California Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed General Motors and CEO Mary Barra for the rollback of electric vehicle subsidies and other anti-EV measures advanced by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
Newsom was asked last week about the state of California’s capacity to replace the federal EV subsidies that were ended by the Trump administration and said, “You’re talking about the Biden-era tax credit that the Trump administration eliminated. We can’t make up for federal vandalism of those tax credits, but we can continue to make the unprecedented investments in infrastructure which we’re doing.”
“It’s not about electric vehicles, it’s about economic transformation and this country has ceded that to China,” Newsom said. “It is remarkable the damage that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have done in terms of our, not just electric vehicle industry but the tech stack that’s a big part of that.”
“We’ve ceded that. GM sold us out. Mary Barra sold us out,” Newsom added. “Eliminating Ronald Reagan’s work, eliminating the progress we’ve made under the California Resources Board of 1967 where we began the process of regulating tailpipe emissions. The Republicans rolled that back this year, Donald Trump’s leadership. But the American automobile manufacturers allowed that to happen, GM led that effort.”
CALIFORNIA TRYING TO KEEP OIL AND GAS FIRMS FROM LEAVING THE STATE
Newsom noted that about one-fourth of new vehicles sold in California are alternative-fueled, which is the highest share in the nation. He added that the state has 60 EV manufacturers and has created an ecosystem favorable for EVs, which he said helped facilitate the rise of Elon Musk’s Tesla.
He also emphasized that California plans to continue to invest in EV infrastructure and renewable energy through its cap-and-trade program, which sets greenhouse gas emissions limits and has emitters purchase “allowances” – which are effectively permits to emit one ton of carbon dioxide equivalents – and sell excess allowances to companies that require offsets. The program’s revenue from allowance auctions helps fund projects aimed at reducing emissions.
CALIFORNIA EV DRIVERS ARE ABOUT TO LOSE A MAJOR PERK AFTER 25 YEARS
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 61.24 | +0.65 | +1.07% |
“California will continue to compete, we’ll continue to make the case to be more competitive globally, not just across the United States, and there are billions and billions of dollars through 2045 in the cap-and-trade program that continue to make those infrastructure investments, but not the direct subsidies that we cannot make up for that were eliminated under the federal program,” Newsom said.
Despite all that Newsom said about EVs, it comes as he has also moved to stop the exodus of oil and gas companies from California over what the industry views as a hostile regulatory climate.
AOC STARS IN NEWSOM REDISTRICTING AD, URGING CALIFORNIANS TO ‘FIGHT’ TRUMP FOR DEMOCRACY
The number of refineries in the state has dwindled over the last several decades from 40 in 1983 to 13 currently in operation – a number that’s expected to decline to 11 when Valero and Phillips 66 shut down their refineries.
Last week, Newsom signed legislation that fast tracks the approval of 2,000 new wells per year over the next decade in Kern County, a significant oil-producing region in the southern portion of California’s Central Valley.
“Millions of Californians will soon start saving billions on their energy costs,” Newsom said in a press release. “We’re stabilizing the state’s gasoline supply to avert severe price spikes at the pump and we’re making it easier to build the abundant clean energy we need to keep bills lower.”
FOX Business’ Jay Caruso contributed to this report.
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