WASHINGTON _ California helped birth the nation's electric vehicle industry. It used its laws and market size to prompt automakers to make and sell electric vehicles. It encouraged Tesla and other innovators to build manufacturing plants.
Over the years, California spawned an entire industry devoted to EV batteries, charging stations and utility collaborations, with billions of dollars invested.
Now, all of that is at risk. On Thursday, the Trump administration proposed freezing Obama-era rules that require automakers to build cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids and electric vehicles. The proposal would also challenge California's authority to set its own greenhouse gas restrictions on cars, including a mandate that automakers sell a certain number of electric cars in California.
