The EV tax credit has finally phased out. And honestly, it’s about time. I never fully understood why someone deserved a rebate for buying a vehicle that arguably causes more environmental harm during its production than most gas vehicles do over their entire lifespan. Let’s be real…
EVs aren’t built with pixie dust…
They’re built with rare earth materials, gouged from the planet, often under questionable labor conditions. The battery packs are environmental nightmares. But the bigger issue isn’t the EV or its battery… it’s the manipulation of a market.
Politics stuck its hand too far where it doesn’t belong…
Our government artificially created illusions of 1) demand and 2) sustainability. They weaponized the NHTSA and CAFE Standards to force EVs to market. And deceptively made it appear like freedom of choice. You should be free to buy the vehicle you want, according to your budget, lifestyle, and your needs. Maybe that’s an electric vehicle, maybe it’s a diesel pickup. Whatever it is, our government has no business putting a finger on the scale.
Our future doesn’t need forced adoption…
Rather, it needs fair competition. Competition breeds innovation & aggressive/affordable pricing. I’m not saying EVs don’t have a place… far from it. I think they absolutely have a role in today’s automotive landscape. But I also think their reputation has been tarnished by the government’s attempt to force compliance. Along with the tidal waves of sustainability propaganda. And fake engine sounds lolz. In short, the lies around EVs created resistance… not the EV itself.
Lesson learned: Keep it fair…
Moving forward, let’s not let the automotive industry get twisted into some government-guided fantasyland. One where the consumer gets funneled in one direction under the illusion of choice. Because that’s what this has become – one big illusion. Take Slate’s recent excitement over a “sub-$20k EV mini truck”. Sounds amazing right? A simple barebones EV… truly affordable electrification. That was the dream. Only the reality is: The Slate was never a sub-$20,000 truck. That price only existed after factoring-in the federal EV tax credit. Which is basically a government-funded rebate you may or may not even qualify for – depending on your income and tax liability. It’s not a discount off the sticker price, even though it was advertised that way. It comes later, and only if you check all the right boxes. Slate is an EV truck company, built & marketed around a government incentive.
Here’s how the incentive really works…
You pay full price up front. And then, come tax time, if you owe Uncle Sam enough money & meet all the qualifications, you might get some of that money back as a credit – not a refund. Not cash in hand. And not savings at the point of purchase. Just a ‘credit’ against what you owe in taxes. And if you don’t owe enough? You get nothing. That’s not affordability – that’s accounting gymnastics dressed up as savings.
At the end of the day, we shouldn’t need to rely on subsidies…
Or credits, or shell games to make a vehicle purchase make sense. If a product is truly viable, and if it genuinely fits the market, it’ll succeed without our government having to sweeten the deal. And if it can’t? Then maybe it’s not the solution we were promised. This is what fair competition looks like. Let EVs, hybrids, diesels, gas guzzlers, and whatever Frankenstein creations come next duke-it-out in the open market. May the best ideas win. Not because they were pushed by policy or media spin, but because real people, with real money, decided it was worth it. That’s what keeps the market honest. And that’s what keeps innovation moving in the right direction, not towards some politically-motivated quota. Keep the market fair. I’m all for choice. Just don’t insult me by pretending I had one.
Article by David S. Windsor
