While Biden’s Build Back Better proposal would reinstate a $7,500 credit for Tesla and do away with any limit on the number of EVs that are eligible per manufacturer, it also would give consumers another $4,500 if the car is assembled by union workers in the U.S. That would preserve a leg up for other automakers, since Musk has opposed the UAW’s effort to organize Tesla’s car plant in Fremont, Calif.
Musk said the bill’s EV tax credits, and the $7.5 billion included in the recently approved bipartisan infrastructure law, are “unnecessary.”
“Do we need support for gas stations? We don’t,” Musk said. “There’s no support for a charging network. I would just delete it. Delete. I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies. Also for oil and gas.”
Buttigieg countered Tuesday that the Biden administration is committed making sure the transition to electric cars will happen quickly enough to meet the president’s climate goals, will be done in a way that is equitable and benefits U.S. workers.
“Of course we believe in the benefits of union jobs,” he said. “These are things that don’t happen on their own.”
