Connect with us

Published

on

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that current discussions about the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles in the budget would “more likely than not” result in killing the EV incentive.

The US Congress is back from its April pause, and negotiations over the federal budget continue.

As part of the new budget, the Trump administration is pushing for further tax cuts that the new tariffs can’t compensate for. This will lead to an even bigger deficit, which Trump campaigned on fixing.

Elon Musk’s DOGE effort was supposed to cut $2 trillion in expenses, but the target has since been revised to $150 billion by 2026.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

It’s now up to Congress to cut, and the federal tax credit has long been a target for Republicans, who now control the Senate, the House, and the White House.

Today, House Speaker Mike Johnson gave an update on the negotiations and said that they are more likely than not going to kill the EV tax credit (via Bloomberg):

“I think there is a better chance we kill it than save it. But we’ll see how it comes out.”

Most experts agree that Trump’s proposed tax cuts will increase the US deficit by at least $4.5 trillion over the next decade.

In 2024, the federal government is estimated to have spent about $2 billion in advance point-of-sale EV tax credit payments.

It’s less than a drop in the bucket.

Electrek’s Take

This is more about politics than about fiscal responsibility.

The tariffs amount to a giant tax increase on the entire US population, while Trump’s proposed tax cuts are structured to benefit the top 1% the most. The top 1% earners in the US are expected to get about 25% of the total benefits from the tax cuts, while the top 5% should get nearly half.

Meanwhile, the US has a growing debt problem, and these tax cuts would add to the deficit.

But not to worry. Cutting $2 billion a year in spending on electric vehicles, which helps the US not fall too far behind the rest of the world in the critical electrification of the auto industry, one of the last major manufacturing industries in the US, will help close the gap.

It would be funny if it weren’t such a serious issue.

That said, we knew it was coming since the elections. The main question is about timing. The budget is now expected to pass at some point between the end of May and the end of July.

If the EV tax credit is indeed removed, there should be a grace period. The GOP has already proposed a few pieces of legislation over the last year, and some included provisions to retain access to the credit until the end of the year, while others would end it by the end of the following month after the legislation passes.

The latter would certainly be problematic, but it would boost EV sales in the US as buyers would try to take advantage of the credit before it goes away.

As the biggest EV automaker in the US, Tesla would likely be the most affected by the end of the tax credit.

In the short term, companies like Rivian and Lucid wouldn’t hurt too much, as most EVs in their lineups are too expensive to have access to the tax credit, but it would hurt the prospects for their upcoming cheaper electric vehicles, like Rivian’s R2 launching next year.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Trump’s CFPB drops enforcement of buy now, pay later rule in latest rollback of consumer protections

Published

on

By

Trump's CFPB drops enforcement of buy now, pay later rule in latest rollback of consumer protections

The entrance to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters is seen during a protest on Feb. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

For the third time under President Donald Trump, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pulled back from enforcing a key rule, this time targeting buy now, pay later services.

The CFPB said in a notice on Tuesday that it will not prioritize enforcement of a rule, established during Joe Biden’s presidency, that classified BNPL providers as credit card issuers subject to the Truth in Lending Act. Fintech lenders had been required to comply with more stringent consumer protections, including standardized disclosures, refund processing and formal dispute investigations.

Affirm and other BNPL firms had voiced opposition to the billing statement requirement, arguing that it would confuse users and add unnecessary friction.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

“Requiring BNPL providers to comply with rules designed for open-end credit cards creates compliance challenges and confusing outcomes for consumers,” Affirm wrote in a formal comment letter, urging the CFPB to adopt rules that reflect how consumers actually use BNPL products.

The CFPB is looking to go even further as it’s considering rescinding the rule entirely, citing a need to focus resources on “pressing threats to consumers,” especially service members, veterans, and small businesses.

In October, the Financial Technology Association, which represents major BNPL players, sued the CFPB, claiming the agency overstepped by imposing credit card-like restrictions through an interpretive rule rather than a formal one.

The CFPB notice comes as new consumer data shows mounting pressures in the market.

A Bankrate survey released Monday found that nearly half of BNPL users have faced financial problems tied to these services. As usage rises, particularly for essentials like groceries, missed payments are increasing as well.

Affirm is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday. Rival Klarna is on file to go public, but delayed its IPO last month after President Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs roiled financial markets.

WATCH: Block shares plummet 20% as Q1 earnings miss rattles Wall Street

Block shares plummet 20% as Q1 earnings miss rattles Wall Street

Continue Reading

Environment

58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump’s meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows

Published

on

By

58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump's meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows

Jack Mallers looks to rival Strategy with new bitcoin company backed by Tether and SoftBank

About 764,000 wallets that purchased President Donald Trump‘s $TRUMP meme coin have lost money on the investment, according to fresh data shared with CNBC by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Most of the wallets that lost money held smaller amounts of the token, according to the firm’s on-chain analysis. Crypto wallets are accounts that store the keys you need to access and use your cryptocurrency holdings.

Chainalysis said that while around 2 million wallets have bought into the token, 58 wallets made more than $10 million apiece, totaling roughly $1.1 billion in gains.

The $TRUMP token, which surged in popularity after being tied to the start of Trump’s second term, has seen sharp price swings and highly uneven returns for investors. Fight Fight Fight LLC. and CIC Digital LLC., control the bulk of the token’s supply.

CNBC has reached out to Fight Fight Fight LLC. for comment on the Chainalysis numbers.

Interest in the coin spiked more than 50% after the project’s website promised the top 220 holders a seat at a black-tie-optional dinner with the president.

The $TRUMP event, set for May 22 at the president’s Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C., includes a reception for the 25 wallets with the largest coin balance, along with a White House tour.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

The dinner-pegged rally pushed the token’s market cap to $2.7 billion at its peak, though it has since pulled back to around $2.17 billion.

Since that rally, around 54,000 wallets have bought the coin. In total, 100,000 new wallets have purchased $TRUMP since April 15, Chainalysis said, extending the post-announcement surge despite ongoing volatility in the broader crypto market.

The Trump-branded meme token has drawn scrutiny from regulators and ethics watchdogs.

Lawmakers are now formally investigating whether the $TRUMP meme coin — and a related crypto venture called World Liberty Financial, which sends 75% of revenue to the Trump family — constitute a direct conflict of interest for the president.

The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has launched a probe into the token’s ownership structure and revenue model, while House Democrats stormed out of a crypto hearing in protest.

At the center of the controversy is the dinner competition for top token holders, promotional posts from the president himself, and ties to foreign investors including a state-backed Emirati fund and crypto mogul Justin Sun.

Launched in January ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, the token’s value initially soared to $15 billion after a series of promotional posts from the president on Truth Social and X. It lost most of that value within days.

Only 20% of the token’s total supply is currently in circulation. The remaining 80% — reportedly controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliated entities — is locked under a three-year vesting schedule. Public disclosures say insiders have agreed not to sell their allocations for another few months.

Even with their tokens under vesting restrictions, insiders are earning substantial revenue.

Since January, more than $324 million in trading fees have been routed to wallets tied to the project’s creators, according to Chainalysis. The token’s code automatically directs a cut of each transaction to these addresses, allowing the team to profit from ongoing activity.

Trump signs executive order to establish U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve

Continue Reading

Environment

Lucid (LCID) plans to double EV production this year, even with tariffs

Published

on

By

Lucid (LCID) plans to double EV production this year, even with tariffs

Lucid Motors (LCID) reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, reaffirming its plans to more than double EV production in 2025. Despite the threat of new tariffs, the EV maker expects to continue building momentum after another record quarter.

Lucid stands by 20,000 EV production goal for 2025

In the first three months of 2025, Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles, setting its fifth straight quarterly record. The company’s production is also picking up, with 2,213 vehicles built at its Casa Grande plant in Arizona. Another 600 were in transit to Saudi Arabia, where they will be assembled at Lucid’s new AMP-2 plant.

At this rate, Lucid is on track to deliver around 12,500 vehicles, easily topping the 10,200 vehicles it delivered in 2024.

With its first electric SUV, the Gravity, now rolling out, Lucid is poised to see even more demand throughout the year.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Lucid reported first-quarter revenue of $235 million, up slightly from the $234.5 million in Q4 2024 and an increase of 35% from Q1 2024.

Despite higher sales, the EV maker cut its net loss to $366 million from over $680 million in the first quarter of 2024. Lucid also improved gross margins by 37 pts year-over-year (YOY) to -97%.

Lucid-EV-production-2025
Lucid Q1 2025 financial earnings results (Source: Lucid Group)

Even with the added tariffs, Lucid still expects to produce around 20,000 vehicles in 2025, more than double the roughly 9,000 cars it made last year.

Like most automakers, Lucid is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump administration, including possibly ending the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Earlier today, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said there’s “a better chance we kill it than save it” during an interview.

Lucid-EV-production-2025
Lucid Gravity electric SUV at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Lucid Motors)

The company said, “A thorough analysis of tariffs, supply chain, and related macroeconomic uncertainties is ongoing.”

Lucid ended the first quarter with around $5.76 billion in total liquidity, which the company said is enough to fund it into the second half of 2026, when it plans to launch its midsize platform.

Lucid-midsize-EV-SUV
Lucid midsize electric SUV teaser image (Source: Lucid)

Former CEO Peter Rawlinson said earlier this year that Lucid’s midsize platform is “finally when we compete directly with Tesla.” The first two vehicles are expected to be an electric SUV and sedan, starting at around $50,000, which could rival Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.

But first, it will focus on its new electric SUV. The Lucid Gravity Grand Touring is available to order starting at $94,900 with up to 450 miles of range. Later this year, Lucid will launch the lower-priced Touring trim, starting at $79,900.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending