California has proposed offering $7,500 state EV tax rebates to residents if Trump kills the federal EV tax credit, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced today.
November 26 update: Tesla’s EVs may be left out of California’s new state EV tax rebates if President-elect Donald Trump moves to end the federal EV tax credit, Governor Newsom’s office said Monday.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in support of ending the federal EV tax credit, but he wasn’t happy about Tesla’s exclusion from the California state EV tax rebate. He posted on X/Twitter:
Even though Tesla is the only company who manufactures their EVs in California! This is insane.
Tesla moved its headquarters from California to Texas in 2021, and Musk said this year that SpaceX and X will make the same move.
Trump has repeatedly said that he would eliminate the $7,500 EV tax credit for new vehicles and $4,000 for used vehicles created by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act if he won the election.
In response, Newsom today proposed creating a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which launched in 2010 and was phased out in 2023. California started with a $5,000 rebate for EVs and increased to $7,500. During its lifetime, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program funded more than 594,000 vehicles and saved more than 456 million gallons of fuel.
Newsom’s announcement says that funding for the state EV tax rebates could come from the “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is funded by polluters under the state’s cap-and-trade program.”
Newsom said in a statement:
We will intervene if the Trump administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California.
We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future – we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.
Newsom’s announcement didn’t say how the rebates would work, but he’s expected to share more details during an appearance today. The governor would need the backing of the state legislature to revive the rebate program.
California continues to lead the US in zero emissions vehicle adoption, surpassing 2 million electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen-powered vehicles sold across the state. By 2035, all new cars and light trucks sold in California must be zero-emissions vehicles, along with 50% of all new heavy trucks.
Read more: New CA smart grid law will help solar and fix the grid by… simply replacing wires
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