4.5 • 808 Ratings
🗓️ 3 December 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
President Donald Trump plans to announce weaker fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks at a White House event today. The move will likely reverse a Biden-era rule requiring automakers to reach an average of 50 miles per gallon for new vehicles by 2031. Plus, as part of our lunar economy series, we hear how one company is recycling space debris into more useful products for the space industry.
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| 0:00.0 | At Pluralsight, we don't just teach skills. |
| 0:02.8 | We are building the tech workforce who deliver results fast, accelerated by top-tier content. |
| 0:08.6 | Lead with confidence, lead with expertise. |
| 0:11.1 | Visit us at Pluralsight.com to tap in and learn more. |
| 0:16.3 | Would you risk your life going to the moon? |
| 0:19.4 | Would you risk your business? |
| 0:24.1 | I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. First, multiple published reports say President Trump today will announce weaker fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. |
| 0:31.9 | This would reverse a Biden-era requirement that fleets get to 50 miles per gallon within about five years. Marketplace's |
| 0:38.4 | Henry Ep reports. This federal rule takes into account each automaker's entire fleet of vehicles. |
| 0:44.8 | If the average fuel efficiency across all their cars and trucks don't reach the standard, |
| 0:49.9 | they get fined. But over the summer, the Republican-controlled Congress made a crucial change. |
| 0:55.1 | They zeroed out the fines. So carmakers that fall short don't have to pay anything. |
| 1:00.4 | The Trump administration appears ready to lower the fuel efficiency standard anyway. |
| 1:04.8 | That's become something of a tradition in the last few decades. When Republicans are in the White |
| 1:09.3 | House, they lower fuel efficiency requirements. When Democrats are in the White House, they lower fuel efficiency |
| 1:11.0 | requirements. When Democrats are in, they raise them. Trump has eliminated other federal |
| 1:15.9 | policies this year that had pushed carmakers to build more electric vehicles, including |
| 1:20.5 | consumer tax credits, and a rule that allowed California to set its own higher fuel efficiency |
| 1:26.0 | standard. I'm Henry App for Marketplace. At Pluralsight, we don't just teach skills. |
| 1:50.9 | We are building the tech workforce, who deliver results fast, accelerated by top-tier content. |
| 1:56.7 | Lead with confidence, lead with expertise. |
| 1:59.2 | Visit us at plural site.com to tap in and learn more. |
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