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US President Biden’s union-friendly $4,500 EV tax credit buff is facing a big challenge
The Biden administration’s proposed $4,500 EV tax credit buff for electric and electrified vehicles made in a union plant in the United States is meeting a big challenge. The union-friendly proposal is poised to undergo a review from the office of Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian, who would then determine if the incentive qualifies under the US’ budget rules.
The $4,500 tax credit, which would be given to vehicles produced in the United States using union labor, stands to favor the Detroit Big Three heavily. Due to its overtly pro-union nature, the incentive has attracted a lot of criticism, particularly from automakers who are operating in the United States without union labor. These include Japanese carmakers Toyota and American EV maker Tesla.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, whose state of West Virginia hosts Toyota facilities, has expressed his disapproval of the proposed $4,500 tax credit addition for union-made EVs. In an interview with Automotive News last month, Manchin noted that the US government should not use tax dollars to pick winners and losers and that products made by companies should be able to speak for themselves.
“This is wrong. This can’t happen. It’s not who we are as a country. It’s not how we built this country, and the product should speak for itself. We shouldn’t use everyone’s tax dollars to pick winners and losers. If you’re a capitalist economy that we are in society, then you let the product speak for itself, and hopefully, we’ll get that, that’ll be corrected,” Manchin said.
If the Senate parliamentarian’s office concludes that the union-friendly $4,500 EV tax credit does not mesh with budget rules, Democrats may end up going back to the drawing board, or worse, remove the measure altogether, according to a Bloomberg report. Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, for his part, has noted that changes to the Biden administration’s proposed EV tax credit are already being discussed due to opposition from political figures such as Manchin.
“There have been some suggestions to alternatives by those that opposed it initially, and they are being looked at. It’s an evolving discussion,” Cardin said.
The Biden administration’s proposal would result in the current $7,500 EV tax credit being extended. An additional $500 would also be added to cars whose batteries were manufactured in the United States. These, together with a $4,500 additional credit if EVs were built in a union factory, could result in electric and electrified vehicle prices being lowered by as much as $12,500. Biden has also pushed for the buildout of an EV charging network across the United States.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, however, noted during his interview at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit that it would be better if the Biden administration’s proposals would not be passed. Musk even noted that he believes government support for the buildout of EV chargers is unnecessary.
“Unnecessary. I mean, do we need support for gas stations? So there’s no need for this support for a charging network. I’d delete it. I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies. And also for oil and gas… Maybe (Tesla’s competitors) need it. I don’t know. But I think just generally, I’m in favor of deleting subsidies. When we started Tesla, there were no EV subsidies at all, and gasoline was super cheap. We did not anticipate any subsidies. That came later. The $7,500 tax credit came as a result not because of Tesla’s activity but because of General Motors’ lobbying. So I would just say delete them all,” Musk said.
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Texas lawmakers urge Tesla to delay Austin robotaxi launch to September
The letter urges Tesla to delay its initial robotaxi launch in the interest of public safety.

A group of Democratic lawmakers from Austin is asking Tesla to postpone its planned robotaxi rollout, at least until a new state law governing autonomous vehicles takes effect in September.
The letter, which was sent Wednesday, urges Tesla to delay its initial robotaxi launch in the interest of public safety.
What the lawmakers’ letter says
In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers stated that delaying Tesla’s initial robotaxi launch would build trust in the electric vehicle maker’s autonomous vehicle operations.
“We are formally requesting that Tesla delay autonomous robotaxi operations until the new law takes effect on September 1, 2025. We believe this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations,” the letter read.
The lawmakers noted that if Tesla wishes to push through with its planned June 22 launch, the company must provide detailed information explaining its robotaxi service’s initial launch.
New rules kick in September
The new Texas law passed state legislature last month, and it introduces stricter requirements for companies deploying fully self-driving cars.
Current state law allows autonomous vehicle testing without a human driver, as long as vehicles meet basic registration and insurance standards. The updated framework gives state agencies more oversight, including the ability to revoke permits if autonomous vehicles pose safety risks.
It remains to be seen if the Democratic lawmakers’ efforts will bear fruit, especially since Texas is state where Republicans hold the governorship and majorities in both legislative chambers, as noted in a Reuters report.
Elon Musk, for his part, confirmed that Tesla’s initial robotaxi launch for Austin this June will start with a small fleet of Model Y vehicles. He also noted the service would initially operate only in parts of the city the company deems safest.
Tesla has not issued a comment about the Democratic lawmakers’ letter as of writing.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok 3 partners with Oracle Cloud for corporate AI innovation
Elon Musk’s xAI partners with Oracle to deliver Grok 3 to enterprise users via OCI. The move boosts Grok’s reach.

xAI’s Grok 3 is partnering with Oracle Cloud to deliver its advanced AI model to corporate customers.
Oracle announced its collaboration with xAI earlier this week. The partnership leverages Oracle’s robust infrastructure to offer xAI’s Grok 3, positioning it as a transformative tool for business applications.
“Today, we announced xAI has selected Oracle to offer xAI’s Grok models via OCI Generative AI service for a wide range of use cases and will use OCI’s leading AI infrastructure to train and run inferencing for its next-generation Grok models,” said Clay Magouyrk, Executive Vice President at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, via LinkedIn.
Oracle’s cost-effective AI capabilities will support xAI’s demanding workloads, enabling faster processing for enterprise users.
Oracle’s Karan Batta told Reuters: “Our goal here is to make sure that we can provide a portfolio of models – we don’t have our own.” Oracle will host Grok 3 alongside models from Meta, Mistral, and Cohere, ensuring corporate data remains secure within existing Oracle protections.
Oracle’s strategy focuses on integrating popular AI models into corporate software, and xAI’s Grok 3 enhances this portfolio. The collaboration expands Grok’s reach to businesses seeking secure, high-performance AI solutions for diverse use cases.
Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok 3 in February. It competes with models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. Grok 3 is free for all X users, but features are limited. X offers Premium and Premium+ subscribers access to Grok 3’s advanced capabilities like DeepResearch and Think modes. Users who are not paid subscribers have access to Grok 3’s basic features.
Elon Musk’s companies have a longstanding relationship with Oracle. In 2018, Tesla appointed Oracle founder Larry Ellison to its board, a move Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives called a “home run appointment.”
In 2023, Ellison–who is no longer on Tesla’s board but still close with Musk–revealed plans for a Tesla Cybertruck police car.
“Our next-generation police car is coming out very soon,” Ellison said at the 2023 Oracle CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas. “It’s my favorite police car. It’s my favorite car, actually. It’s Elon’s favorite car.”
Grok 3’s integration into Oracle Cloud strengthens xAI’s position in the corporate artificial intelligence market. By combining Oracle’s infrastructure with Grok’s cutting-edge capabilities, this collaboration could redefine enterprise AI adoption, driving innovation across industries.
Elon Musk
Tesla Robotaxis are becoming a common sight on Austin’s public roads
Tesla Robotaxi sightings are becoming much more frequent ahead of its launch planned for this month.

Tesla Robotaxis are becoming a common sight on the public roads of Austin, Texas, as yet another test mule has been spotted near the company’s target launch date.
Just over a week ago, the first public sighting of a driverless Tesla Robotaxi was reported. The vehicle was an updated version of the Tesla Model Y, which will be the initial model used in the public deployment of the Robotaxi platform.
Throughout the past week, sightings have been more common, as people in Austin have been looking for the unique decal Tesla is placing on car doors to recognize the driverless vehicles (After all, Robotaxis are not as easy to recognize as driverless vehicles without the LIDAR unit on the roof like Waymo).
Yet another sighting of a Robotaxi was shared on social media today, just two days before CEO Elon Musk’s proposed launch date of June 22:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxis are being spotted all over Austin!
Here’s another spotted within the last hour: https://t.co/79l1RHpL5d pic.twitter.com/bOIlZYgs0U
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 18, 2025
It is easy to tell that there is nobody in the driver’s seat of this vehicle. Tesla is using its white interior on this particular mule, making it incredibly simple to recognize that no human is controlling the car.
Whether Tesla will still meet the June 22nd deadline remains to be seen, but it is no secret that the company is prioritizing safety ahead of offering public rides.
Tesla will initially roll out the Robotaxi platform in Austin, but it has already started the regulatory process in other areas, specifically California.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also helping to streamline the process for companies developing driverless vehicles by giving exemptions to automakers. It will make things much more efficient, benefiting Tesla and other car companies that have similar plans.
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