Daily Shorts: Vietnam EV maker heads to US, gas companies push for investments and more

Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced it will next week begin constructing a $4 billion electric vehicle factory in the US state of North Carolina, also home to Toyota's battery factory. VinFast will invest around $2 billion in the first phase to set up a plant capable of manufacturing 150,000 cars a year. Production will start in 2025, one year behind the original plan. VinFast is a part of Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate. 

Texas set another record for power usage, as a heatwave swept through the southern US state. Grid operator ERCOT, which serves more than 26 million customers accounting for 90 percent of the state's power usage, said consumption hit 82,592 MW on Tuesday, topping the all-time high of 81,911 MW set a day before. Tuesday was the fifth time this summer that ERCOT has announced record power consumption.

Global investments in gas infrastructure are falling short of requirements, affecting producers and consumers, as well as economic growth, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei told a conference in Japan. Gas producers are pushing the fuel as a cleaner alternative to coal and oil which does not suffer the intermittency of solar or wind. Opponents point to the threat of methane leaks: the global energy industry released 135 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas last year. The Emirates had earlier suggested countries use carbon capture to reduce emissions. 

US authorities opened a special investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla vehicle that was possibly running on autopilot mode. The accident, which occurred earlier this month, involved a 2018 Tesla Model 3 colliding head-on with another vehicle. The US is running more than three dozen investigations into Tesla crashes where autopilot is suspected. The system can steer, accelerate and brake cars, and advanced versions can help change lanes on highways, but Tesla, which is eyeing an Indian foray, says it requires active human oversight.