Trump is also likely to push Congress to move quickly to gut the $7,500 consumer tax credits from the IRA, industry hands said. The move would make it harder for carmakers to sell their EVs, which generally cost considerably more than similar combustion models, but Trump has said the credits favor one power train over another. One might expect Musk to lobby Trump to keep the credits, since Tesla benefits from them, but Musk has long criticized the EV subsidies, saying they only add to the federal deficit.
Nick Loris, vice president of public policy at C3 Solutions, an energy policy think tank, said Republicans are still angry that Democrats drafted and passed the law without Republican input, though it’s not clear Republicans would have supported the law if they had been included. “Whether or not they agree with the policy, I think they were frustrated by the process and ultimately felt like they got screwed,” Loris said. “They tend to remember these things.”
Trump could also seek to eliminate or reduce production tax credits under the IRA, which subsidize the construction of EV and battery materials processing plants, allowing them to better compete with Chinese rivals.
