Trump Proposes Outlawing Electric Vehicles

After landing in D.C. from a trip to China, Trump declared “weak EV trucks and cars should be outlawed.” The statement surprised his aides, who said this was “an unplanned announcement.” Electric vehicles (EVs), including cars and trucks, run on rechargeable batteries instead of carbon-producing combustion engines. Trump has floated rescinding parts of Harris’s Inflation Reduction Act that support building the network of EV charging stations and subsidizing EVs.

Automakers have largely stayed silent. But one expert who wished to remain anonymous said China is now leading the “EV arms race, and this will only make it worse.” Trump does not appear to have the votes to undercut the EV industry entirely. But by creating a hostile environment, production of U.S.-made EVs has slowed, while the import of Chinese EVs has grown.

Environmental groups made a joint statement attacking Trump’s climate policy. “As climate-change-fueled fires tear through the Southwest and floods cover the Northeast, Trump is doubling down on the policies that created this problem.” They note that EVs are only a small part of what they call “solutions to the climate problem.” “We should be talking about mass transit, about a just transition out of the fossil fuel era.”

The head of the United Auto Workers (UAW) could not be reached for comment, but a UAW spokesperson said, “If Trump loves American jobs, he shouldn’t threaten them.” A Trump spokesperson responded, “We will only Make America Great Again with what makes our country great and safe: guns, gas trucks, and good old American values.”