California vs. Elon Musk: Tesla Snubbed as New EV Incentives Boost Rivian, Lucid

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The state of California is offering new incentives to first-time electric vehicle buyers, with legislation passed for purchases without an application needed. The new incentives could help Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group, while notably ignoring Tesla Inc.

New First-Time Buyer Deal

With the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credits, the state of California is hoping to win over first-time EV buyers who will stay loyal and keep buying EVs.

The state’s lawmakers and governor recently passed a $135 million program.

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The terms of the program are that the new EV has to be under $50,000 if new or under $25,000 if used. These prices, of course, cut out many of the EVs on the market in the U.S.

A stipulation to the rule says if the company that made the vehicle is California-based, the price caps don’t matter, as reported by InsideEVs.

This means that Rivian, based in Irvine, and Lucid, headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area, can get around the pricing requirements and hope to win over some new California customers.

The R2 from Rivian starts at around $45,000, with many of the versions costing north of $50,000.

For Lucid, the Air and Gravity come with starting prices of $70,990 and $79,990, respectively.

Tesla Left Out

While Tesla still makes cars in its factory in Fremont, California, the company moved its headquarters from the state to Texas.

This move may be part of the reason why Tesla is targeted and left out. That and some very vocal battles between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Some Tesla models cost under $50,000, which would see them get around being left out of the second part of the incentive rules anyway. In most cases, California residents who have never owned an EV are going to be able to have their pick from Tesla, Rivian or Lucid, as long as the Tesla isn’t too expensive.

Photo: bluestork/Shutterstock

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