As a brand-new Tesla owner, you’d think I’d be furious at the Senate version of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which takes a buzz saw to the bloated tax incentives propping up the electric vehicle market. But, guess what? I’m not. I think it’s the best thing to happen to the EV market in years — and not just because I already got mine.
EV makers have been propped up for years by a steady flow of taxpayer-funded handouts that made it easier for them not to find ways to make their cars more affordable. But under Trump’s new bill, that spigot is about to run dry. The $7,500 federal tax credit for new EVs? Gone 180 days after he signs it into law. The $4,000 rebate for used EVs? Slashed within 90 days. And if you’re leasing a foreign-made EV? That subsidy vanishes on day one. The gravy train is over.
Conservatives have rightly argued for years that the government has no business picking winners and losers in the free market. For once, this bill delivers on that principle. As someone who genuinely enjoys driving a Tesla but doesn’t want the federal government rigging the market, it’s a welcome change. Without taxpayer-funded subsidies propping them up, EVs will finally have to stand on their own, and that means that automakers will need to innovate more to bring the costs of the vehicles down if they want to stay competitive with gas-powered cars.
Flashback: How the Leftist Mob Inspired Me to Buy a Tesla
Here’s why this could be a win for car buyers: once these tax credit gimmicks disappear, the artificially inflated sticker prices they propped up are likely to disappear too. After all, what incentive is there to keep prices honest when you can jack them up by $7,500 and let the government foot the bill to make it look like a deal? That’s not a free market; it’s taxpayer-funded smoke and mirrors. Without those crutches, automakers will finally have to compete the old-fashioned way: by building better cars at prices people can afford.
And that’s exactly what they should be doing. EVs have come a long way since the early days of glorified golf carts. Remember the “Smart Car”? Good Lord, that was awful. Tesla has been pushing the EV market’s innovation, which is creating EVs that perform better, go further, and cost less.
Elon Musk has come out against the EV tax credit.
“Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla,” he said last July. “Also, remove subsidies from all industries!”
Exactly. The EV market will do just fine without the subsidy.
And let’s not overlook what’s not in the bill. The House wanted a $250 annual registration fee for EVs and $100 for hybrids. The Senate wisely stripped that out. That’s a win for those of us who don’t think the answer to big government is just a different kind of tax.
If Trump signs this into law — and insiders say he could by early fall — it’ll mark a massive shift away from the green welfare state the left built under Obama and Biden. And oddly enough, it could make EVs cheaper and more competitive than ever. Imagine that: letting the free market work.
Sounds like a beautiful bill to me.
