As Reuters reports, citing two insiders, the transition team of incoming US President Trump is aiming for a large-scale overhaul of US tax legislation – and in the process, the 7,500-dollar incentive for the purchase of an electric car will be cut. This issue is being dealt with by a transition team dealing with energy policy issues, led by oil billionaire Harold Hamm and the Governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum.
According to anonymous sources, Tesla is said to be in favour the initiative. CEO Elon Musk is known to be a great supporter of Trump and will also be given a position as co-head of the newly created ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ in his upcoming term of office. In July, Musk already commented on the possible end of the subsidy – to the effect that the abolition of the tax credit could slightly affect Tesla but would be ‘devastating’ for its US competitors.
After all, Tesla sold almost half of all US electric vehicles in the third quarter, according to data from Cox Automotive. The company believes it is big enough to cope with the cancellation of subsidies, while the competition, which is still ramping up, will likely suffer more damage. Other OEMs did not wish to comment to Reuters. However, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation already called on Congress to retain the tax credit in a letter dated 15 October, as it is “critical to cementing the US as a global leader” in future auto manufacturing.
Incidentally, Trump’s transition team plans have not been confirmed. The only official statement is that the President-elect will honour “promises he made on the campaign trail.” During the election campaign, Trump had repeated that he would end President Joe Biden’s ‘EV mandate,’ but without naming any specific measures.
