from Hacker News

A big problem for Tesla isn't getting much attention

by breve on 7/22/25, 2:44 PM with 62 comments

• by roxolotl on 7/22/25, 4:47 PM

  I think other commenters are misunderstanding what credits are being discussed here. There are credits which are provided to reduce the cost of vehicles which most everyone knows about. The removal of those credits will reduce the likelihood of purchasing a car because it makes cars more expensive.

  That is not what’s being discussed here. These credits are credits which allow automakers to make their fleet’s average gas mileage seem higher. Electric automakers can sell credits to gas car manufacturers which allows them to avoid penalties for not having a more fuel efficient fleet. Those penalties have been removed which means there’s no longer a reason to purchase these credits.

  This is a pretty big deal for TSLA because selling these credits to other automakers is an important and consistent portion of their revenue.

• by nunez on 7/22/25, 5:06 PM

  That anti-EV provisions in this bill will simultaneously hurt Tesla, possibly for good, disincentivize legacy automakers from ramping up their EV programs AND sully consumer interest in buying EVs for a good long while, especially when combined with state-level registration tax hikes for EVs. (It costs $225 to renew an EV registration in Texas. It used to be $85.)

  All this combined with the protectionist tariffs in place will secure big auto's desires to continue pumping out inefficient and environment destroying gas vehicles (which I posit was what they wanted to do all along) while ensuring that cheap Chinese EVs never see the light of day, customers be damned.

  None of this wouldn't have happened if Elon didn't meddle with politics.

  This has to be one of the biggest own-goals in American business.

• by SoftTalker on 7/22/25, 4:15 PM

  Version without popups and other visual jank:

  https://lite.cnn.com/2025/07/22/business/tesla-regulatory-cr...

  I always check CNN links to see if s/www/lite/ works.

• by lenerdenator on 7/22/25, 3:38 PM

  I wonder what the wider impact of this will be on American EV production.

  A lot of things in that space (and, well, literally the rest of American society) depended upon assumptions about the regulatory and incentive structure that the legislative implementation of Project 2025 is tearing apart.

  EDIT:

  An example of this would be a local battery plant near me that just opened. It's currently the largest in the US. It was built with the understanding that certain subsidies would exist and that people would be buying electric vehicles. Does that factory get built without the incentives that the BBB is scrapping? Probably not.

• by Animats on 7/22/25, 5:03 PM

  Clickbait title. Not HN's fault. It reflects a problem at news sources.

  It may be necessary to reconsider the HN rule that the title from the original article should be used.

• by paxys on 7/22/25, 3:42 PM

  I feel like this is going to be a much bigger blow for smaller EV makers than Tesla. Tesla's books might take a hit, sure, but will Rivian, Lucid etc. be able to survive?

• by Taylor_OD on 7/22/25, 3:50 PM

  I believe this has been talked about a lot. Musk wasnt thrilled about this change but Tesla is, like it or not, the most recognizable electric car company in America. If you are dead set on going electric you are likely going to at least look at what Tesla has to offer. Because of that, the tax credit going away will impact them far less than other companies that people have to go out of their way to learn about and search for.

  Now does a lot of that change because people might not buy teslas because they dont like Elon? Maybe? Who knows.

• by mrcwinn on 7/22/25, 5:07 PM

  Anyone know if Tesla’s environmental impact reports consider how the credits system influences the fuel economy of competing fleets?

• by cwoolfe on 7/22/25, 3:37 PM

  Governments also subsidize gasoline.

• by kacesensitive on 7/22/25, 3:40 PM

  This is the kind of structural revenue loss that doesn’t show up until it’s too late. Tesla’s been skating on regulatory credits for years, essentially subsidized by the shortcomings of legacy automakers. Now that the training wheels are off, we’re about to see what the core business can actually do.

  I do wonder just how much Elon himself affects sales in the next few years. I for one have a moral obligation to make my next vehicle an EV, but I have an even greater obligation not to fund Musk.

• by gok on 7/22/25, 3:56 PM

  It's emissions credits, saved you a click.

• by noir_lord on 7/22/25, 3:31 PM

  Oh no.

  How unfortunate.