Connect with us

News

Trump says he ‘has to be for electric cars’ because of Musk endorsement

Credit: Fox 5 Atlanta | YouTube

Published

on

Presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at a rally in Georgia over the weekend, and while he maintained plans to end U.S. President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) “mandate,” he also added that he was a supporter of the technology as a result of his endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Trump held a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, during which he noted that he is supportive of EVs due to Musk officially endorsing him for president last month. Trump has gone back and forth on EVs over the last several weeks, and although Biden doesn’t formally have an “EV mandate,” Trump has doubled down on plans to end the mandate on his first day in office, if elected.

RELATED:

President Joe Biden comes after Elon Musk following Trump endorsement

“She wants to get rid of gas-powered cars and replace them with all electric,” Trump said during the speech, referring to Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. “They don’t go far, they cost too much, they’re all made in China; other than that they’re fantastic, and I’m for electric cars.”

Advertisement

“I have to be, you know, because Elon endorsed me very strongly, Elon. So I have no choice,” Trump added.

The presidential candidate also went on to say he thought EVs should be a part of the market, though he emphasized that he thinks switching to only EVs was unwise, partially due to the cost of chargers.

“I’m for a small slice as a slice. You want to have every kind of a car imaginable,” Trump said. “You want to have gas-propelled cars, you want to have hybrids, you want to have every kind of a car imaginable. They want to go all electric, and there’s no way you can ever load them up. They call it loading them, you can’t load them.”

Trump also went on to allude to the amount of money that would need to be spent to install EV chargers in the “middle West,” where he says the country is going to have to spend $9 trillion. He then said that, for just eight chargers, it cost $9 billion, adding that that was a good deal.

The speech touched on several different subjects, and the EV comments came following Trump’s claims that he would “end the $100 trillion green new scam,” lower energy prices, and re-launch several drilling projects. He also detailed plan his apparent plans to build an iron dome over the entire country to protect against World War 3, which he says is “very close to happening.”

Advertisement

To be sure, the so-called “mandate” Trump was talking about doesn’t exist, though he’s likely referring to emissions standards set by Biden with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requiring U.S. light-duty auto sales to reach a 67-percent market share of overall EVs by 2032, with that ratio required to meet 46 percent for medium-duty vehicles. The target is also aiming for about 50 percent of auto sales to be electric by 2030, in line with a goal Biden had set a few years earlier.

Another program that is thought to hang in the balance if Trump is elected is the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, which Trump and running mate J.D. Vance have vocally opposed in the past. Last year, Vance proposed a bill that would replace the $7,500 credit with one of the same amount for gas vehicles, additionally pointing to U.S. reliance on China for EVs and their materials.

You can watch the full rally below, with Trump’s statements about EVs taking place about 20 minutes in.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Advertisement

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla begins Robotaxi certification push in Arizona: report

Tesla seems serious about expanding its Robotaxi service to several states in the coming months.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has initiated discussions with Arizona transportation regulators to certify its driverless Robotaxi service in the state, as per a recent report from Bloomberg News. The move follows Tesla’s launch of its Robotaxi pilot program in Austin, Texas, as well as CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the service’s expansion in the Bay Area.

The Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed to Bloomberg that Tesla has reached out to begin the certification process for autonomous ride-sharing operations in the state. While details remain limited, the outreach suggests that Tesla is serious about expanding its driverless Robotaxi service to several territories in the coming months.

The Arizona development comes as Tesla prepares to expand its service area in Austin this weekend, as per CEO Elon Musk in a post on X. Musk also stated that Tesla is targeting the San Francisco Bay Area as its next major market, with a potential launch “in a month or two,” pending regulatory approvals.

Tesla first launched its autonomous ride-hailing program on June 22 in Austin with a small fleet of Model Y vehicles, accompanied by a Tesla employee in the passenger seat to monitor safety. While still classified as a test, Musk has said the program will expand to about 1,000 vehicles in the coming months. Tesla will later upgrade its Robotaxi fleet with the Cyercab, a two-seater that is designed without a steering wheel.

Sightings of Cybercab castings around the Giga Texas complex suggests that Tesla may be ramping the initial trial production of the self-driving two-seater. Tesla, for its part, has noted in the past that volume production of the Cybercab is expected to start sometime next year.

Advertisement

In California, Tesla has already applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the state’s Public Utilities Commission. The company is reportedly taking a phased approach to operating in California, with the Robotaxi service starting with pre-arranged rides for employees in vehicles with safety drivers.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla sets November 6 date for 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting

The automaker announced the date on Thursday in a Form 8-K.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has scheduled its 2025 annual shareholder meeting for November 6, addressing investor concerns that the company was nearing a legal deadline to hold the event. 

The automaker announced the date on Thursday in a Form 8-K submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company also listed a new proposal submission deadline of July 31 for items to be included in the proxy statement.

Tesla’s announcement followed calls from a group of 27 shareholders, including the leaders of large public pension funds, which urged Tesla’s board to formally set the meeting date, as noted in a report from The Wall Street Journal

The group noted that under Texas law, where Tesla is now incorporated, companies must hold annual meetings within 13 months of the last one if requested by shareholders. Tesla’s previous annual shareholder meeting was held on June 13, 2024, which placed the July 13 deadline in focus.

Tesla originally stated in its 2024 annual report that it would file its proxy statement by the end of April. However, an amended filing on April 30 indicated that the Board of Directors had not yet finalized a meeting date, at least at the time.

Advertisement

The April filing also confirmed that Tesla’s board had formed a special committee to evaluate certain matters related to CEO Elon Musk’s compensation plan. Musk’s CEO performance award remains at the center of a lengthy legal dispute in Delaware, Tesla’s former state of incorporation.

Due to the aftermath of Musk’s legal dispute about his compensation plan in Delaware, he has not been paid for his work at Tesla for several years. Musk, for his part, has noted that he is more concerned about his voting stake in Tesla than his actual salary.

At last year’s annual meeting, TSLA shareholders voted to reapprove Elon Musk’s compensation plan and ratified Tesla’s decision to relocate its legal domicile from Delaware to Texas.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Grok coming to Tesla vehicles next week “at the latest:” Elon Musk

Grok’s rollout to Tesla vehicles is expected to begin next week at the latest.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla China

Elon Musk announced on Thursday that Grok, the large language model developed by his startup xAI, will soon be available in Tesla vehicles. Grok’s rollout to Tesla vehicles is expected to begin next week at the latest, further deepening the ties between the two Elon Musk-led companies.

Tesla–xAI synergy

Musk confirmed the news on X shortly after livestreaming the release of Grok 4, xAI’s latest large language model. “Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest,” Musk wrote in a post on social media platform X.

During the livestream, Musk and several members of the xAI team highlighted several upgrades to Grok 4’s voice capabilities and performance metrics, positioning the LLM as competitive with top-tier models from OpenAI and Google.

The in-vehicle integration of Grok marks a new chapter in Tesla’s AI development. While Tesla has long relied on in-house systems for autonomous driving and energy optimization, Grok’s integration would introduce conversational AI directly into its vehicles’ user experience. This integration could potentially improve customer interaction inside Tesla vehicles.

xAI and Tesla’s collaborative footprint

Grok’s upcoming rollout to Tesla vehicles adds to a growing business relationship between Tesla and xAI. Earlier this year, Tesla disclosed that it generated $198.3 million in revenue from commercial, consulting, and support agreements with xAI, as noted in a report from Bloomberg News. A large portion of that amount, however, came from the sale of Megapack energy storage systems to the artificial intelligence startup.

Advertisement

In July 2023, Musk polled X users about whether Tesla should invest $5 billion in xAI. While no formal investment has been made so far, 68% of poll participants voted yes, and Musk has since stated that the idea would be discussed with Tesla’s board.

Continue Reading

Trending