Trump could make it tougher to afford electric cars. Why Elon Musk doesn’t mind

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
Californians drive a lot, and a growing share of the cars we’re driving are electric. More than 441,000 zero-emission vehicles were sold in the state last year, according to state data. Put another way, roughly one out of every three ZEVs sold in the U.S. is sold in the Golden State.
Hastening the transition to vehicles that don’t burn fossil fuels has been a major policy push from both Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Biden. And to incentivize drivers to make the switch, the Biden administration created a $7,500 consumer tax credit that saved car buyers more than $1 billion this year alone.
But Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office next year puts the future of the ZEV transition in jeopardy. He hasn’t shied away from his support for more oil and gas drilling, nor his intention to repeal environmental regulations meant to mitigate the growing hazards of our warming planet.
Reuters was first to report last week that Trump’s transition team plans to ax the tax credit. That’s welcome news to Elon Musk, whose Tesla Motors is the state‘s and nation’s most popular purveyor of electric cars.
“Take away the subsidies,” Musk posted to his X platform in July. “It will only help Tesla.”
How does that make sense? As The Times’ Russ Mitchell explained this week, Tesla’s market dominance has given Musk a major advantage.
“Tesla is profitable, and the EV business at the traditional automakers as yet is not,” Russ wrote. “Taking away buyer credits would hurt them more than it would hurt Tesla, whose EV market share has begun to drop in the face of new competition.”
The subsidy shakeup could have a notable effect in California, where Musk’s cars have become a roadway fixture. More than half of all ZEVs sold in California last year were Tesla models, according to state data.
The largest concentration, unsurprisingly, is in populous, car-clogged Los Angeles County, where drivers bought more than 57,400 Teslas in 2023 — roughly a quarter of all sold in the state sales.
Even as he looks to edge out his competitors, Musk’s influence over Trump may soften the former and future POTUS’ actions on EVs. Russ detailed the many moving parts of the EV transition that Trump (with Musk at his ear) will almost certainly reshape once in office.
“Trump has long railed against EV mandates and subsidies,” Russ wrote. “Then came August, when Musk endorsed Trump and began pouring millions of dollars into the Trump campaign. Not long after, Trump said he was now in favor of some market share for EVs.”
Tesla’s sliding sales in left-leaning California may continue, if enough would-be buyers decide Musk’s full-throated support for Trump is a deal-breaker. Some Tesla owners have opted for a bumper sticker to distance themselves from Musk’s brand of political discourse. Though, for most, it’s probably easier to delete your X account than ditch your Model X.
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Some Los Angeles farmers markets are thriving, but others are struggling. Times food writer Stephanie Breijo visited two that are at risk of shutting down. “This possibility has sparked a last-ditch fundraising effort by the nonprofit group that runs the markets to save their presence in areas where some residents are food-insecure,” she writes.
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From “Lady Bird” to “Troop Beverly Hills,” the Golden State has starred in a wide range of movies. What’s your favorite one?
Email us at [email protected], and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from Stephen Blakesley of San Diego: a king tide as seen from Torrey Pines State Beach.
Stephen writes: “Our astronomical king tides occur only four times each year due to the full moon’s close distance and additional gravitational tidal forces. We are fortunate to experience the vast beach exposed by the king tide minus-tide symmetry. The first humans on the Pacific coast walked these same endless tidal beaches thirty thousand solar years ago.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporterAmy Hubbard, deputy editor, Fast Break
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