Despite demand for EVs falling across the country, Teslas still appear to be popular in California as Elon Musk\u2019s car company burned through its entire share of a new state rebate for first-time EV buyers in just five days.<\/p>\n
California\u2019s new MyFirstEV program<\/a> began rolling out earlier this month, allowing Californians buying or leasing their first zero-emission vehicle to save a few thousand dollars on a new or used EV.<\/p>\n The program is a clear response to President Donald Trump eliminating federal EV subsidies last year. The $7,500 federal tax credit expired last September, dealing a major blow to an industry already struggling with wider adoption in the United States<\/a>. Ford CEO Jim Farley warned at the time that the policy shift could\u00a0cut demand for EVs in half<\/a>.<\/p>\n The slowdown, along with the Trump administration\u2019s rollback of emissions regulations, has prompted several automakers to rethink their EV strategies and cancel plans for new EV models,\u00a0<\/a>resulting in even fewer options for consumers.<\/p>\n \u201cDonald Trump is doing everything in his power to pollute our air and surrender the clean car industry to China on a silver platter,\u201d said California Governor Gavin Newsom in a press release<\/a> announcing the program. \u201cWith our new instant rebate program for electric vehicles, we\u2019re making it easier for families to drive clean, breathe clean, and keep more money in their pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n California put $135.5 million into MyFirstEV, with participating automakers agreeing to match the state\u2019s contribution, creating roughly $271 million in total incentives.<\/p>\n Under the program, Californians buying their first zero-emission vehicle can get a $3,500 rebate on a qualifying new EV or $1,750 on a used one. To qualify the new vehicles must have a base retail price of $50,000 or less, while used vehicles are capped at $25,000.<\/p>\n This requirement actually puts Tesla at a disadvantage. California-headquartered EV companies, including Rivian and Lucid, are exempt from the price caps. Tesla, which moved its headquarters to Texas in 2021, is not.<\/p>\n Hyundai, Lucid, and Tesla kicked off the program this month. Other automakers like Ford, Rivian, and Toyota, are expected to begin offering rebates in the coming months.<\/p>\n Tesla began offering the rebates on August 3. By August 8, its entire share of the rebates had been used up<\/a> despite the company\u2019s disadvantage. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) confirmed<\/a> to InsideEVs that Tesla had depleted its share of the state funding within a week.<\/p>\n Tesla and CARB did not immediately respond to Gizmodo\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n InsideEVs estimates that California buyers received roughly $18 million in combined state and Tesla-funded rebates during those five days.<\/p>\n The news comes amid a much broader natinoal downturn in EV sales.<\/p>\n