California Rolls Out $3,500 EV Tax Credit as Trump Ends $7,500 Federal Rebates
Updated
Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 9
California Rolls Out $3,500 EV Tax Credit as Trump Ends $7,500 Federal Rebates
3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 9
Summary
$3,500 in state tax credits is now available for first-time buyers of new zero-emission vehicles in California, with $1,750 offered for used EVs under a newly announced incentive.
The program applies to new cars priced below $50,000 and used cars below $25,000, backed by more than $135 million in one-time state funding that participating automakers are matching.
Newsom cast the incentive as a response to the loss of the former $7,500 federal EV rebate and part of California's push to preserve its clean-energy and manufacturing lead.
Consumer hesitation remains a hurdle: charging time is still a concern, and California's 216,000 public and shared private charging ports remain short of the state's target.
The rollout comes as roughly two-thirds of Californians oppose Newsom's 2035 ban on new gas-powered car sales, underscoring the political challenge of speeding EV adoption.