Utilities hamper Tesla’s fight over electric vehicle rebate
Early adopters of the electric car often band together in what can seem, in the age of Donald Trump and resurgent sport utility vehicles, like a lonely defense of an unloved technology. But today in California, the state doing the most to cultivate emission-free driving through lucrative incentives, the businesses trying to profit from electric vehicles fought each other.
At issue during a California Air Resources Board hearing in Sacramento on Friday were rebates the state pays to EV buyers using proceeds from the sale of Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits. Under the programme, energy producers who fail to meet the state’s low-carbon fuel targets buy credits from those who’ve already complied. Following state guidelines, the sellers use a portion of the proceeds to pay rebates that range from $50 to $599 for each electric vehicle, which are paid out by the utilities who provide electricity for residential and workplace recharging.
Tesla and Ford Motor have urged the state’s powerful emissions regulator to let automakers pay out the rebate at the moment they sell the car, as a way to boost sales, instead of making consumers wait for a check from their utility or a credit on their bill. Ken Morgan, Tesla’s director of business development, said before the hearing that the electric carmaker might even boost the rebate beyond what utilities offer.
Tesla’s proposal comes as Model 3 production delays are draining its cash and the company is close to exhausting the availability of a $7,500 federal tax credit. But whoever doles out the rebates would be required to use all money earmarked for lowcarbon rebates to pay consumers or associated expenses. “This gives us no direct benefit other than to help everybody sell more electric cars,” Morgan said.
Even so, passing out free money is a great way to build brand loyalty, and Tesla and utilities are elbowing each other hard for the privilege. Eileen Tutt, executive director of a trade association whose board includes California utilities, said in an interview before the hearing that she’s “adamantly opp-osed” to letting automakers pay out the rebates. She said the utilities should continue doing so, though she’s meeting with Tesla and others to discuss possible improvements.