Tesla CEO Elon Musk played a significant role in getting President Trump elected, but the automaker is now breaking with the administration on its goal to repeal vehicle emissions standards. The company’s statement said a rollback “would give a pass to engine and vehicle manufacturers for all measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle.”
Musk was publicly in favor of cutting EV tax credits, but he hasn’t made a personal statement on the emissions rollbacks. Tesla has said the EPA’s arguments for slashing emissions rules were not based on legal or factual arguments: “As the recent assessment from the National Academy of Sciences makes clear, the proposal does not sufficiently evaluate the voluminous and rigorously established science, as well as the additionally developed scientific record since the 2009 endangerment finding that further solidifies the level of concern from climate change and the level of confidence that the established scientific community has over these findings.”
While many other automakers urged the EPA to move forward with the plan, Tesla could lose a ton of money from regulatory credit sales. The automaker saw $2.8 billion in revenue from those credits last year, but one Republican senator said the fees Tesla charged other automakers were “outrageous.” Tesla faces other challenges ahead, as the federal EV tax credit ends next week, and while it initially put on a strong public front, the credits do help its sales and bottom line.
[Images: Tesla]
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