of misleading consumers by using the names “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” for its cars’ driver assistance features. The regulator told Judge Juliet Cox of the Office of Administrative Hearings that the names falsely implied the cars can drive autonomously, and they’re not wrong. That’s sort of the point… to mislead. From Reuters:

A lawyer for Tesla told the hearing that the automaker had “clearly and consistently” explained that cars with Autopilot and FSD software require supervision and are not autonomous.

Judge Cox proposed the suspension, which the DMV adopted but put on hold Tuesday. Gordon said the agency wanted to give Tesla “one more chance to be able to remedy the situation,” saying he hoped it will “find a way to get these misleading statements corrected.”

[..]

To avoid the suspension, the DMV said Tesla can submit a statement confirming it has either stopped using the name Autopilot for its driver assistance software or confirming its cars can operate without active monitoring by a human.

The DMV said Tesla can appeal the suspension or seek a court review by February 14.

Tesla in a statement said, “This was a ‘consumer protection’ order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem. Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”

Tesla didn’t elaborate on how the company knew no customers had complained, and it declined to comment on whether or not the Autopilot name would be dropped. 

It would be shocking to me if Tesla drops the names “Autopilot” or “Full Self-Driving,” but it’s also shocking that it put out a media statement, so I guess crazy things can happen.

Polestar is getting some much-needed help from its majority owner, Geely, to the tune of a $600 million loan. The Swedish-Chinese automaker has been — to say the least — struggling amid a slowdown in EV demand. From Reuters:

The shareholder loan, to be given through Geely’s Swedish unit, is “subordinated,” which means that it does not count towards Polestar’s debt covenants, which are set at $5.5 billion, a spokesperson for the company said, adding that the company is working to secure more equity.

The final tranche of $300 million of the loan would require the lender’s consent, based on Polestar’s future liquidity needs, the company said in a statement.

Like many other EV startups, Polestar has burned through significant amounts of cash in its push to achieve scale and consistently faced challenges managing its liquidity and debt levels.

[…]

The company in June secured a $200 million equity investment from major shareholder PSD Investment, a company controlled by Geely Holding founder Li Shufu.

Polestar has had a real problem with nearly breaching certain debt agreements it’s come to with lenders. So far, it has been able to negotiate amendments with lenders and agreed with creditors to revise some of these covenants to remain in good standing throughout 2026.

It’s hard to argue that Polestar doesn’t make good products; it’s just having trouble finding an audience for them.

Volkswagen says its cost-cutting measures are on the right track thanks to layoffs and other savings at the automaker’s plants throughout Germany. CEO Thomas Schaefer says the company has reduced costs at its factories in Wolfsburg, Emden and Zwickau by about 30% on average. From Reuters:

“We still have a way to go, but together we want to prove that it is possible to develop and build competitive cars in Germany,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer ruled out offering combustion engines in the core brands’ new small-car family, whose first model – the ID.Polo – is to be launched next year at a starting price of around 25,000 euros ($29,307.50).

This wouldn’t make sense due to emissions regulations and would be too expensive for consumers, according to the executive.

“The future in this segment is electric,” he said.

Back in December of 2024, VW struck a deal with unions to drastically restructure its operations in Germany. That includes some heartbreaking measures, like cutting 35,000 jobs by 2030. But, it argued that things like that are necessary to face off against Chinese rivals and navigate a slower-than-anticipated shift toward electrification.

All football should be played outside during a snowstorm. Playing inside is an abomination and un-American, and it’s why, when I’m in charge, all domed stadiums will be banned. If you’d like to learn more about this travesty, head over to History.com.

This could be one of the most upbeat Christmas songs out there, and it’s fitting for today. After all, the big day is now just a week away. I, for one, am locked TF in.