News
Pete Buttigieg responds to Tesla’s Elon Musk, defends Biden’s EV federal spending plan
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made waves after he boldly declared that he is actually against the Biden administration’s plan to roll out an updated set of union-friendly EV incentives and build out an EV charging network across the United States. During an interview at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit, Musk noted that such programs were “unnecessary,” while stating that he is an advocate of a system where there are zero subsidies for EVs and fossil fuels alike.
In his appearance at the same event on Tuesday, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg responded to the Tesla CEO’s comments. Defending the Build Back Better Act, which grants an additional $4,500 incentive to EVs that are produced in a union factory, Buttigieg argued that while the electric revolution is inevitable, there are still things that will need help from the government.
“I think it’s very important to fund EV charging stations and to also make sure what’s in the next Build Back Better Act to bide down the cost of electric vehicles. Let me explain why. The market is going electric already. That’s gonna happen. The automotive sector is headed that way. We’re not here to cause that technological adoption to happen. We’re here because there are three things that will not happen on their own.
“One, for it to happen quickly enough to meet our climate challenges. Two, for it to happen in equitable terms that will actually reach the Americans who stand theoretically to benefit the most from EVs. Low-income, urban Americans, rural drivers — but they only capture those benefits if they can afford to buy them in the first place. And third, the importance of making sure that this electric-vehicle revolution is made in America and creating good-paying jobs. And, of course, we believe in the benefits of union jobs,” the Secretary of Transportation said.
Buttigieg further highlighted that the proposed EV incentives, which could amount to $12,500, could help mainstream American buyers acquire electric cars that would otherwise be out of their reach.
“These are things that don’t happen on their own. They require policy attention, and that’s part of our focus both in the charging network that is supported out of the infrastructure bill that the president signed, and the tax credits that will make these vehicles more affordable, that are proposed in Build Back Better. Look, if you take, for example, a $40,000 electric truck, a good quality electric truck, and you have up to a $12,500 tax credit to buy down that cost, moving that cost to the high 20’s.
“Especially for those drivers in the rural areas who drive the most and therefore spend the most money on gas, we’re talking about millions of more Americans who can get in on the electric vehicle revolution without having to wait for all of those economies of scale to kick in and bring that price point down over the next decade, which we think will happen. We think this is incredibly important, and it’s certainly a very, very important part of meeting our climate commitments and our climate responsibilities as a country,” Buttigieg concluded.
Watch the US Secretary of Transportation’s segment at the WSJ’s CEO Council Summit in the video below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.
Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. Shares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.
Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.
However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.
S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.
Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.
At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.
Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.
🚨 The NHTSA denied a petition from Tesla that would have thrown out concerns regarding its door handles.
NHTSA said Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect warranting an investigation. The agency said a rulemaking process would be a better strategy. pic.twitter.com/j6PzUBM1mT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.
Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.
Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix
In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.
The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.
It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
