Donald Trump has pulled a U-turn and now says he is now “totally” in favor of EVs. The Republican nominee for president said he had “no choice” but to rethink his position after previously bashing battery-electric vehicles now that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become one of Trump’s biggest financial backers in an increasingly tough campaign.
Musk first worked with Trump on a short-lived business council set up after the 2017 inauguration.
Donald Trump has long questioned the benefits of battery-electric vehicles and harshly spoken out against federal EV mandates. Until now, anyway. The Republican nominee for president reversed course this week, telling attendees at a campaign event in Georgia that he is “totally” for electric vehicles, calling them “incredible.”
Trump didn’t hide the reason for his reversal, telling the crowd, “I’m for electric cars. I have to be because, you know, Elon endorsed me very strongly,” a reference to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “So, I have no choice,” the nominee said.
Quid pro quo
Musk has had a long relationship with Trump. The South African-born entrepreneur was a member of a business advisory board the then-president set up early in his term – though it was quickly dissolved in response to protests over some of Trump’s early policies.
More recently, Musk indicated plans to donate $45 million a month to support Trump’s campaign through the America PAC pollical action committee. The richest man in the world initial denied that story, which first appeared in the Wall Street Journal, saying it was “simply not true.”
Trump claimed in Atlanta it would cost $5 trillion to set up a nationwide charging network. The 2021 Infrastructure Act actually set aside $6.5 billion.
Whether there were string attached – and not yet tied up – Musk appears now to be donating even more than that monthly figure. With barely 90 days left until the November election he announced in a tweet this month that he is giving “$180 million to elect” Trump.
Flip-flopping
Trump has taken a variety of different positions on environmental issues, in general, since he first began his successful campaign for the White House in 2016. He rolled back a number of rules and regulations, including the strict Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards, set during the Obama administration.
That move was tied up in court and, eventually, reversed by Pres. Joe Biden early on in his own term. In turn, Biden has become a major backer of electric vehicles, his administration setting targets that would have them account for almost two-thirds of the new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2032. (The revised rules, announced early this year, would permit automakers to substitute up to 15% plug-in hybrids for some pure electric models.)
Trump has long opposed new environmental regulations impacting the auto industry.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump has taken an even more aggressively negative turn against green energy technology. He’s repeated his claim that wind turbines cause cancer. And he warned that people could be electrocuted by battery-powered boats. He’s been particularly negative on EVs – and federal mandates.
Among other things, Trump has called calls to electrify the auto industry, a “green new scam.”
More Autos and Politics News
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Musk weighs in on the election
Elon Musk has taken a sharp turn to the right since acquiring Twitter, now renamed X.
Until a few years ago, Musk was a darling among environmentalists and, more broadly, left-minded voters due to his calls for saving the environment and his development of the first successful EV company.
Perceptions began to change around the time of Trump’s 2016 election. But the billionaire made it clear he had taken a turn to the right following his takeover of Twitter – now renamed X. That hasn’t4 gone smoothly, however. Concerned about the expanded presence of anti-Semitic and racist posts, a broad spectrum of advertisers, including Disney, Apple and IBM, have abandoned the social media service.
Musk has positioned his newly announced financial support for Trump as patriotic, telling far-right commentator Jordan Peterson in an interview that, “The intent is to promote the principles that made America great in the first place.”
Trump and the Cybertruck
Trump has said he’s a “big fan” of the Tesla Cybertruck.
Trump hasn’t been entirely anti-EV until now. Earlier this year he described himself as a “huge fan” of the Tesla Cybertruck.
But even now, he appears to be walking a line when it comes to backing EVs, in general. “Not everybody has to have an electric car. I told him that,” Trump said of his conversation with Musk. “So, we’re going to get rid of that (federal) mandate if you don’t mind. Some people want gasoline-propelled cars, some people want a hybrid, and some people like an electric car.”
Trump has also indicated he’d pull funding for federal EV incentives which provide as much as $7,500 to buyers of qualified vehicles. And he’s also criticized programs aimed at setting up a nationwide EV charging network. At the Atlanta rally, Trump claimed such a network would cost $5 trillion.
He has, at other times, quoted figures as large as $12 trillion. But the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 set aside a comparatively modest $7.5 billion to help roll out a nationwide network that, the Biden administration hopes, eventually will include about 500,000 EV charging stations. The vast majority of that funding will come from corporate investors.
Could this therefore be considered a bribe or illegal campaign contribution?
It’s called politics. To the best of my memory, it’s been around a few years.