Musk’s Tesla backs California electric-car rules opposed by Trump
As Republicans claim California’s program will raise gas prices, the man who is single-handedly going to the mat for the biggest Republican in America is arguing the policy is good for his car company.
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk’s electric car company is endorsing a California climate policy that his political ally Donald Trump has promised to dismantle if reelected.
Tesla has joined other electric vehicle and charging station manufacturers in urging California lawmakers to support the state’s low-carbon fuel standard, which boosts electric vehicles by setting an emissions limit on all transportation fuels sold in the state.
“This program has achieved significant economic and environmental benefits for Californians, and we strongly support its continued advancement to drive even greater progress,” Tesla, Hyundai, GM, Audi, Rivian and others wrote to California lawmakers on Oct. 24. The letter was obtained exclusively by POLITICO Wednesday.
That Musk’s company would endorse a key plank in California’s fight against climate change underscores the tension between his political and business interests. Trump has moderated his attacks against electric vehicles since Musk became a campaign surrogate but is still pledging to overturn California’s suite of nation-leading rules to boost electric vehicles.
“I would not allow California politicians to get away with their plan to impose a 100 percent ban on the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks,” he said at a rally in Southern California earlier this month, referencing rules that would phase out sales of combustion engine trucks by 2045 and and gas-powered cars by 2035.
Congressional Republicans have attacked a planned update to the program that state regulators estimated last year could cost as much as 47 cents per gallon. Reps. Michelle Steel and David Valadao, both in tough reelection fights, joined a letter that same day asking California regulators to postpone their vote.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has supported the program against attacks from the oil industry and in-state Republicans, even as he’s sought to dampen California’s high gas prices by increasing authority over oil refiners and seeking to add more ethanol to its gasoline.
The California Air Resources Board is set to vote on amendments to the program Nov. 8.
Christopher Cadelago and Wes Venteicher contributed to this report.
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