Minnesota just passed a law that’s going to ramp up EV adoption
Minnesota’s new law includes an EV rebate of $2,500 for a new car and $600 for a used one, with no income caps, among other EV incentives.
That puts Minnesota in the company of such states as Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, and Maine, and it joins Illinois as one of two Midwestern states with EV rebate programs.
Minnesotans will receive $15.716 million in first-time rebates for purchasing EVs. The rebates are limited to new vehicles with an MSRP of $55,000 or below and used vehicles that sell for $25,000 or below.
Minnesota auto dealerships will also receive a total of $2 million in one-time grants to offset infrastructure investments needed to sell EVs.
Amber Backhaus, vice president of public affairs at the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association, said:
Before they can even sell an electric vehicle, dealers must invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in charging stations and new equipment.
These grants will expedite the transition to having EVs available to consumers in dealerships across the state.
The state rebate is in addition to the federal $7,500 tax credit. The rebate is applied at the point of purchase, and tax credits are applied when the EV owner files their annual federal taxes.
Minnesota legislators also approved $13 million for school districts to buy and maintain electric buses and charging infrastructure, and Minnesota’s public electric utilities will now be required to file transportation electrification plans with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission that will promote EV adoption among their customers.
Brendan Jordan, vice president for Transportation and Fuels at the Great Plains Institute, said:
Taken together, these investments put Minnesota on the map as a serious investor in our electric transportation future.
While Minnesota’s EV adoption rate has comparatively lagged due to insufficient investment, this new level of state support will transform Minnesota into a regional and perhaps national leader in the EV adoption effort.
Read more: Minnesota just passed a 100% clean energy bill – here’s what’s in it
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Lucid Motors (LCID) is recruiting more high-profile stars to spotlight its new luxury electric SUV, the Gravity.
The luxury EV maker is teaming up with some of the NBA’s biggest stars, Jalen Brunsen and Josh Hart, in its latest collaboration.
Lucid enlisted Jalen and Josh, teammates on the New York Knicks, for a new market campaign designed to celebrate “those who refuse to settle for the status quo.”
Keep a lookout this Wednesday, October 22, during the New York Knicks home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers to see Jalen and Josh hype the Lucid Gravity electric SUV.
Lucid, Hart, and Brunson plan to showcase “how precise performance, cultural influence, and athletic excellence come together — on the court, on the road, and in the moments that move individuals.” The partnership is the latest as Lucid builds a roster of high-profile celebrities and athletes to promote the brand.
“To be one of the best, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes,” Brunson said, adding “It’s a commitment to improving every day, and never accepting that you can’t reach that next level. I see that same passion for excellence in Lucid.”
Lucid said the collaboration “underscores the brand’s mission to compromise nothing” as it builds a roster of high-profile celebs and athletes to promote the new Gravity electric SUV.
In August, Lucid teamed up with Timothée Chalamet, its first global brand ambassador, for an ad campaign called “Driven.”
Lucid also attended NFL star Travis Kelce’s, Kelce Car Jam last month. For every test drive, Lucid donated $87 to Kelce’s Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation. Kelce founded Eighty-Seven & Running in 2015 to mentor disadvantaged youth, help develop their skills, and motivate them to get out and do their best.
As it ramps up output, the EV maker has been actively promoting the Gravity. Last week, Lucid trolled Tesla on social media in a video asking Elon Musk’s Grok, “What’s the best luxury EV?”
Grok’s answer: The 2025 Lucid Air. Do you agree? ChatGPT and CoPilot said the same.
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Elon Musk has openly threatened to leave Tesla, or at least his role as CEO, if he doesn’t get his ridiculous compensation.
He is now saying the quiet part out loud.
Tesla shareholders are about to vote on a new, controversial compensation package for Elon Musk.
While many are focused on the ridiculous size of the stock options, which could be worth up to $1 trillion, many analysts have highlighted other problems with the package.
A Reuters report last week noted that, with business as usual and a market capitalization growth below the S&P average, Musk could still receive one or even two tranches of his compensation package, worth between $20 billion and $40 billion.
In short, under the rules of the package, Musk could receive the biggest payday in history for returning below average returns.
That’s on top of the CEO already having received more compensation from Tesla than the company has earned in profits since its existence.
One commentator on X pointed out the concern about the first tranche of the compensation plan. Instead of addressing the genuine concern, Musk responded by boasting about Tesla’s market capitalization and suggesting that he won’t be Tesla’s CEO if he doesn’t get the pay:
Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined. Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla? It won’t be me.
The CEO then shared posts encouraging Tesla shareholders to vote for the shareholders meeting, which is happening on November 6th.
Electrek’s Take
There are many issues with this comment. First off, it completely ignores a real problem with the comp package. Even if you believe that Musk would deserve $1 trillion in compensation for bringing Tesla’s valuation to $20 trillion, the package shouldn’t allow for Musk to make tens of billions from below average return.
It looks like the package is being used as a trojan horse to dazzle shareholders with the promise of unlikely crazy returns when the more likely outcome is to give Musk what would still be a record compensation for Tesla delivering a below average return on investment.
The fact that Musk doesn’t want to address this clear issue is a red flag.
Furthermore, Musk is using a dirty card: you play by my rules or I’m gone.
This is what I previously called the ‘Tesla Dilemma’: Elon Musk is destroying Tesla’s profitable car business, but at the current valuation, his lies about self-driving and robots is what is keeping the stock alive.
Therefore, Tesla shareholders are disincentivized to vote against Musk if he threatens to leave because he would leave with his stock pumping lies – leading in the stock crashing.
He has a complete hold on Tesla and he is going to force shareholders to give him another ridiculous stock compensation package.
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