Tesla orders placed by Oct 15 to be eligible for full tax credit
bengaluru — Electric carmaker Tesla said orders for cars placed by October 15 will be eligible for a full federal tax credit of $7,500 and these customers will get their cars delivered by the end of the year.
Under a major tax overhaul passed by the Republican-controlled US Congress late last year, incentives in the way of tax credits that lower the cost of electric vehicles are available for the first 200,000 such vehicles sold by an automaker. The tax credit is then reduced by 50 per cent every six months until it phases out.
In July, Tesla said it delivered 200,000 electric cars to buyers in the US, meaning tax credits will now begin to be lowered while rivals such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi will bring electric models to the market with a full tax credit in place.
Buyers of electric cars get full tax credit for the quarter in which the company hits the 200,000 delivery mark and the next, according to Internal Revenue Service regulation. This means Tesla has until the end of the year to hand out full tax credits, which could invite a further rush of orders and hit the company’s already strained production and delivery chain.
Tesla has scrambled to deliver the Model 3 — a mass-market sedan that it hopes is the key to success — and many customers have been waiting since early-2016. —