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Tesla revenue from NZ EV rebates hint at potential IRA benefits [Feature]
Tesla doubled its revenue after New Zealand’s Clean Car policy introduced rebates to decarbonize its fleet. Tesla New Zealand’s revenue hints at the potential benefits of the United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
According to the company’s financial records, Tesla New Zealand’s (NZ) revenue for the 2022 calendar year was $499.5 million (USD$303.3), double the company’s $230.7 million (USD$140.1) revenue in 2021. New Zealand’s acting Transport Minister Kieran McAnulty believes the government’s Clean Car policy helped Tesla’s revenues double.
“With over 100,000 rebates granted since the scheme came into effect in 2021, we have one of the fastest uptakes of EVs in the world,” McAnulty said.
Tesla New Zealand’s revenues in the past show an increase in EV adoption. Tesla NZ’s revenue in 2020 was $66 million (USD$40 million) and increased to $230.7 million (USD$ 140.1 million) in 2021. Tesla Giga Shanghai definitely factors into the company’s increased revenues in New Zealand and Australia between 2020 and 2021. However, the New Zealand government’s EV rebates might have aided Tesla’s leap from $230.7 million to $499.5 million between 2021 and 2022.
“The cost of EVs has reduced significantly over the past couple of years. Several popular models are now available for $50,000 to $60,000, whereas previously EVs tended to be closer to $80,000. Rebates for used-import EVs will rise from $3450 to $3507.50 – as the supply of used-import EVs remains restricted. The increased rebates will encourage suppliers to continue to focus on securing supply for New Zealanders,” McAnulty commented.
The New Zealand Herald analyzed data that revealed Tesla benefited significantly from Clean Car policy rebates. Since 2021 when the policy began, 9,730 Teslas were purchased for a total of $83 million (USD$ 50.4 million) rebates paid to the people who bought the electric vehicles (EVs).
New Zealand’s government plans to update its Clean Car policy this year. The update will reduce rebates offered for new zero-emission vehicles—described as electric vehicles by the government—from $8,625 (USD$5238) to $7,015 (USD$4,260). New Zealand also changed rebates offered for used imports and disability vehicles while applying charges for specific emissions. New Zealand’s Clean Car Policy changes will apply from July 1, 2023.
The Inflation Reduction Act’s Potential Impact
New Zealand’s Clean Car Policy hints that people are willing to transition to electric vehicles for the right price. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) might yield the same results for Tesla and other EV manufacturers in the United States.
Elon Musk and the Tesla board seem well aware of the IRA’s potential impact on the electric vehicle and global auto market.
“The regulations here are still in flux and there continues to be updates, so this is just our best understanding at the moment. But we think on the order of $150 million to $250 million per quarter this year and growing over the course of the year as our volumes grow,” said Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn at the Q4 2022 earnings call.
The IRA doesn’t just affect local automakers and their suppliers either. Companies worldwide involved in EV manufacturing or its supply chain have started investing in the United States to reap the benefits of the IRA. For instance, South Korean battery supplier LG Energy Solutions (LGES) has partnered with a few automakers to build cell manufacturing plants in the United States. LGES has battery plant agreements with Hyundai, Honda, and Ford. Tesla is prepared to take advantage of the IRA’s incentives as well.
“And part of the work we’re doing here, which is part of what this incentive package is trying to incentivize, is, as Elon mentioned, to move more manufacturing onshore in the United States, which is Tesla’s plans anyways. And so, I think we’re pretty well positioned over the coming years to take advantage of this.
“But then also part of what the goal of this incentive package is, is to improve adoption from our customers. And so, we also want to use these incentives to improve affordability as we think about what the price points are in our products going forward,” stated Kirkhorn.
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After launching in Austin, Texas, last week, Tesla is looking to expand the Cybercab to new parts of the United States in an effort that will see the driverless, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less vehicle chauffeur people around as part of the Robotaxi ride-hailing service.
However, the expansion will go far beyond the United States, and CEO Elon Musk revealed he hopes Europe will be the next market where Cybercab will be operational.
Musk has publicly expressed hope that Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi will reach Europe in the near future.
On September 8, Tesla’s Chief Executive quoted a German rider who had just completed a trip in Austin, Texas, and wrote that he hoped the vehicle would not take years to arrive in Germany. Musk replied with a short but notable message: “Hopefully soon in Europe too.”
Hopefully soon in Europe too https://t.co/vqQ69bLJuN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 8, 2026
The comment arrived only days after Tesla opened Cybercab ride-hailing to the public in Austin. The two-seat vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and relies entirely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Early passengers have described the rides as quiet, smooth, and more stylish than competing robotaxis such as Waymo.
Austin is currently the only city where members of the public can hail a Cybercab through Tesla’s Robotaxi app. The initial fleet is small; Texas registration records show only a few dozen of the purpose-built vehicles on the road.
Tesla set to open Cybercab rides to the public, with no steering wheel or pedals
Tesla has also been operating a larger number of conventional Model Y robotaxis in the same area, but the Cybercab itself represents the company’s first dedicated, controls-free taxi design.
Europe presents a different regulatory picture. The European Union does not permit manufacturers to self-certify vehicles the way Tesla did in the United States.
Type-approval rules and a small-series limit of 1,500 automated vehicles per type per year apply across the bloc.
Supervised Full Self-Driving has gained provisional approval in several member states through national recognition of Dutch certification, yet unsupervised robotaxi operation remains a separate and more distant step. Tesla has not announced a European launch city, date, or approval pathway for the Cybercab.
Musk himself has previously cautioned that the company does not control European regulators. In an earnings call earlier in 2026, he noted that even supervised FSD took an “immense amount of time” to clear and that unsupervised service would be “somewhat at the mercy of the governments in Europe and the EU.”
The latest social-media remark therefore functions more as an expression of intent than a timetable.
If the Cybercab eventually reaches European streets, it would mark a significant expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions beyond the United States. For now, the vehicle remains an Austin-only experience, and the gap between Musk’s hope and actual deployment will be decided by regulators rather than by engineering alone.
Tesla Cybercab might have just rolled out to the public as it entered the company’s Robotaxi suite in Austin this past week. However, the vehicle might already be on its way to becoming even better, as the company is asking riders to describe what they’d like to see improved with the Cybercab.
Tesla sent a rider experience survey to Cybercab passengers only days after paid rides began in Austin. The questionnaire asks how satisfied riders were with the overall trip. Then it requests star ratings for availability and wait time, door functionality, vehicle touchscreen, mobile app experience, seat comfort, interior space, ride comfort, cleanliness, and cargo space.
A later section asks which features riders would most like to have and allows selection of up to three items from a list that includes heated seats, ventilated seats, fully reclining seats, a tray table, a wireless phone charger, a better sound system, and more storage. Respondents may also choose none of these or write in another idea. The survey closes with a recommendation score from zero to ten.
Tesla just sent out a Cybercab rider experience survey so you can give feedback to the team. pic.twitter.com/YsU5OYdAjW
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 8, 2026
This rapid request for input illustrates Tesla’s habit of treating early users as collaborators rather than mere customers. The company has long refined vehicles through software updates and hardware changes informed by real-world use across its passenger cars.
Collecting structured opinions so soon after commercial service started shows the same mindset applied to a purpose-built autonomous taxi. The questions themselves reveal an openness to cabin changes even after the first vehicles reached public streets, which is no surprise.
Tesla has always hoped to cater a great experience to anyone in its vehicles, which is why so many fan-requested features have made it into its vehicles.
Replies already circulating online favor reclining seats, tray tables, wireless charging, improved audio, and extra room when seats fold back.
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Those preferences point toward comfort upgrades that Tesla can implement in later production batches or through cabin revisions. Because the Cybercab is designed around software first principles, many requested amenities can arrive faster than in traditional automakers.
Tesla’s willingness to survey riders immediately after launch therefore makes near-term cabin and experience improvements likely as the team reviews responses and iterates toward a more refined robotaxi people will choose daily.
Tesla Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill revealed the company has made several changes to the all-electric pickup, which he calls a “living thing, constantly evolving and improving.”
Cybertruck is manufactured at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas just outside of Austin, and over the past few years, Tesla has continued to make small changes to the pickup to improve everything from cost, reliability, serviceablility, and manufacturability.
“The finish line isn’t getting to production. A product is a living thing, constantly evolving and improving,” Morrill added.
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Some of those changes are yet to be revealed, but perhaps the most notable one was the change Tesla made to the aero shield that sits underneath the truck. In the past, it was aluminum, but now the Cybertruck is using a self-reinforcing polypropylene.
Morrill said that the polypropylene is “stretched into fibers and then laminated into the form,” and is much more durable, much lighter, and significantly cheaper than aluminum when it is manufactured this way.
It also enabled some improvements in the geometry of the Cybertruck, improving the manufacturing around the bolts and edges, in addition to minor form changes. These all benefitted the Cybertruck in more ways than one: specifically with durability and improved drag.
I was surprised by how interested people were to find out we made a relatively benign change to the Cybertruck aero shield, a part of the car most people never even see. So I’ll share some more details.
Here are two photos, the left is one of the latest trucks off the… pic.twitter.com/F5cZo2CZKf
— Wes (@wmorrill3) September 7, 2026
Typically, Teslas are not necessarily identified by model year because these changes are fluid and occur when the company sees fit to implement them. It is not like other automotive companies, which usually make sweeping manufacturing changes when building a new model year.
Instead, Teslas are recognized by their “generation” or “era.” For example, those with a newer Model Y might refer to their car as a “Juniper.” This is the same with Model 3, as many refer to the new body style as the “Highland.”
Tesla’s manufacturing changes are proof of the company’s constant need to improve its products and move things forward with its vehicles. There is no need to drag one’s feet and wait until next year if the product can be made better right now, and that’s precisely what Tesla did with the Cybertruck.
Elon Musk hints at Tesla Cybercab’s next market
Tesla Cybercab improvements are already on the minds of company engineers
