The $7,500 EV tax credit is gone, but each gas car still gets $20k+ in subsidies
The $7,500 US federal EV tax credit is no more, having expired yesterday, a deadline which was set when republicans voted to reverse climate progress and channel trillions of dollars from everyday Americans to wealthy elites.
However, that’s not the end of subsidies for the American auto industry, as most gas cars continue to benefit from over $20k in subsidy for each vehicle over the course of their lifetime.
In its mission to make Americans sicker and poorer, the republican party has made a point of attacking cheaper and cleaner transportation options in the form of EVs. It’s doing its best to ship American EV jobs overseas, and instead throw your hard-earned tax dollars at dead technologies where the money will be completely wasted.
One of its salvos in these attacks has been to remove the $7,500 EV tax credit, which had made superior new transportation options more affordable for Americans (and, strangely, it did this with the help of the CEO of America’s largest EV maker, even though it will harm his company). That tax credit was taken away from Americans yesterday, seven years earlier than planned.
So, after inflating vehicle costs by $7,500, republicans feel quite accomplished at taking a step towards their goal of making your air dirtier and enriching their oil buddies which they sought a billion dollar bribe from. And yes, that inflation will increase the price of gas cars as well – when the price of one product goes up, then there is less downward pressure on the price of competing products, which can then raise prices.
Some have stated that removing this subsidy is only fair, and that a new technology should have to stand on its own two feet. But that rationale misses something very important – the fact that fossil-powered vehicles have benefitted from over a century of extreme subsidies, which have been far larger than any amount of subsidy ever received by electric cars.
Fossil cars get far more subsidy than EVs ever did
The International Monetary Fund estimates that fossil fuel subsidies total $760 billion per year in the US alone, with roughly half of that subsidy going towards oil, which is used primarily to fuel cars.
These subsidy calculations consider both explicit subsidies – direct payments or tax breaks from the government to oil producers – and implicit subsidies, or the ignored costs associated with burning oil which get absorbed by the whole economy, rather than by the producers or consumers of the oil.
To explain the concept of implicit subsidies, imagine you live in a place where you have a separate bill you pay for trash pickup. Now, imagine if your neighbor decided that they didn’t want to pay this cost and would just start throwing their trash in the middle of the street and let everyone else clean it up for them. In this case, you and your other neighbors are subsidizing that neighbor’s trash pickup, having to clean up a mess that they are not paying for.
It’s the same with burning oil, but instead of spewing trash into the street, polluters are spewing trash into our lungs, which we then have to pay for in the form of asthma medication, hospital visits, lost productivity, and the effects of climate change.
These costs add up to hundreds of billions of dollars per year in the US, and trillions globally – and in addition to those monetary costs, also increase misery. I’m sure most of us would rather sign a check with our pocketbook than with our lungs.
In another study, the ignored costs of gasoline measured around $3.80 a gallon (although it’s likely that number is even higher now, as the study dates from 2015).
We can multiply this number by the amount of gallons of gasoline an average car will use in its lifetime (at average 24mpg for new cars and 150k-200k miles of useful service, that’s 6-8k gallons of gasoline burned, times $3.80), and find that the embedded lifetime subsidy runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Even for a relatively efficient 40mpg car, that’s $19,000 in subsidy over a 200,000 mile lifetime, based on that 2015 subsidy number.
Now, compare to EV subsidies. EVs received $7,500 per car federally, with some additional state and local credits in certain regions, and some cars receiving lower subsidies due to income or domestic limitations. But lets stick with the $7,500 number as an average.
With Americans buying 1.3 million EVs in 2024 (and a market share of just under 10%), that means a total of around ten billion dollars in total subsidy for EVs in 2024. Which means not only is the total amount of subsidy lower for EVs than the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of benefits that gas cars enjoyed, but the amount per EV is significantly lower than the amount per gas car.
And as long as we’re considering total subsidies, we should consider that only a few million EVs have been sold in the US total, ever. Meanwhile this country has run through more than a billion gas cars, all of which have polluted with impunity.
Solutions are available, but republicans don’t want to solve problems
This discrepancy has been pointed out by many before, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself, who in the past has repeatedly claimed that if subsidies were removed from both EVs and gas cars, that EVs would be more cost-competitive, not less, given the imbalance in total subsidies received by the two technologies.
What Musk said was true in the past and is true now – but he seems to have forgotten one half of that equation, and threw a substantial amount of money towards removing EV subsidies and keeping gas car subsidies alive (and then whining about the thing he paid for).
The actual solution to this issue is to make all polluters pay for the pollution they cause. This should apply to both gas and electric vehicles – each should have to pay in proportion to how much damage they cause. But since EVs are much cleaner, they would naturally pay less than gas cars.
A plan like this has been supported by a series of former republican luminaries seemingly from a different era when the party wasn’t quite as violently anti-American as it is today, and by, uh, basically every economist. And IMF says that if efficient pollution pricing were implemented globally, it would generate net benefits of 3.6% of global GDP and save 1.6 million premature deaths per year.
However, that solution is unlikely to see much discussion, given that oil shill Chris Wright, who is currently squatting as the Department of Energy’s titular leader, just censored discussion of it.
Last week, Wright’s department sent out an Orwellian memo stating that nobody at the Department of Energy is allowed to talk about the subsidies, in a rather blatant attempt to distract everyone from the man behind the curtain (a.k.a., the hundreds of billions of dollars per year the oil industry is fleecing from the public). Maybe it’s time to get a government that’s actually interested in the well-being of its populace, rather than only interested in sucking their dead bodies dry in the name of oil profits.
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If you want to ditch snow blowing and shoveling forever, Yarbo’s got just the solution. The robotics company that took home a 2023 CES Innovation Award is redefining what it means to have a “smart yard” in all four seasons. Yarbo’s autonomous outdoor robots use advanced sensors, cameras, and algorithms to do the heavy lifting – literally. From snow blowing to mowing to leaf clearing, these machines handle tough jobs with precision, safety, and zero supervision.
Yarbo’s innovative “1+N” design is centered around one core unit (“1”) that can be expanded with multiple modular attachments (“N”) to meet a variety of yard care needs. This design allows users to save space and cost by owning a single core robot instead of multiple separate machines. Customize functionality by adding modules such as Lawn Mower, Snow Blower, Plow Blade, Cutting Disc, and more. Easily upgrade or adapt to different seasons and tasks without replacing the entire system.
And right now, you can snag a fantastic discount of up to $1,200 at Yarbo’s biggest sale of the year. Check out the official Black Friday launch deals below – you won’t want to miss these!
❄️ Yarbo Snow Blower: The robot that eats snow for breakfast
Yarbo has you covered this winter with the only fully autonomous, 24/7 snow blower on the market, featuring smart scheduling that clears your driveway and sidewalks automatically – with zero human intervention. Once you’ve drawn the areas you want cleared in the app, it requires zero human intervention. The Yarbo 2-stage Snow Blower remembers your layout, wakes up on its own as soon as the flakes fall, and tackles dry, wet, and packed snow with ease.
Its 38.4 Ah lithium battery clears up to 6,000 square feet of light snow (or 2,000 square feet of heavy snow) per charge. When the battery drops below 20%, the snow blower robot automatically returns to the charging dock to recharge in just over an hour, and then picks up where it left off. This prevents snow buildup with 24/7 autonomous clearing and recharging.
This robot is rugged. With a 12-inch intake, 24-inch clearing width, 40-foot throwing distance, and a rugged 200+ lb track drive with traction spikes, deep-bite tread, and anti-slip control, the Yarbo Snow Blower clears deep snow in layers and grips icy slopes and gravel like a pro. It can even raise its intake to glide over uneven terrain. With a Q355 steel frame, it’s tough enough for -13°F winters and has an IPX5 waterproof rating for use in wet conditions. It can also clear some serious footage – 6,000 square feet, to be exact.
If heavy, wet snow falls, attach the snow blade to push through it. If the snow is packed, then the two-stage intake breaks it up and clears it in passes. And if powder is coming down, then a 6- to 40-foot throw keeps the drive clear.
In short: You stay inside with cocoa, while the Yarbo Snow Blower clears the storm.
And here’s the good news: From November 20 to December 1, the Yarbo Snow Blower is $700 off.
🌿 Yarbo Lawn Mower: A perfectly cut lawn, hands-free
When spring and summer roll around, the Yarbo Lawn Mower makes traditional mowing look like ancient history. With dual 20-inch cutting discs and up to 210 minutes of runtime per charge, it covers up to six acres.
It uses binocular cameras, ultrasonic radar, and bumper sensors to dodge obstacles and mow right to the edge. Define up to 150 zones in the app to customize cutting heights and schedules for each part of your yard. The Yarbo Lawn Mower Pro glides smoothly over various terrains while maintaining a consistent cut. Set it once, and it takes care of your lawn for the season.
If you purchase a Yarbo Snow Blower, you get a free Yarbo Lawn Mower during the Black Friday sale!
🍂 Yarbo Blower: Meet your all-season cleanup crew
The Yarbo Blower isn’t just for autumn leaves; it’s for all-around yard cleanup. Its 21-newton blowing force means this robot can clear driveways, yard waste piles, help with post-project cleanup, and can even remove light snow.
Powered by RTK-GPS, Stereo Vision, and ODOM navigation tech via app activation or remote control, it moves precisely even under trees or around tricky terrain. You can track the Yarbo Blower in real time with GPS, set geofences, and control it from the Yarbo app. It’s as close to a self-thinking yard assistant as it gets.
From November 20 to December 1, the Yarbo Blower is $1,000 off.
A smarter winter starts with Yarbo on Black Friday
Yarbo’s lineup isn’t just about robots – it’s about giving you your precious time back. Whether clearing snow before your morning commute, mowing a picture-perfect lawn, or keeping your property spotless, Yarbo’s robots handle it all without supervision.
Ready to give your yard an upgrade? Visit Yarbo’s website and take advantage of Yarbo’s Black Friday discounts before they melt away!
Yarbo offers free and fast shipping, a warranty of up to five years, and 0% financing is available.
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Hyundai’s electric vehicles, like the IONIQ 5, are among the fastest charging EVs, but the company says it’s still not quick enough. To match a typical gas fill-up, Hyundai believes 3 minutes is the magic number for EV charging times.
Hyundai aims for 3-minute EV charging
Built on the E-GMP platform, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 can recharge from 10% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes using a 350 kW DC fast charger and 800V system.
Although that’s already among the best in the industry, Hyundai is pushing for even faster charging. According to Tyrone Johnson, head of Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center, drivers are looking for EV charging times of around 3 minutes.
“The expectation from customers is that it will take three minutes to fill a car, the same as it does with an internal-combustion engine,” Johnson told Auto Express, even if it’s only for their own reassurance.
Hyundai’s exec explained that “It’s maybe perception rather than reality, but they worry about range anxiety and whether they will suddenly need to drive 200 miles,” adding the ultimate goal “is to get to the same speed as ICE.”
Drivers who can’t charge at home need to know how quickly they can recharge at public fast charge stations, Johnson said. The biggest hurdle is to deliver faster charging speeds, without just plugging in bigger batteries.
To achieve 3-minute charging times, Hyundai is working to bring 400 kW charging to market. By doing so, Hyundai will not only cut EV charging times to match the time it takes to fill up a gas tank, but also provide a longer driving range without using a bigger, more expensive battery.
Although Hyundai promotes 350 kW charging, actual charging rates are typically closer to 250 kW, depending on factors such as battery temperature and charging station speed.
The Porsche Taycan is currently the fastest-charging EV, capable of up to 320 kW. Several new EVs, including the Lucid Gravity and Porsche Cayenne Electric, are rolling with peak charging power of 400 kW as charge times continue to improve.
Interested in testing one out for yourself? With leases starting at just $189 per month, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 is hard to pass up right now. Check out our links below to find Hyundai’s EVs in your area.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the automaker’s next-generation self-driving computer, known as AI5, will not be available in volume until mid-2027.
The new timeline confirms that Tesla’s upcoming Cybercab, scheduled for 2026, will launch on current-generation AI4 hardware – raising more questions about the capability of the vehicle, which isn’t supposed to have pedals or a steering wheel.
As usual with Tesla timelines, we are seeing a significant slip from the previously promised timeline.
For the past year, Musk has been hyping “AI5” (formerly known as Hardware 5, or HW5) as the key to unlocking the next phase of Tesla’s self-driving capabilities. The new computer is expected to be significantly more powerful than the current Hardware 4 (AI4) in Tesla vehicles today and produced since 2024.
Back in June 2024, Musk officially renamed HW5 to AI5 and gave a specific timeline for its release, stating it would be “applied to autos in the second half of next year [2025].”
He also claimed at the time that the new system would be “10x” the power of the current hardware, creating the impression that the current computers might soon be obsolete for the true “unsupervised” autonomy Tesla has been promising for a decade, but as yet to achieve.
However, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) this weekend to provide a “clarification” that effectively pushes that timeline back by nearly two years.
When discussing the production ramp of the new chip, Musk stated:
“AI5 will not be available in sufficient volume to switch over Tesla production lines until mid 2027, as we need several hundred thousand completed AI5 boards line side.”
This is a massive delay from the “second half of 2025” timeline provided just last year.
Perhaps more importantly, this delay creates a conflict with Tesla’s product roadmap. Tesla has scheduled the production of its dedicated robotaxi, the Cybercab, for 2026 (Musk recently cited Q2 2026 as the target).
Suppose the Cybercab enters production in 2026 and AI5 isn’t ready until mid-2027. In that case, the purpose-built robotaxi will have to launch on AI4 hardware, the same computer currently in the cars Tesla is selling today, which can’t achieve an unsupervised level of autonomy.
Musk seemed to confirm this implementation path, noting that while “samples” of AI5 might exist earlier, the volume needed for a vehicle launch won’t be there.
Recently, Tesla chairwoman opened the door to the automaker adding a steering wheel and pedals to the Cybercab if unsupervised autonomy is not ready by the time it launches.
Musk shut down this idea, which came from his board chair, just days later – claiming that Cybercab won’t have pedals or a steering wheel.
Electrek’s Take
There’s good news and bad news here.
The good news is that AI4 will remain on top for an extended period of time, which means that Tesla will have to keep working the software to fit the computer rather than take advantage of the higher compute power of AI5.
However, it’s also bad news because Tesla is delaying another tech improvement, and Tesla is still not capable of delivering unsupervised self-driving on the hardware.
I have a feeling that Cybercab is going to have a steering wheel and pedals. It’s too big a risk otherwise to launch a vehicle program that would be virtually worthless beyond a very limited use case in some geo-fenced area.
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