Musk calls for the US government to scrap EV subsidies
Elon Musk has called out a $2tn (£1.5tn) US spending package to support electric vehicles as unnecessary.
To the dismay of green campaigners the tech billionaire said that investing tax credits in charging infrastructure under a proposed bill was unnecessary at a summit yesterday. Under the proposed Bill union-made, US electric vehicles would gain an additional $4,500 tax incentive. Tesla does not have a union at its factory.
“It might be better if the bill doesn’t pass,” Musk said at a Wall Street Journal summit for chief executives. “Do we need support for gas stations? We don’t. Delete it.”
“Honestly, I would just can this whole bill,” he continued. “I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies,” added Musk who said that governments should “be a referee but not a player on the field” and should “get out of the way and not impede progress”.
Tesla cars are supported by a Supercharger network which is seen as a key advantage for its cars because other brands of electric vehicles are unable to use the chargers. Musk, whose company has been a large beneficiary of government subsidies to promote electric vehicle ownership, is exploring plans to allow other cars to use the Tesla EV charging network.
Musk has also been critical of the US Democrats’ proposed tax increases for ultra wealthy individuals.
“It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill … and give it to, you know, an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government,” Musk, the world’s richest man, said yesterday.
Tesla shares have jumped by two per cent today.
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