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Democrats have proposed an updated electric car incentive program at the federal level, which would go through their $3.5 trillion social spending bill.

It would remove the limit on the number of vehicles and replace it with a timeline, introduce a higher payout up to $12,500 and make it point-of-sale, but there are also new restrictions that would put Tesla at a $4,500 disadvantage.

Ever since President Biden took over the White House and the Democrats achieved a majority in both the House and the Senate, they have made it clear that they plan to reform the federal EV incentive program.

The current program has some important flaws. The main one is that it caps the $7,500 tax credit to 200,000 electric vehicles per manufacturer.

It puts automakers who were early proponents of electric vehicles, like Tesla and GM, at a disadvantage.

The second biggest problem is that the incentive takes the form of a $7,500 tax credit, which requires you to have the equivalent federal tax burden, and it is only applied on your next taxes.

Over the last year, there have been several proposals to reform the EV incentive.

The latest one is the Clean Energy for America Act, which would increase the incentive to up to $12,500 and remove the threshold of 200,000 EVs delivered by manufacturers.

Now the House Ways and Means Committee has approved a new version of the EV incentive program as part of their $3.5 trillion social spending bill.

Here are the main changes:

  • Remove the 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer cap
  • Keep the $7,500 incentive for new electric cars for 5 years
  • Make the $7,500 incentive a point-of-sale discount instead of tax credit
  • Add an additional $4,500 for EV assembled at union factories
  • Add another $500 for EVs using batteries made in the US
  • After the first 5 years, the $7,500 becomes only for US-made electric vehicles and it applies for another 5 years.
  • They are introduce price limits on the EVs eligible for the incentives:
    • Sedans under $55,000
    • SUVs under $69,000
    • Pickup trucks under $74,000
    • Vans under $54,000
  • They are also introducing caps on income to get access to the incentives, but they are fairly high at an adjusted gross income of up to $400,000 for individuals and up to $800,000 for joint filers.

As usual, these terms could change as the bill goes through the legislative process.

Electrek’s Take

I think that these changes are mostly positive. I like that they are giving foreign automakers a grace period. That will be really helpful not to slow the momentum of EV adoption in the US.

The 10-year period is more than enough to support EV adoption.

As for the price limits, I think they are high enough if not a little too high for the SUVs and pickup trucks.

My main issue is with the $4,500 additional incentive to electric vehicles that are coming out of union factories.

That has nothing to do with the reason we should be discounting EVs versus fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

The reason is to account for the cost to the environment and health that comes with burning gas. It has nothing to do with whether employees making those vehicles, electric or not, are part of a union.

The company most affected by this is going to be Tesla since their employees have not unionized.

I can’t help but think that this is a politically motivated move rather than a pro-environment move, which is disappointing.

However, I’m not going to complain too much because I think $7,500 is plenty of money for an EV incentive and $12,000 is likely too much in most cases.

The result is just really a $4,500 disadvantage to Tesla, which the company will have no problem with considering they have still been dominating the US market over the last two years with a $7,500 disadvantage.


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Neil Young confirmed as Glastonbury headliner – days after saying he was pulling out

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Neil Young confirmed as Glastonbury headliner - days after saying he was pulling out

Neil Young has been confirmed as a headliner at this year’s Glastonbury – despite saying he was dropping out due to the BBC’s involvement in the festival.

The 79-year-old Canadian musician wrote on his website earlier this week that both he and his band, The Chrome Hearts, were pulling out because the BBC’s involvement was a “corporate turn-off”.

He has now said in a statement that this decision was down to “an error in the information I received”.

Emily Eavis, the organiser of the Glastonbury Festival, posted on Instagram on Friday: “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury.

“He does things his own way and that’s why we love him.

“We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”

Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in the summer, has worked closely with the BBC – its exclusive broadcast partner – since 1997.

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Posting on Neil Young Archives, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer wrote in his initial statement: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs.

“We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.

“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”

Young performing at Glastonbury in 2009. Pic: AP
Image:
Young performing at Glastonbury in 2009. Pic: AP

Young, who headlined the festival’s Pyramid stage in 2009, added: “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be.

“Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”

Read more:
Brothers pay tribute as The Osmonds singer dies at 73
Health warnings and travel disruptions as cold snap hits Britain

In an updated statement, he wrote: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved.

“Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”

Young, who is married to US actress Daryl Hannah, was booked to play Glastonbury in 1997 but pulled out after cutting his left index finger while making a ham sandwich.

Glastonbury, one of the UK’s largest music festivals, is set to take place between 25 and 29 June, with Sir Rod Stewart booked for the Sunday teatime legend slot.

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Wayne Osmond, one of the original members of The Osmonds, dies at 73

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Wayne Osmond, one of the original members of The Osmonds, dies at 73

Wayne Osmond, one of the original members of The Osmonds, has died aged 73.

The singer, who rose to fame alongside his siblings including Donny, Jimmy and Marie Osmond, died on New Year’s Day with his wife and five children by his side after suffering a stroke, family members said in posts on social media.

“His legacy of faith, music, love, and laughter have influenced the lives of many people around the world,” a family statement said.

“He would want everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that families are forever, and that banana splits are the best dessert. We love him and will miss him dearly.”

Donny Osmond, 67, paid tribute to his “dear brother” and said he was grateful to have seen him in hospital before his death.

“Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me,” he said. “He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone.”

American band 'The Osmonds' from left Merrill, Jimmy, Donny, Alan, Marie, Jay and Wayne pose for photographers at a media event in London, Thursday, May 29, 2008. The Osmonds are currently on a tour of the UK. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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The Osmonds in 2008 (L-R): Merrill, Jimmy, Donny, Alan, Marie, Jay and Wayne. Pic: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth


Born in Ogden, Utah, Wayne Osmond was the fourth of nine siblings. The two oldest Osmond brothers, Virl and Tom, were both born with hearing problems.

The family were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wayne’s musical career started when he was just a boy, when he formed a barbershop quartet with three of his brothers, Alan, Merrill and Jay. They were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy and became household names in the 1970s, with hits including One Bad Apple, Crazy Horses, and Love Me For A Reason.

Sister Marie also rose to fame as a singer.

Read more:
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Merrill and Jay Osmond were among the family members sharing tributes, with Merrill, 71, also saying he visited Wayne before his death.

“I’ve never known a man that had more humility,” Merrill said. “A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met…

“My brother Wayne endured much. He gave it his all. His legacy will go down as someone who was not only a genius in his ability to write music, but was able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God.”

Jay, 69, said he had always “felt most connected to Wayne out of all of my siblings” and that a “true legend” had left the world.

Wayne Osmond is survived by all of his siblings, as well as his wife Kathlyn and their children.

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It Ends With Us star Justin Baldoni sues New York Times for libel over Blake Lively harassment allegations

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It Ends With Us star Justin Baldoni sues New York Times for libel over Blake Lively harassment allegations

Actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued The New York Times newspaper for libel after it published allegations that he had sexually harassed and tried to smear the reputation of his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.

The lawsuit, which seeks at least $250m (£199m) in damages, was the latest in a legal battle that has engulfed the two stars. Lively has filed a separate federal lawsuit against Baldoni and others alleging harassment.

The Baldoni lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday by the director, 40, and by other defendants named in the Lively lawsuit.

It accuses The New York Times of accepting a “self-serving narrative” by the actress, 37, who claimed Baldoni, production company Wayfarer Studios and others attempted to damage her reputation after she and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” by the actor and a producer on the set of the film.

According to Lively’s complaint, the plan included a proposal to plant theories on online message boards, engineer a social media campaign and place news stories that are critical of her.

But Baldoni’s libel lawsuit claims The Times article, which was called ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, “disregard[s] an abundance of evidence” that contradicts Lively’s accusations.

Photo by: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx 2024 8/6/24 Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds at the premiere of "It Ends With Us" on August 6, 2024 in New York City.
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Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds at the premiere of It Ends With Us. Pic: AP

The Times has defended its reporting and said it plans to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit.

In a statement, it said: “The role of an independent news organisation is to follow the facts where they lead.

“Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”

Baldoni was dropped by his agency, WME, immediately after Lively filed her complaint and The Times published its story. The agency represents both Lively and Reynolds.

Bryan Freedman, a lawyer who represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its representatives, previously called the accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media”.

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Why is Blake Lively suing Justin Baldoni?

He said on Wednesday that The Times had “aided and abetted their own devastating PR smear campaign designed to revitalise Lively’s self-induced floundering public image and counter the organic groundswell of criticism amongst the online public”.

Lively is not a defendant in the libel lawsuit against the paper.

Read more from Sky News:
Neil Young pulls out of Glastonbury
Stormzy banned from driving for nine months

In a statement, lawyers representing the actress said: “Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today.”

It Ends With Us, which is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, was shrouded by speculation over discord between the lead pair at the time of its release in August.

Baldoni took a backseat in promoting the film while Lively took centre stage along with Reynolds, who was on the press circuit for Deadpool & Wolverine at the same time.

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