In his inauguration speech, Donald Trump did not mince his words regarding electric cars and announced that he wanted to end all aid in order to find a balance with thermal cars, and to allow Americans “to buy the car of their choice« .
We knew Donald Trump was particularly resistant to electric cars, we did not imagine that he would take measures against them on the very day of his inauguration.
Indeed, the new President Donald Trump on Monday canceled a decree signed in 2021 by his predecessor Joe Biden, which aimed for 50% of new vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 to be electric. This objective, although not legally binding, had obtained the support of American and foreign automobile manufacturers.
Donald Trump favors oil production
But that's not all. Through an executive order, Trump ordered a halt to the distribution of unspent funds from a $5 billion budget intended for dedicated electric vehicle charging stations. He also called for removing exemptions allowing some states to adopt rules requiring zero-emission (tailpipe) vehicles by 2035, and considered eliminating tax credits for electric vehicles.
Donald Trump plans to ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review regulations aimed at imposing stricter emissions standards, which would force manufacturers to sell between 30% and 56% electric vehicles by 2032. He also wants to cancel a waiver granted to California in December, allowing the state to ban the sale of thermal vehicles by 2035, a rule adopted by 11 other states.
During his campaign, Donald Trump pledged to end “electric vehicle mandate” by Joe Biden. He promised to support American oil productionalready at record levels, and revisiting Joe Biden's clean energy initiatives, such as wind, solar and hydrogen subsidies.
Unsurprisingly, the new president will also call for an end to subsidies and “ill-conceived market distortions” which favor electric vehicles to the detriment of other technologies. He also expressed his intention to cancel the $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles as part of broader tax reform.
But be careful, beyond these shock announcements, the decree seems a little more vague than that. Indeed, the decree signed by Donald Trump, entitled “Unleashing American Energy”states that his administration would end “where applicable, to state emissions exemptions which have the effect of limiting sales of thermal cars; and considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and other poorly designed government-imposed market distortions that favor electric vehicles over other technologies and effectively force their purchase by individuals, private businesses and government entities, by making other types of unaffordable vehicles ».
By reading between the lines, we can indeed conclude that the advantages and subsidies linked to electric cars may disappear, but this does not necessarily seem to be confirmed at the moment, because certain players in the automobile industry, including the American one, would not see This step backwards after millions, even billions of euros invested in the energy transition is not necessarily a good thing.
-Why could Tesla benefit from this?
In short, it’s quite a step backwards that would take place in the United States regarding the electric car.
The most surprising thing is that these measures come at a time when a certain Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, which therefore only makes electric cars, will inherit a specific political position thanks to Donald Trump.
With 49% of the American electric car market, it is Tesla which has benefited the most from this promotion of zero-emission mobility. In reality, and as explained in a dedicated article, Tesla could even benefit from this situation.
The new entry barriers for newcomers could also allow it to increase its lead. And without competition, apart from that of traditional American manufacturers and far behind, Tesla would find itself in a quasi-monopoly situation in the United States.
Back up to jump better?
Will the brakes be felt in the United States, an ultraconservative market? Not necessarily at first, but the adoption of electric cars will undoubtedly be longer and more tedious. Some manufacturers could even review their plans and focus on electric cars later than expected.
Certain brands, whose transition seems very difficult, as is the case with Chrysler or even Chevrolet and Dodge, would welcome this return of Trump to power. This will undoubtedly give them more time to develop electric cars, or even more time to postpone the problem again, because with or without Donald Trump, however, the automobile industry does seem to be turning towards electric cars.
The arrival of Donald Trump in power seems to be nothing more than a simple brake, and generally speaking, without subsidies, the market will slow down, but manufacturers have already incurred a lot of costs for this transition which today seems essential, and they will certainly not turn around.
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