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GM's EV tax credit might shrink soon
If you were thinking about buying a Chevy Bolt in the US, you might want to hop on that shortly. A Reuters source claims that GM managed to sell a lifetime total of 200,000 electric cars by the end of 2018, triggering the EV tax credit phase-out that recently affected Tesla. If accurate, you'll see the credit cut in half to $3,750 this April, drop again to $1,875 in October and disappear entirely in April 2020.
Tesla slashes EV prices by $2,000 to offset reduced tax credits
Now that Tesla's federal EV tax credit has been cut in half, it's determined to keep sales humming with a price cut. The automaker has slashed the price of the Model 3, Model S and Model X by $2,000 in the US to soften the blow of the reduced tax incentive. You still won't save as much as you would if you'd snagged the full $7,500 credit, but it could make the financial hit easier to bear. As it stands, Tesla may need this price drop -- its deliveries didn't meet market expectations.
Tesla puts more cars on sale to maximize $7,500 EV tax credit
Tesla really, really wants to be sure buyers can make the most of the full $7,500 EV tax credit before it's cut in half for the company in 2019. Elon Musk has announced that the automaker is now selling "all" cars where the original customer can't take delivery before the end of 2018. If you're quick on the draw, you could get the full credit even if you're placing an order for the first time.
GM's self-driving car operation in San Francisco will keep growing
Every carmaker is pushing to develop autonomous vehicles, and GM is no different. Despite having tech rated in second place by Navigant Research and the announcement of a Super Cruise-equipped Cadillac on the way, the company will do more. Bloomberg reporter Dana Hull tweeted the link to a California tax credit filing (saving GM $8 million) showing that the company plans to take its San Francisco operations from 485 employees last year to 1,648 by 2021. That office is home to Cruise Automation, a startup it acquired last year for $1 billion that had previously built self-driving kits for the Audi S4 and A4.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: BMW exec says electric vehicles 'won't work,' but would love to sell you one anyway
Jim O'Donnell, CEO and chairman of BMW North America, recently sat down with the Detroit News to discuss the ActiveE -- an electric version of BMW's 1 Series coupe, available for lease in the US this fall. Most CEOs would've probably used the opportunity to wax PR poetic about their company's bold, forward-looking ethos, because that's what CEOs do. O'Donnell, however, used the occasion to let us in on a dirty little secret: EVs don't actually work. According to O'Donnell's undoubtedly robust calculations, EVs won't work for "at least 90-percent" of the human population, at current battery ranges. The situation is so dire, in fact, that the US government shouldn't even bother wasting its $7,500 tax credits on frivolous things like innovation, national security and clean air. "I believe in a free economy. I think we should abolish all tax credits. What they are doing is putting a bet on technology, which is not appropriate. As a taxpayer, I am not sure this is the right way to go." O'Donnell went on to say he's "far more optimistic" about diesel's chances of increasing BMW's US market share -- because, you know, it's not like the oil industry gets any tax breaks, or anything. And it's not like diverting some money away from oil subsidies and putting it toward EV technology would create the "level playing field" that O'Donnell and his company so desperately need. No siree, the US energy market is just as pure and fair as it's always been -- and it certainly doesn't deserve to be corrupted by an EV tax credit pestilence. That said, O'Donnell would still really appreciate it if we buy the battery-powered i3 when it launches in 2013. Who knows? He may even throw in a free bridge, too.
