Trump says he may end EV tax credit; is open to naming Elon Musk as an adviser

[August 20, 2024]  By David Shepardson

YORK, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday that if elected he would consider ending a $7,500 tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases and that he would be open to naming Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a cabinet or advisory role.

"Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing," Trump told Reuters in an interview after a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania, when asked about the EV credit.

Asked if he would consider naming Musk to an advisory role or cabinet job, Trump said he would. "He's a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He's a brilliant guy," Trump said.

Musk last month publicly endorsed Trump in the U.S. presidential race. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If elected, Trump could take steps to reverse Treasury Department rules that have made it easier for automakers to take advantage of the $7,500 credit or could ask the U.S. Congress to repeal it entirely. While president, Trump sought to repeal the EV tax credit which was later expanded by President Joe Biden in 2022.

"I'm not making any final decisions on it," Trump said of the EV tax credit. "I'm a big fan of electric cars, but I'm a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along."

He added that he would rescind the Biden administration rules that will prod automakers to build more EVs and plug-in hybrids to meet stricter emissions standards and said he sees a "much smaller market" for EVs because of cost and battery range issues.

Trump also said on Monday he would take steps to discourage exports of vehicles produced by the Detroit Three automakers and others from Mexico for U.S consumers by imposing new tariffs and would prevent Chinese automakers from building new plants in Mexico for U.S. market vehicles. He made similar threats during his presidency.

"If you put tariffs on those cars, they're going to make it here" Trump said. "It's very simple. It's not complicated. If you tell Mexico, 'look, you're stealing our car industry,' which they're doing now."

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks at a campaign event in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. August 14, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo

But Trump is open to Chinese and other automakers building vehicles in the United States. "We're going to give incentives, and if China and other countries want to come here and sell the cars, they're going to build plants here, and they're going to hire our workers," Trump said. "We will make our own cars. I want to make our own cars."

Separately, Trump harshly criticized Alphabet's Google but declined to say if he thought the technology company should be broken up after a judge ruled this month that Google was an illegal monopoly.

"They're almost like the Wild West," Trump said of Google, without elaborating on what penalty it should face. "They're going to have to pay a great price."

Trump has previously said he would prevent short video app TikTok from being banned despite a law approved in April that sets a deadline of Jan. 19, 2025, for Chinese owner ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. assets. Asked if he could accept continued Chinese ownership of TikTok, Trump did not directly answer but said ByteDance might sell.

"It's very hard to ban something like that, because you're talking about free speech," Trump said. "You're talking about a lot of different things go into that equation, but TikTok has treated me very well."

(Reporting by David Shepardson in York, PennsylvaniaEditing by Matthew Lewis)

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