Here's how Tesla's Elon Musk explains his support for an anti-EV presidential ticket
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is more fervently backing (and apparently bankrolling) a Republican presidential ticket made up of two candidates deeply skeptical of government subsidies that helped his company and the electric-vehicle industry.
Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s new running mate, notably has a stance on this issue to the right of even many Republicans.
Musk’s response — both on Tuesday morning and in recent months — has been to wave away any concerns.
“Take away the subsidies,” he wrote in the wee hours Tuesday morning. “It will only help Tesla.”
But Vance would go even further than that.
In the Senate, Vance is leading the charge on a bill called the Drive American Act that aims to not only eliminate EV subsidies but “replace them with the America First Vehicle Credit to promote gas-powered vehicles.”
Nonetheless, after formally endorsing Trump this weekend, Musk then lobbied publicly for Vance and immediately touted the pick, saying the new ticket “Resounds with victory.”
Musk has lapped up the gravy
Some Wall Street analysts think it could be a cunning move for Musk, and the removal of government subsidies may indeed hurt Musk’s EV rivals more than him. Others are less sure.
Either way, Musk’s position also overlooks his own decades-long history as a recipient of generous government support.
Musk has also touted his open line of communication with Trump when this issue is raised. He said in a recent Tesla shareholder meeting that the former president “does call me out of the blue for no reason” where Musk then makes the case for EVs.
“I can be persuasive,” Musk added.
But Trump hasn’t been persuaded to the EV cause publicly at least. While Trump has expressed admiration for Musk personally, the former president assails EVs as a bad product at nearly every campaign stop.
“Who wants to drive an electric car for the rest of your life?” he recently asked a Florida crowd. The crowd quickly began lustily booing that idea.
Musk has nonetheless also pledged $45 million per month to a pro-Trump super PAC in donations to help Trump win a second term, according to the Wall Street Journal. Musk also spoke with Trump in recent days to make the case for Vance directly, according to a CNN report.
Could Trump/Vance hurt EVs but help Tesla?
Whether a Trump/Vance administration actually hurts Tesla or the EV sector (or both) is a point of disagreement on Wall Street.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives made the case in a recent Yahoo Finance Live appearance that Tesla’s dominant position in the industry could help the company keep rivals at bay and “widen the gap and technology lead.”
But Guggenheim’s Ron Jewsikow said major changes such as a removal of the Biden-era $7,500 EV tax incentive — which both Trump and Vance are promising — would remove a “key affordability enabler” for Tesla.
Musk himself has long taken a stance in opposition to all government credits, writing Tuesday: “Remove subsidies from all industries!”
Representatives for Tesla didn’t respond to questions from Yahoo Finance about whether this post meant Musk would be opposed to Vance’s call for new subsidies for oil-and-gas-fueled cars.
Either way, his anti-subsidy stance is one Musk has taken since at least 2021. He has said that the benefits Tesla received from Biden’s EV incentives are minimal.
But Tesla has long benefited from government tax credits and the government support helped Tesla get to where is it today. The website subsidy tracker estimates that Tesla has received 109 government awards since 2007 with an estimated value of nearly $3 billion.
A Los Angeles Times investigation put the tally even higher and estimated that Musk’s various companies received about $4.9 billion in government support just through 2015.
A keen focus for Musk on other issues
Musk’s focus on tax credits and subsidies — publicly at least — pales in comparison to other issues.
A review of his X feed features a flood of political commentary, almost exclusively on subjects largely unrelated to his company’s bottom lines.
In less than 18 hours since the Vance announcement, as an example, Musk has weighed in on issues like transgender children in public schools to whether the Secret Service director should be fired to media traffic patterns and many others.
Musk has been particularly animated by immigration to the point where, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported, he has held talks with Trump about a formal role on the issue in 2025. Musk denies that the talks have taken place.
Musk’s recent endorsement of Trump is also the culmination of years of increasing ties between the GOP and the world’s richest man.
It was almost 2 years ago when Musk first appeared at a GOP fundraiser, speaking at a 2022 GOP donor retreat in Wyoming hosted by then-House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Musk has also been deeply critical of Biden almost since the moment he took office.
Musk also seemed to acknowledge Tuesday morning that parts of his strong pro-Trump position now are due to actions early in the Biden administration that prioritized the EV efforts of his rivals.
Responding to one post that pointed out Biden’s past embrace of the EV efforts of GM over Tesla, Musk responded, “I try not to start fights, but I do finish them.”
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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