Expanded electric car subsidies were supposed to be a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, accelerating emissions reductions by allowing buyers to claim generous tax credits and save thousands of dollars on a plug-in vehicle.
But in reality they’re looking pretty stingy. The Biden administration this week announced vehicle models eligible for federal tax credits, and only 11 of more than 90 electric vehicles on the market today qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit. Of those, two are not fully electric, but plug-in hybrids with a battery-only range of 21 to 32 miles. An additional seven vehicles qualify only for a half-credit of $3,750.
That’s an embarrassingly short list for a law Biden has touted as bold, transformative and “the biggest step forward on climate ever.” And it’s bad news for consumers who might prefer other EV models and for the environment because it only blunts efforts to cut vehicle pollution fast enough to prevent catastrophic climate change.
