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Tesla released a vague warning about the potential for the $7,500 tax credit to be reduced on some of its electric vehicles starting next year.

Earlier this year, Tesla buyers regained access to the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles after losing it for years due to the 200,000-delivery limit per manufacturer.

It was due to a reform of the tax credit that removed the limit, but it also added new price limit and material sourcing restriction on the electric vehicles to be eligible.

All Model Ys have been eligible, all Model 3s except for the base version because it had Chinese battery cells, which makes it eligible to only half the credit, and Model S and Model X have been ineligible because of their high starting price.

Last month, Tesla surprised us by announcing that even the base Model 3 would now get the full tax credit.

Now Tesla warns that some models will “likely” see their federal tax credit reduced starting next year.

Tesla wrote in an email to owners today:

The $7,500 federal tax credit will likely decrease after December 31, 2023 for some models. New Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered by December 31, 2023 still qualify for the full credit.

The automaker also added this notice on its website:

Customers who take delivery of a qualified new Tesla and meet all federal requirements are eligible for a tax credit up to $7,500. Reductions likely after Dec 31.

In 2024, there are a few things that change for the electric vehicle federal tax credit. It is going to be available at the dealership rather than through a tax rebate.

The requirement for critical minerals in the battery having to been either recycled in the U.S. or extracted or processed there (or in any country that has a free trade agreement with the US) will go up from 40% to 50% of the materials.

Similarly, the battery component requirement goes up from 50 to 60% of components needing to be manufactured in the US or in any country that has a free trade agreement with the US.

If an electric vehicle doesn’t fulfill one of those requirements, buyers only have access to half of the credit ($3,750).

Electrek’s Take

Tesla seems to be intentionally vague here and that’s self-serving. As far as buyers know, it could be any Tesla model that could lose the full credit, and that creates some urgency to buy.

We can’t help with clarity here since we don’t even know how Tesla gained the full tax credit on the base Model 3.

My guess would be that whatever happened there is going to be reversed and likely only the base Model 3 is going to be affected, but that’s just a guess.

Your guesses are welcomed in the comment section below.

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Podcast: EV/Solar killing bill moves forward, Elon lies about Tesla’s demand, cheaper EVs, and more

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May 23, 2025

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Podcast: EV/Solar killing bill moves forward, Elon lies about Tesla's demand, cheaper EVs, and more

electrek podcast

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the EV/Solar killing bill moving forward, Elon lying about Tesla’s demand, cheaper EVs coming, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET)

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Environment

Circle K just opened a new spot exclusively for EV charging with no gas pumps in sight

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3 hours ago

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May 23, 2025

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Circle K just opened a new spot exclusively for EV charging with no gas pumps in sight

Circle-K-EV-Charging

This is what the future of travel will look like. Circle K opened its first location exclusively for EV charging in Europe. The site features ten ultra-fast EV chargers and a convenience store while you wait.

Circle K opens first EV charging-only site in Europe

The new EV charging hub is located in Gårda, near Gothenburg, Sweden. It’s Circle K’s largest EV charging-only location with ten 400 kW chargers that can recharge from 0 to 80% in around 15 minutes.

Kempower supplied two 600 kW Power Units and ten Single Satellite chargers that can deliver up to 400 kW of power.

With an improved version of Kempower’s Autocharge feature, the system can store your information so that the next time you visit, all you have to do is plug in. The system will recognize your vehicle and bill you automatically.

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While you wait, there’s a 1,076 ft² (100 m²) convenience store that offers “a complete retail experience,” offering food, drinks, Wi-Fi, and plenty of seating.

The site expects heavy traffic on Sweden’s E6, with over 10,000 vehicles travelling on the motorway daily.

Circle-K-EV-Charging
Circle K opens its first EV charging-only site in Europe (Source: Kempower)

The new EV charging-only site comes after Circle K opened its largest EV charging hub in Sweden. Located just southwest of Stockholm, the flagship location has 26 fast chargers that can be used with light and heavy-duty vehicles.

Circle K now has over 3,000 branded chargers across Europe and will continue adding to its network as demand for EV charging rises.

Circle-K-EV-charging
Circle K’s largest electric vehicle charging hub in Sweden (Source: Circle K)

With around 17,000 locations globally, the company said it’s “uniquely positioned” to support the transition to electric vehicles.

Will we see Circle K open a location exclusively for EVs in the US? As more electric cars hit the road, more charging options will be needed. A few convenience stores, including 7-Eleven, are already rolling out fast chargers. Through 7Charge, 7-Eleven aims to build “one of the largest and most compatible” EV fast charging networks of any retailer in North America.

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Environment

Trump signs orders to overhaul Nuclear Regulatory Commission, speed reactor deployment

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May 23, 2025

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Trump signs orders to overhaul Nuclear Regulatory Commission, speed reactor deployment

US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2025.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and speed the deployment of new nuclear power reactors in the U.S.

The NRC is a 50-year-old, independent agency that regulates the nation’s fleet of nuclear reactors. Trump’s orders call for a “total and complete reform” of the agency, a senior White House official told reporters in a briefing. Under the new rules, the commission will be forced to decide on nuclear reactor licenses within 18 months.

Trump said Friday the orders focus on small, advanced reactors that are viewed by many in the industry as the future. But the president also said his administration supports building large plants.

“We’re also talking about the big plants — the very, very big, the biggest,” Trump said. “We’re going to be doing them also.”

Nuclear executives joined Trump for the signing ceremony, including Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez. Constellation is the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S. Nuclear stocks rallied Friday in response to the president’s actions.

NRC overhaul

When asked whether NRC reform will result in staff reductions, the White House official said “there will be turnover and changes in roles.”

“Total reduction in staff is undetermined at this point, but the executive orders do call for a substantial reorganization” of the agency, the official said. The orders, however, will not remove or replace any of the five commissioners who lead the body, according to the White House.

Any reduction in staff at the NRC would come at time when the commission faces a heavy workload. The agency is currently reviewing whether two mothballed nuclear plants, Palisades in Michigan and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, should restart operations, a historic and unprecedented process.

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Joseph Dominguez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Constellation, speaks in the Oval Office on the day Trump is expected to sign executive orders, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 23, 2025.

Kent Nishimura | Reuters

Dominguez said the nuclear industry’s biggest problem has been regulatory delay. Constellation is aiming to bring the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island back online in 2028 after it closed for economic reasons. A separate reactor, Unit 2, was the site of a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.

“We’re wasting too much time on permitting and we’re answering silly questions, not the important ones,” the Constellation CEO said.

Trump’s orders also create a regulatory framework for the Departments of Energy and Defense to build nuclear reactors on federal land, the administration official said.

“This allows for safe and reliable nuclear energy to power and operate critical defense facilities and AI data centers,” the official told reporters. The NRC will not have a direct role, as the departments will use separate authorities under their control to authorize reactor construction for national security purposes, the official said.

Boost uranium mining

The president’s orders also aim to jump start the mining of uranium in the U.S. and expand domestic uranium enrichment capacity, the official said. Trump’s actions also aim to speed up reactor testing at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories.

Investment in nuclear power is growing in the U.S. after a long period of financial turmoil for the industry, including the shutdown of a dozen reactors in recent years as the industry struggled to compete against cheap and abundant natural gas.

The cooling towers of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

Building new nuclear plants in the U.S. is notoriously slow and expensive. The two new reactors that recently came online at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Georgia took seven years longer-than-planned to build, and came in $18 billion over budget.

But the computer technology industry is now driving the revival in nuclear as it races to meet growing electricity demand from data centers used to drive artificial intelligence. Three Mile Island is expected to return to service with financial support from Microsoft, for example, and Alphabet and Amazon are investing in small, advanced reactors.

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