California Governor Gavin Newsom is encouraging constituents to buy electric vehicles with a new proposal that includes partial refunds. However, the proposal excludes buyers of Tesla Inc. vehicles, prompting an angry response from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Newsom announced on Monday that he wants to bring back the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program if President-elect Trump keeps his promise to end the federal electric vehicle tax credit.
This credit is worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles and $4,000 for some used ones.
When the program was in place before it was phased out in 2023, 42% of rebates went to Tesla owners.
If Trump gets rid of a federal subsidy, Newsom plans to give people who buy electric cars rebates. People who buy Tesla cars, on the other hand, will not be able to use this program.
As reported by the East Bay Times, Newsom said this was because of market share limits. The program would also not include Tesla’s most popular models.
The governor’s office said, “It is about making the market conditions for more of these car makers to take root.” They also said that Tesla’s exclusion from the program could change after talks.
“Every day, consumers prove the doubters wrong—zero-emission vehicles are here to stay,” Newsom said in a statement.
“We are not turning back on a clean transportation future — we are going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that do not pollute.”
Musk talked about the California plan on X (formerly Twitter), pointing out that Tesla cars would not be included, even though “Tesla is the only company that makes their EVs in California!”
He went on, “This is crazy.”
Musk has said in the past that he does not mind if federal subsidies are taken away. He has become a strong supporter and close ally of President-elect Donald Trump.
However, this plan would not include Tesla in a program that would offer incentives to Californians to buy more electric cars.
Manager of Deepwater Asset Management Gene Munster said, “This is a slap in the face to Tesla.”
Newsom also asked his state’s legislature to meet in a special session on Monday to make laws more “Trump-proof” and give the state attorney general’s office more money.
On Twitter, Trump said that Newsom was “stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again.'”