{"id":402269,"date":"2026-07-17T14:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/402269\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:26:12","slug":"how-does-californias-3500-ev-rebate-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/402269\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does California\u2019s $3,500 EV Rebate Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thinking about buying or leasing an electric car<\/a> in the near future? California will soon be making that cheaper.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that sets aside millions of dollars in state funds to fund rebates for residents who buy or lease a zero-emission vehicle \u2014 a category that includes battery-electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First-time EV buyers can qualify for a $3,500 discount when buying or leasing a new electric vehicle, as long as the retail price is under $50,000. If you\u2019re looking for a used electric car, there\u2019s still a price reduction available \u2014 a smaller one, however: $1,750 off for vehicles retailing for under $25,000.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles on Sept. 25, 2024.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s program \u2014 called \u201cMyFirstEV<\/a>\u201d \u2014 comes a year after President Donald Trump\u2019s massive spending and tax plan known as the One Big Beautiful Bill ended<\/a> federal tax credits for EVs nationwide. Previously, American consumers could claim a $7,500 tax credit after buying a new EV or $4,000 for used EVs.<\/p>\n

Newsom said on Monday that as the federal government pulls back from supporting EVs, California would instead be \u201cputting its foot on the accelerator\u201d \u2014 and that the instant rebate program would \u201c[make] it easier for families to drive clean, breathe clean, and keep more money in their pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program has secured $270 million in funding \u2014 half of that from the state budget and the other from participating EV automakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One big thing to know: Despite the fanfare, the MyFirstEV program has not yet started \u2014 and we don\u2019t have an official start date either. State officials will reveal next month which car brands are actually included, so don\u2019t expect to receive this discount if you purchase an EV today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keep reading to learn what we know right now about California\u2019s instant rebate program for EV purchases.<\/p>\n

Who qualifies for this program?<\/p>\n

Only California residents who are buying or leasing an EV for the first time are eligible for this rebate.<\/p>\n

And consumers will have to confirm that this is the first time they are buying or leasing an EV before taking their car home, said Lindsay Buckley, communications director of the California Air Resources Board, the agency tasked with managing the program.<\/p>\n

No \u2014 there\u2019s no application to fill out ahead of time. Once state officials announce that the MyFirstEV program has officially begun, all you need to do is go to a dealership of a participating automaker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is different from other past state rebate programs \u2014 like the now-terminated Electric Bicycle Incentive Program<\/a> \u2014 which have required participants to fill out an application before making a purchase.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Toyota electric vehicle on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2024.<\/p>\n

If you move forward with making a purchase or lease, confirm two things with the salesperson and the financing team:<\/p>\n

That you qualify for the MyFirstEV discountThat there are still state funds available for this specific car brand.<\/p>\n

When federal EV rebates were available, buyers had to initially wait until they filed their taxes the year after buying their car to request this money back. But state officials say that folks interested in the FirstEV discount won\u2019t have to wait so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce launched, Californians will be able to go down to participating automakers\u2019 dealerships and access the rebates at the point of sale,\u201d Buckley said. \u201cThey won\u2019t have any delay in getting this discount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can the program help me pay for any EV I want?<\/p>\n

No \u2014 MyFirstEV discounts will only cover battery-electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles from automakers participating in the program. State officials will confirm next month which car companies are included.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this means that if an EV brand you really want to purchase is not on the list, you won\u2019t get the discount when buying or leasing the car.<\/p>\n

Hybrid vehicles are also not included in MyFirstEV, state officials confirmed with KQED.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a price limit: The EV you choose must cost under $50,000 if it\u2019s a new car, and $25,000 if it\u2019s used. There is, however, a small exception<\/a> to this price rule if the automaker is headquartered in California \u2014 in which case the discounts will apply regardless of the manufacturer\u2019s retail price. More than a dozen electric car brands<\/a> are based in the Golden State, with several selling models priced beyond the $50,000 limit.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really interested in this program. What should I do while I wait for it to open?<\/p>\n

While consumers wait for the program to begin, Buckley said they learn as much as they can about different EVs available on the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe head to a dealership and take a test drive of an electric vehicle that you\u2019re eyeing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do expect this to be a popular program and for [funds] to get gobbled up pretty quickly\u201d \u2014 so the more prepared you are when the program officially begins, the better.<\/p>\n

\"AnA Polestar electric car prepares to park at an EV charging station on July 28, 2023, in Corte Madera.<\/p>\n

Potential buyers can also learn about what it takes to care for an EV, like how to find charging stations and battery maintenance.<\/p>\n

Buckley said the site ElectricForAll<\/a> \u2014 created by the nonprofit Veloz \u2014 is a good source of information.<\/p>\n

Will some carmakers have more rebates available than others?<\/p>\n

No \u2014 funds will be divided equally among the participating automakers.<\/p>\n

However, there may be greater demand for some brands, which could mean that rebates may run out faster at some dealerships.<\/p>\n

This article includes reporting from KQED\u2019s Laura Klivans.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thinking about buying or leasing an electric car in the near future? California will soon be making that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-402269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}