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The government is currently working to make electric vehicles more achievable and sensible for families. Part of the plan is to expand the charging infrastructure throughout the U.S., and the EV incentive might increase. But it isn’t that cut and dry (is it ever?).

What does the electric vehicle have to do with it?

A shiny Tesla hood sits in the sun
Tesla might be back in the electric vehicle incentive game if the infrastructure plan expands | Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In a fact sheet put out by the White House, it notes that the plan proposes to spend $174 billion to encourage U.S. car manufacturers to hop on the electric vehicle platform. Part of this would mean granting tax credits and incentives to U.S. companies who produce EV batteries here instead of overseas.

In turn, this will reduce electric vehicle prices and make the cars more attainable for families. Also, the EV incentive program will get a revamp as well.

Under the current program, electric vehicle buyers would get a $7,500 tax rebate. The rebates also are limited to 200,000 units per manufacturer.

Electrek says with the rumored new program, the incentive could change to $10,000 and be a point of sale rebate. That means actual money off the car purchase, not just a tax credit. That also means that the EV has to be American-made—no overseas cars or vehicles made in Mexico.

How will this work?

In the White House Fact Sheet about the proposed plan, it says:

The “plan will enable automakers to spur domestic supply chains from raw materials to parts, retool factories to compete globally, and support American workers to make batteries and EVs. It will give consumers point of sale rebates and tax incentives to buy American-made EVs, while ensuring that these vehicles are affordable for all families and manufactured by workers with good jobs.”

The White House

In short, the government wants to produce more electric vehicles on American soil to benefit Americans in two ways: new jobs and new, affordable cars.

The actual details of this are not worked out yet, but it sounds like a good way to get a chunk of people to switch to electric vehicles. It would also help some of the struggling brands ramp up production and create new jobs.

Which cars would qualify for the discount?

Currently, the list is short. Elon Musk and his Tesla fleet would qualify. Currently, Tesla passed the threshold and no longer qualified for rebates. The Nissan Leaf would qualify. It is possible the new Rivian trucks would be on the list, in addition to the Chevy Bolt.

There are plans to produce the Volkswagen ID.4 in America soon. Currently, it is made in Germany and China. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is not produced in America. It is also made in China.

We also don’t know where the GMC Hummer EV will be made yet, but GMC will likely make it in Detroit. However, the high price of the Hummer might impact the incentive.

If this plan comes to fruition, many more manufacturers will hop on the EV train. It is also possible that the rebate could apply to used cars.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but this could be a huge deal for those looking to make the electric switch shortly.

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