Elon Musk Says the U.S Should get Rid Of All Government Subsidies on Electric Vehicles. Elon Musk said Monday at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO summit that he does not think that the United States needs the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill or any other government subsidies, for that matter. “Just delete them all,” he said.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said during the interview that he’s concerned about the federal deficit. “We’ve spent so much money, the federal budget deficit is insane,” he said.
“I would say… can the whole bill. Don’t pass it, that’s my recommendation,” Musk said.
Elon Musk Says the U.S Should get Rid Of All Government Subsidies on Electric Vehicles
Musk pointed out that Tesla has been selling its electric cars for more than a year in the US without the $7,500 federal tax credit, without taking a demand hit. Most other automakers, save for General Motors, are still eligible for the credit The verge noted.
The Build Back Better portion of Biden’s infrastructure plan currently includes a provision to extend that credit and add another subsidy for electric vehicles made by union workforces, though it still needs to make it through the senate.
Musk has derided the union-focused credit in recent months and called Biden a “puppet” of the United Auto Workers.
Musk Disagrees with the U.S Government on Expand Charging Infrastructure
Musk also said he doesn’t believe the US government should be giving out subsidies to expand charging infrastructure though that provision is in the infrastructure bill that Biden already signed into law.
“Do we need support for gas stations? We don’t. So there’s no need for this,” Musk said.
Tesla currently operates more than 3,000 charging stations with around 30,000 connectors worldwide but plans to open that network to other electric vehicles sometime in the near future.
Musk Companies Have Benefitted From Previous Subsidies
Musk’s companies have benefitted from many different federal and state subsidies over the years, and the government is a major SpaceX customer (though SpaceX won much of that business by dramatically undercutting the prices of established players).
Tesla has also found tremendous success in China after receiving lots of help from the central government there. Musk said Monday that Tesla “did not anticipate any subsidies” when the company was in its early years.
Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs for short) are vehicles that are either partially or fully powered on electric power. Electric vehicles have low running costs as they have fewer moving parts for maintenance and are also very environmentally friendly as they use little or no fossil fuels (petrol or diesel).
The electric motor gets energy from a controller, which regulates the amount of power—based on the driver’s use of an accelerator pedal. The electric car (also known as an electric vehicle or EV) uses energy stored in its rechargeable batteries, which are recharged by common household electricity.
Types of Electric Vehicles
Below are some of the well-known electric vehicles;
- Battery Electric Vehicles or BEVs. These are cars that are powered only by an electric battery.
- Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles or PHEVs. These are cars that have both an electric battery and a combustion engine.
- Hybrid cars have an electric battery and a combustion engine.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk co-founded and leads Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. As the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon leads all product design, engineering, and global manufacturing of the company’s electric vehicles, battery products, and solar energy products.
Elon Musk is working to revolutionize transportation both on Earth, through electric car maker Tesla — and in space, via rocket producer SpaceX.
