Is there a future for EV tax credits in a second Trump term?
With President-elect Donald Trump taking office for his second term, a major conversation circulating this week is whether or not the commander in chief will end tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs). Will his relationship with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk help influence his decision over these tax credits? Will the two clash over their environmental ideologies? We get into it. In this week’s episode of Capitol Gains, anchor Rachelle Akuffo, Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul, and senior columnist Rick Newman break down everything you need to know about the history of these EV credits and whether or not they could still have a future under the Trump administration. Werschkul says it’s "a real interesting question" and the Trump/Musk relationship could factor into the future of these credits. “I think there is a real case to be made that Tesla (TSLA) is fine with a fossil fuel-focused agenda including a rollback of some of the green energy credits,” Werschkul says. “Tesla is an established EV company. If the startups around him get their government funding cut off they’re in a lot of trouble. Tesla is fine. Tesla’s a company. Tesla’s not going anywhere.” Newman breaks down the history of the EV tax credits and how they started during the Obama administration. “There’s a large degree of irony here,” Newman says. “Those consumer credits really persuaded a lot of early adopters to buy a Tesla. And I think there’s a lot of people early on who bought a Tesla who would not have bought it, if not for the tax credit. So that helped Tesla become the leading electric vehicle company, and now [Tesla doesn’t] need it.” To learn more, listen to the full episode of Capitol Gains here. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch more Capitol Gains. This post was written by Lauren Pokedoff.
