Elon Musk’s foray into gutting federal agencies is scrambling his political alliances in states grappling with electric vehicle adoption. The billionaire Tesla CEO is quickly losing friends in Democratic-led statehouses — friends whose support he needs in his bid to bypass traditional dealerships and sell his EVs directly to consumers, writes Marie French. But some Republican-led states may now be more sympathetic to the cause. Most states limit automakers’ ability to make direct, in-person sales in deference to the entrenched franchise dealership model (and the powerful auto dealers who enforce it). Democrats and environmental groups who had been working on legislation to lift such restrictions for EVs are now thinking twice. “You could not pay me to carry that bill now,” New York state Sen. Pat Fahy, a Democrat from the Albany area, told Marie. “I’m thoroughly disgusted with Elon Musk and everything he stands for.” The unelected South African native has swept through the federal government as President Donald Trump’s right-hand man to cut jobs, programs and any spending that in his view advances diversity, equity, inclusion and climate action. The speed and unprecedented nature of the cuts has alarmed not only Democrats, but some Republicans and their constituents, who are watching many programs they lobbied for evaporate. Once drawing widespread praise as a futuristic entrepreneur bringing the cool factor to EVs, Musk has emerged as the face of an administration that aims to dismantle federal agencies and boost fossil fuels. That has prompted a backlash from Democrats at the state level — along with a drop in Tesla’s market value driven in part by the company’s tanking sales in Europe. The backlash gets local
In Washington state, where Tesla is the only EV-maker allowed to make direct, in-person sales to customers, Democratic state Sen. Rebecca Saldaña introduced a bill to revoke the company’s grandfathered-in status and sponsored another that would allow all EV-makers to make direct sales. In Connecticut, Democratic lawmakers are working on a “boutique only” proposal that would allow smaller EV-makers to set up shop while excluding Tesla. Still, Musk and Tesla may be gaining some Republican allies. In South Carolina, an official with the Richland County Republican Party praised Musk during a hearing on a proposal to allow direct EV sales in the ruby-red state. “Entrepreneurs and job creators like Elon Musk have shown how important it is to break free from outdated and excessive regulations,” said Eaddy Roe Willard. Government to the rescue?
While Musk has said the country is being “strangled to death” by regulations, Tesla may not have survived this long without them. By one estimate, the EV-maker has earned $10.7 billion from selling emissions credits to other carmakers, accounting for a third of Tesla’s profits over the past decade. The company has also received an estimated $3.4 billion in tax credits to help it sell more vehicles at higher prices than it otherwise could. But Musk has said he supports Trump’s effort to unwind such federal EV programs because "it will only help Tesla," namely by eliminating government help for his newer competitors.
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