EV tax credit is ‘catastrophically stupid,’ says incoming Ohio Senator and ‘car czar’ Bernie Moreno
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno addresses supporters at Brecksville Community Center on November 4, 2024 in Brecksville, Ohio.
Stephen Maturen | Getty Images
Republican Senator-elect Bernie Moreno, who made his living as a luxury car dealer before running against and defeating Democrat Sherrod Brown in the large manufacturing state of Ohio, said he is aiming to become the “car czar” within the Senate for the next Trump administration.
If Moreno is to fill that role, one of the first things he would target is eliminating the up to $7,500 tax credit that can be used to buy or lease an electric vehicle.
“At the end of the day, the $7,500 incentive is catastrophically stupid,” Moreno told CNBC D.C. Correspondent Emily Wilkins at the 2024 CNBC CFO Council Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Some senators, like Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin, who was criticized by her Republican challenger Mike Rogers for her support of the Biden administration’s embrace of electric vehicles, have looked to frame their support of the tax credit as a defensive move aiding the auto industry in its battle with Chinese auto manufacturers.
However, Moreno told Wilkins he views that position as “nonsense,” adding that the government should not “tell companies what to do and how to have a strategy.”
“If you don’t care what kind of car they drive, then let the markets work,” Moreno said. “We’re going to let the marketplace decide what kind of cars people should drive, and if it’s electric, great.”
Moreno pushed back against the argument that reversing Inflation Reduction Act incentives like the EV tax credit would effectively cede a key technology race to China. He said that if China is “dramatically ahead of us on EVs – good for them; we’re dramatically ahead of them in terms of combustion and hybrids.”
“So as a country, where do you prefer our industry to go? The places where we have a strategic advantage and not hand an industry over to China?” Moreno said. Moreno added that a change in U.S. law as it relates to the EV incentives is “not be handing it them” but a reflection that “consumers have spoken.”
“There’s never been a case in time where consumers have been more clear about what they want and don’t want,” Moreno said. “There’s people who EVs are great for them, and good for you, that car works for you, you should go out and buy it … But for a lot of people, they don’t want it.”
The euphoria that surrounded EV investment and sales has largely died out at major auto manufacturers, and automakers from Ford Motor and General Motors to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin have announced plans to scale back or delay some electric vehicle plans.
While electric vehicle sales are still expected to increase in the coming years, the boom in consumer demand for EVs that many car CEOs expected never materialized. “What we saw in ’21 and ’22 was a temporary market spike where the demand for EVs really took off,” Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer for Ford’s EV unit, told CNBC earlier this year. “It’s still growing but not nearly at the rate we thought it might have in ’21, ’22.”
Instead, automakers are shifting their focus to a more mixed offering of vehicles with lineups of gas-powered cars alongside hybrids and EVs, rather than more towards plans like the all-electric by 2035 mandate laid out by GM CEO Mary Barra.
“We’re going to let the marketplace work,” Moreno said. “We’re going to create an environment for car companies to be able to have a good tax environment, a good regulatory environment and good workforce … Let the marketplace work; stop the madness of government intervention in corporations and the marketplace will take care of it.”
The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.
BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil
BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.
The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.
BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.
The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”
BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.
The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.
BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).
Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.
Source: BYD
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‘Tesla homes’ in a Houston neighborhood where all the homes have Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls went for sale.
7 out of the 11 homes have reportedly already sold.
Tesla neighborhood is a term that is being used for new developments where all the homes integrate all or part of Tesla’s power ecosystem, including the Powerwall home battery pack.
The best example is a giant new development project in Austin, Texas, by Brookfield Asset Management and Dacra in which up to 12,000 new homes are to be built and offering Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls.
However, since the announcement, it looks like only some of the homes in the new neighborhood have Tesla energy systems.
In 2022, Tesla also announced a similar project in Las Vegas.
A year later, the company claimed to have deployed “over 600 solar neighborhoods” worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding 100 MW.
One such ‘Tesla neighborhood’ is a small block of 11 townhouse homes featuring Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls in Houston, Texas.
The homes were recently completed and went on sale, starting at $544,900.
Here are some pictures from the listings:
Utopia Homes, the developer behind the project, described the properties (via Chron):
Step into modern elegance expertly crafted by Utopia Homes. This property showcases groundbreaking Tesla Solar Roof Shingles and Power Wall technology, ensuring 100% energy security and eliminating electric bills for a truly sustainable lifestyle.
The house has proved popular according to the real estate agents, with 7 out of 11 homes already sold.
As we recently reported, Tesla’s solar roofs have proven to be a more expensive and niche product than the company previously presented.
Tesla has largely stopped discussing it, but it is still being deployed through some third-party installers, such as in this case, on new homes.
However, its Powerwall product remains a very popular solution for homeowners seeking greater energy independence and protection against outages, which have been a frequent problem in Texas.
More homeowners are turning to generators, and alternatives like home battery packs are gaining popularity.
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Canadian electric propulsion specialist Vision Marine continues to graduate beyond advanced outboard motors into a provider of all-electric boats. This month, Vision introduced two new electric pontoon boats – the 12-passenger V24 and 15-passenger V30, each capable of a range up to 90 nautical miles.
Vision Marine Technologies ($VMAR) is a Canadian technology company with over 25 years of experience in the marine industry. The company made waves (literally) by introducing its E-Motion turnkey powertrain system, which it has since integrated into a catamaran speedboat, which set a speed record of 109 mph in 2022.
Since then, Vision has introduced six hp two-cruiser vessels – the Fantail 217 and Volt 180, each capable of transporting 10 passengers via its E-Motion technology. Most recently, Vision Marine has integrated the full power of its 180 hp electric powertrain technology into two additional vessels, both electric pontoon boats.
Earlier this month, the company officially began sales of the Vision V24 and V30, which you can view below.
Vision Marine brings power and range to electric pontoons
According to Vision Marine Technologies, orders for its two new electric pontoon boats are now open, and they are touting the same E-Motion technology that put the company on the map a few years ago.
The first model is the V24, a 12-passenger electric pontoon that is 24′ 8″ in length and has 180 hp. The ultra-quiet E-Motion powertrain is powered by a standard 43 kWh marine battery pack, offering 40 nautical miles (46 miles) of all-electric range on a single charge. For added range, Vision sells a version of the electric pontoon with a second battery pack, totaling 86 kWh and delivering up to 90 nautical miles (104 miles) of range.
While the V24 offers more of a classic attempt at the pontoon boat, Vision’s additional new vessel, the all-electric V30, is a tad sportier and provides room for more passengers aboard (15). This 30′ vessel features the same E-Motion powertrain options, complete with the same two battery configurations to offer the same ranges as the V24.
However, the V30 has additional features such as 4 x 6.5″ interior speakers and cool-touch seats. Both models feature an integrated onboard charger that supports both 120- 240V (30 to 50 amps) for seamless charging, no matter the dock plug while moored.
The Vision V24 starts at $99,995 for the standard battery pack version, while the V30 starts at a higher price of $139,995. As previously mentioned, both electric pontoon boats are available to order today.
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