Hats off to you, Mr. Musk (Jim Watson/Getty Images)

Why the proposed end of EV tax credits could actually be a big win for Tesla

That’s because vehicles assembled in America might be getting their own tax break.

5/13/25 9:28AM

The $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles will likely be out by year’s end, according to a markup of a proposal by the House Ways and Means Committee published yesterday that’s expected to be incorporated into President Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.”

That would seem like bad news for electric vehicle makers, who rely on the credit to subsidize some of the higher price of purchasing EVs, but maybe not as much for Tesla.

When asked about how rolling back the Biden-era tax credits might affect his company during an earnings call last July, CEO Elon Musk said something sort of incomprehensible:

“I guess there would be like some impact. But I think it would be devastating for our competitors and would hurt Tesla slightly. But long term, probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess.”

He didn’t explain why that might be, but he might actually be right.

Tesla buyers are less likely than other EV owners to say they wouldn’t have made their purchase without the federal tax credit, according to survey data of EV owners by insurance comparison website Insurify this year. While more than half of Toyota EV owners said so, only about a third of Tesla owners did.

Additionally, the proposed legislation introduces a tax deduction for car loan interest for passenger vehicles assembled in the US, which is the case for Tesla. That could save typical car buyers on average $4,500 over the course of their loan, depending on the car they buy and the interest rate they get. (Or, conversely, much less than that.)

Of course, the same goes for Bezos-backed Cybertruck competitor Slate Auto, which like Tesla is also set to be assembled in the US. Unlike Tesla, its starting price of less than $28,000 is relatively affordable to begin with, even without the tax credit.

Tesla, however, has much bigger problems than the federal tax credit reversal, like slowing demand — as evidenced by declining sales, a week-long labor pause, and confirmation from Tesla employees themselves.

Rani Molla6m

Tesla just opened the door to 50,000 government buyers

Tesla signed a deal that lets more than 50,000 public agencies — including police departments and school districts — buy its vehicles without the usual slow bidding process, making it much easier to compete in a market long dominated by Ford and General Motors. The public sector currently represents less than 1% of Tesla’s sales.

The move doesn’t guarantee orders, but it removes a major barrier at a time when Tesla is looking for new demand to bolster its main source of revenues. Tesla’s Q1 deliveries fell short of analyst expectations and annual sales have declined for two years in a row. The public sector also represents a large pool of buyers who are outside Elon Musk’s other companies.

Tesla reports earnings after the bell today.

Tesla is coming for Detroit's government fleet business

Tesla reports earnings after the bell today.

Google shares jump on new TPU 8 chips, enterprise agent platform, and partnership with Nvidia

The raft of announcements from Google’s Cloud Next ’26 event sent shares up in early trading.

Jon Keegan5h

Rani Molla5h

How Elon Musk has shifted SpaceX’s goals ahead of its IPO

The New York Times took a close look at how Elon Musk is reshaping SpaceX’s priorities ahead of its highly anticipated, potentially record-breaking IPO — and what that could mean for the company and its investors.

As the NYT’s Ryan Mac noted in the article, “Shifting aims before an I.P.O. would be unthinkable for most corporate leaders, who tend to focus on their core businesses and try to project steadiness to potential investors.”

But Musk, who is also the ever-unpredictable CEO of Tesla, doesn’t follow typical playbooks. Here’s a quick look at how SpaceX’s goals have changed:

Musk’s SpaceX Goals Shift Ahead of Its I.P.O.

But Musk, who is also the ever-unpredictable CEO of Tesla, doesn’t follow typical playbooks. Here’s a quick look at how SpaceX’s goals have changed:

Rani Molla20h

SpaceX seals right to buy coding startup Cursor for $60 billion

SpaceX said today that it’s “working closely together” with fast-growing coding startup Cursor “to create the world’s best coding and knowledge work AI.” The post also said SpaceX would have the right to acquire Cursor later this year or make the startup “pay $10 billion for our work together.” The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, previously reported that the companies had agreed to an acquisition.

The news comes as SpaceX prepares for a blockbuster IPO and doubles down on AI, with a growing — if still fully aspirational — focus on space-based data infrastructure and computing.

Last month, when SpaceX hired two senior leaders from Cursor, CEO Elon Musk noted that xAI, which SpaceX acquired earlier this year, “was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up.”