Elon Musk: Trump's Potential Anti-EV Policies Would Impact Competitors More Than Tesla

Elon Musk says Trump ending EV tax credits would be 'devastating' for rivals -- but not Tesla

Elon Musk isn't worried that a possible Trump administration could get rid of the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles -- in fact, he thinks it might actually help his company. "I guess that there would be some impact, but I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly," Tesla CEO Elon Musk told analysts Tuesday during an earnings call. "But long term, [it] probably actually helps Tesla," he added, reiterating his belief that Tesla's future is rooted in autonomous driving and artificial intelligence. Former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump has been a major EV critic over the years, saying that electric cars will "kill" the U.S. auto industry and calling automakers' move to produce more EVs a "transition to hell." Trump has also reportedly offered to gut pro-EV regulations in return for the oil lobby's support for his candidacy. His running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, is a big advocate for -- and recipient of campaign cash from -- the oil lobby, and has called EVs a "scam." As a senator, Vance has proposed doing away with the EV tax credit created by President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and replacing it with a similar credit for gas-powered vehicles. Musk has endorsed both Trump and Vance. In May, Trump said he would "impose an immediate moratorium on all new spending grants and giveaways under the Joe Biden mammoth socialist bills like the so-called inflation Reduction Act," according to CNBC. The IRA has been a major boon for driving EV sales and growing the industry. Since the IRA came into effect in August 2022, about $124.7 billion have been invested by companies across clean energy products, with EVs accounting for $77.6 billion of that total, according to Manufacturing Dive. The Treasury Department in May said EV buyers have saved $600 million since January on buying new electric cars, with consumers saving an average of $6,900. Musk on Tuesday also said that work on Tesla's planned factory in Mexico -- which was first announced in February 2023 -- is on pause because Trump has said he will put new tariffs on cars made in Mexico to ward off Chinese companies like BYD. Tesla and its suppliers aim to invest $15 billion into the factory by the end of 2025 and have secured $135 million in government incentives. "We need to see where things play out politically," Musk said Tuesday.

Musk says any Trump move against EV support would hurt competitors more than Tesla

July 23 (Reuters) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday that U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's potential removal of support for electric vehicles would hurt other automakers more than the Austin, Texas-based firm. "It would be devastating for our competitors, and it would hurt Tesla slightly but long term probably actually helps Tesla would be my guess," Musk said in a post-earnings conference call after the EV maker reported its lowest profit margin in more than five years. Former President Trump, the Republican candidate supported by Musk, has been critical of the Biden administration's EV policies and has said that he will "end the electric vehicle mandate" if he wins office. Trump has not explained the plan in detail. Musk said any Trump removal of subsidies, and the resulting impact on Tesla car sales was not crucial because Tesla is an artificial intelligence company focused on self-driving technology. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are in the noise relative to autonomy," Musk said. The billionaire announced his endorsement of Trump shortly after an assassination attempt on the presidential candidate this month. Musk has denied a media report that he pledged to donate $45 million per month to Trump, but he said he had created a political action committee. Musk's support for Trump created some confusion among Tesla fans who questioned how his election would help the EV company. Trump's pick for vice president, JD Vance, last year introduced a bill to eliminate EV subsidies and replace them with a credit to promote gas-powered vehicles, though it has virtually no chance of passing in the current Congress. Musk said in a post on X last week, "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!" In his acceptance speech at the Republican Party's convention last week in Milwaukee, Trump said his administration would slap tariffs of 100% to 200% on cars made in Mexico to make them "unsellable" in the United States. Musk said on Tuesday the EV maker has paused plans for a plant in Mexico and would reassess investing in a new gigafactory in the country after the U.S. presidential election. "Trump has said that he will put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico so it doesn't make sense to invest in Mexico," he said. Musk said Tesla is increasing capacity at its existing factories significantly and plans to produce robotaxis at its factory in Texas. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Musk Says Any Trump Move Against EV Support Would Hurt Competitors More Than Tesla

(Reuters) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday that U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's potential removal of support for electric vehicles would hurt other automakers more than the Austin, Texas-based firm. "It would be devastating for our competitors, and it would hurt Tesla slightly but long term probably actually helps Tesla would be my guess," Musk said in a post-earnings conference call after the EV maker reported its lowest profit margin in more than five years. Former President Trump, the Republican candidate supported by Musk, has been critical of the Biden administration's EV policies and has said that he will "end the electric vehicle mandate" if he wins office. Trump has not explained the plan in detail. Musk said any Trump removal of subsidies, and the resulting impact on Tesla car sales was not crucial because Tesla is an artificial intelligence company focused on self-driving technology. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are in the noise relative to autonomy," Musk said. The billionaire announced his endorsement of Trump shortly after an assassination attempt on the presidential candidate this month. Musk has denied a media report that he pledged to donate $45 million per month to Trump, but he said he had created a political action committee. Musk's support for Trump created some confusion among Tesla fans who questioned how his election would help the EV company. Trump's pick for vice president, JD Vance, last year introduced a bill to eliminate EV subsidies and replace them with a credit to promote gas-powered vehicles, though it has virtually no chance of passing in the current Congress. Musk said in a post on X last week, "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!" In his acceptance speech at the Republican Party's convention last week in Milwaukee, Trump said his administration would slap tariffs of 100% to 200% on cars made in Mexico to make them "unsellable" in the United States. Musk said on Tuesday the EV maker has paused plans for a plant in Mexico and would reassess investing in a new gigafactory in the country after the U.S. presidential election. "Trump has said that he will put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico so it doesn't make sense to invest in Mexico," he said. Musk said Tesla is increasing capacity at its existing factories significantly and plans to produce robotaxis at its factory in Texas. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Musk says any Trump move against EV support would hurt competitors more than Tesla

Former President Trump, the Republican candidate supported by Musk, has been critical of the Biden administration's EV policies and has said that he will "end the electric vehicle mandate" if he wins office. Musk said any Trump removal of subsidies, and the resulting impact on Tesla car sales was not crucial because Tesla is an artificial intelligence company focused on self-driving technology. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are in the noise relative to autonomy," Musk said. The billionaire announced his endorsement of Trump shortly after an assassination attempt on the presidential candidate this month. Musk has denied a media report that he pledged to donate $45 million per month to Trump, but he said he had created a political action committee. Musk's support for Trump created some confusion among Tesla fans who questioned how his election would help the EV company. Trump's pick for vice president, JD Vance, last year introduced a bill to eliminate EV subsidies and replace them with a credit to promote gas-powered vehicles, though it has virtually no chance of passing in the current Congress. Musk said in a post on X last week, "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!" In his acceptance speech at the Republican Party's convention last week in Milwaukee, Trump said his administration would slap tariffs of 100% to 200% on cars made in Mexico to make them "unsellable" in the United States. Musk said on Tuesday the EV maker has paused plans for a plant in Mexico and would reassess investing in a new gigafactory in the country after the U.S. presidential election. "Trump has said that he will put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico so it doesn't make sense to invest in Mexico," he said. Musk said Tesla is increasing capacity at its existing factories significantly and plans to produce robotaxis at its factory in Texas. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Elon Musk shrugs off Donald Trump's anti-EV policies, says...

"It would be devastating for our competitors, and it would hurt Tesla slightly but long term probably actually helps Tesla would be my guess," Musk said in a post-earnings conference call after the EV maker reported its lowest profit margin in more than five years. Former President Trump, the Republican candidate supported by Musk, has been critical of the Biden administration's EV policies and has said that he will "end the electric vehicle mandate" if he wins office. Trump has not explained the plan in detail. Musk said any Trump removal of subsidies, and the resulting impact on Tesla car sales was not crucial because Tesla is an artificial intelligence company focused on self-driving technology. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are in the noise relative to autonomy," Musk said. ALSO READ| Elon Musk vows to 'destroy the woke mind virus' that 'killed' his son The billionaire announced his endorsement of Trump shortly after an assassination attempt on the presidential candidate this month. Musk has denied a media report that he pledged to donate $45 million per month to Trump, but he said he had created a political action committee. Musk's support for Trump created some confusion among Tesla fans who questioned how his election would help the EV company. Trump's pick for vice president, JD Vance, last year introduced a bill to eliminate EV subsidies and replace them with a credit to promote gas-powered vehicles, though it has virtually no chance of passing in the current Congress. Musk said in a post on X last week, "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!" In his acceptance speech at the Republican Party's convention last week in Milwaukee, Trump said his administration would slap tariffs of 100% to 200% on cars made in Mexico to make them "unsellable" in the United States. Musk said on Tuesday the EV maker has paused plans for a plant in Mexico and would reassess investing in a new gigafactory in the country after the U.S. presidential election. ALSO READ| Indian-American billionaire torches Donald Trump in exchange with Elon Musk "Trump has said that he will put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico so it doesn't make sense to invest in Mexico," he said. Musk said Tesla is increasing capacity at its existing factories significantly and plans to produce robotaxis at its factory in Texas.

Elon Musk says a Trump presidency 'would be devastating' to Tesla's competitors

During a call with financial analysts on Tuesday, Wells Fargo director Colin Langan asked Musk to explain the impact of a Trump win and the potential wipeout of a federal $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles. "I guess there would be some impact," said Musk. "It would be devastating for our competitors, and it would hurt Tesla slightly." The CEO also noted that because Trump has promised heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico, Tesla would pull back on investing in a factory it had planned to open in Monterrey in 2026. "If that's going to be the case, we kind of need to see how things play out politically," he said. Yesterday, Musk denied reports that he would pump $45 million per month into Trump's campaign. Speaking on CNBC before the earnings call, Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives said that a Trump presidency could be negative for the overall EV market because Trump could eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act and with it the tax credits for EVs and certain plug-in hybrids. That would mean an administration under Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic party nominee, could be a positive for the EV industry. Yet, Trump might be better for the regulatory agenda needed to promote full-self driving and autonomy, which is a key component of Tesla's growth strategy, said Ives. "Musk has been background noise under the Biden Administration and in a Trump administration, is that something that will be more front and center?" said Ives. "That's why I would say Tesla is part of that Trump trade." Musk dismissed the notion that regulators might balk at a fleet of Tesla-made, self-driving robotaxis without steering wheels and pedals. An analyst asked Musk to explain why regulatory risk wasn't an issue for Tesla, when General Motors had paused production of its Origin vehicle that doesn't have a steering wheel, in favor of its Chevrolet Bolt, in part because of regulation. The Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle would need approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because it doesn't have traditional manual controls like a steering wheel and pedals, which are required by current safety regulations, and were written for cars with human drivers and not fully autonomous vehicles. "The main reason with switching from the Origin to the Bolt is we extinguish the regulatory risk," GM CEO Mary Barra said, according to a Reuters report. "The real reason they canceled it is because GM can't make it work," said Musk, adding that the automaker's technology "is not up to par." He said blaming regulators was "misleading." Jim Cain, an executive director at GM, told Fortune Musk is flat wrong. "All of those statements are categorically false," said Cain, who listened to Musk's comments during the earnings call. "The Origin vehicle faced a lot of hurdles getting certified because it doesn't have a steering wheel, it doesn't have a brake pedal, and it has a unique seating layout that requires a federal motor vehicle safety waiver -- full stop." Cain said Cruise technology improves every day because of the way it leverages its data set with AI. "And so far, they have driven more than 5 million fully autonomous miles and Tesla has driven exactly zero." Musk has an unshakeable faith in Tesla's power to "solve autonomy," which he reiterated Tuesday, even as Tesla reported financial results showing net profits dropped 45%, marking its second quarter of sluggish growth and fourth straight quarter of falling quarterly earnings. Car industry data also showed that Tesla continues to lose popularity in California, where sales fell 24% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Trump has pledged to end what he referred to as the "green new scam," promising to abolish "the electric-vehicle mandate on day one." According to Ives, if autonomy is the strategic future of Tesla, it might be more beneficial for Tesla to have less regulation, which is likelier under a Trump presidency versus a Harris presidency. "The cherry on top of what could be the sundae" for investors is how the company will impact the robotics market and its efforts on full-self driving and autonomy, said Ives. Ultimately, that's how the company could potentially reach a $1 trillion or even $2 trillion valuation, he added.