Donald Trump‘s transition team wants to cancel the $7,500 electric car credit introduced by President Biden. The electric car market has already stalled recently.
Washington (APA / Reuters) – According to insiders, US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team wants to eliminate the tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of electric vehicles as part of a comprehensive tax reform. The plan is currently being discussed by the group, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
The meetings of the energy policy transition team will take place under the leadership of oil billionaire Harold Hamm, the founder of Continental Resources, and the Governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum. Eliminating the tax credit could have major consequences for the already stalled transition to electric cars in the United States.
Nevertheless, representatives from Tesla – by far the largest seller of electric cars in the US – told a Trump transition committee that they supported the abolition. Tesla boss Elon Musk, one of Trump’s biggest supporters and the richest person in the world, said earlier this year that the abolition could slightly hurt Tesla sales, but his domestic rivals, which include long-established automakers such as General Motors, would destroy.
Tax credit should greatly increase electric car business by 2030
The tax credit is one of the key measures of President Joe Biden’s more than $300 billion IRA subsidy package. With the ambitious e-car funding, Biden wanted to ensure that every second new car sold would be electric by 2030.
Representatives for the Trump transition administration and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents nearly all major automakers besides Tesla, also did not immediately respond. The alliance urged Congress in an Oct. 15 letter to maintain the EV tax credits, calling them “critical to cementing the U.S. as a global leader in the future of automotive technology and manufacturing.”
Trump promised before the election to increase U.S. oil production and roll back Biden’s costly clean energy initiatives. In addition to the tax credit for electric cars, this includes subsidies for wind and solar energy and the mass production of hydrogen. (APA)
