New Senate Candidate Seeks to Eliminate Tax Credit for Electric Vehicles, Calls It “Catastrophically Stupid”
Republican Senator-elect Bernie Moreno, who recently won a seat in the Ohio Senate, has announced his intention to become the “car czar” in the next Trump administration. As part of his agenda, Moreno has set his sights on eliminating the up to $7,500 tax credit for buying or leasing an electric vehicle. Moreno characterized the incentive as “catastrophically stupid,” saying it is unnecessary and inefficient.
Moreno took issue with the argument that the tax credit is essential to supporting the auto industry in its competition with Chinese automakers, claiming that it is not effective and that the government should not tell companies what to do. “If you don’t care what kind of car they drive, then let the markets work,” he said. “We’re going to let the marketplace decide what kind of cars people should drive, and if it’s electric, great.”
He also pushed back against the idea that reversing Inflation Reduction Act incentives like the EV tax credit would cede the technology race to China. “If China is dramatically ahead of us on EVs – good for them; we’re dramatically ahead of them in terms of combustion and hybrids,” Moreno said. “So as a country, where do you prefer our industry to go? The places where we have a strategic advantage and not hand an industry over to China?”
Moreno believes that a change in the US law regarding EV incentives is not about handing over an industry to China, but rather about reflecting the interests of consumers. “There’s never been a case in time where consumers have been more clear about what they want and don’t want,” he said. “There’s people who EVs are great for them, and that car works for you, you should go out and buy it… But for a lot of people, they don’t want it.”
The EV industry is experiencing a slowdown, with major automakers like Ford Motor and General Motors announcing plans to scale back or delay some of their electric vehicle plans. Moreno’s stance on the tax credit is likely to be met with opposition from advocates of electric vehicle adoption and policymakers who support the incentive.