The government and Tesla have been working on making driverless cars safe, reliable, and affordable—and now they’re finally ready to take the first one available to the public.
What impact will this have on the car industry? The environment? How much money will be saved over time? Let’s take a look at why the government is finally working with Tesla, and what the future holds for this exciting new technology!
Tesla Goes to Washington
As for what comes next, I’m hopeful that we can put partisanship aside and agree on policies that promote innovation and strengthen our country’s competitiveness. This will create an environment where all types of energy technologies — including renewables, natural gas, nuclear and yes, fossil fuels — will be able to thrive. And when it comes to fighting climate change, everyone understands that no one solution alone can get us there. We need many more technological breakthroughs and a broad portfolio of solutions. And it’s encouraging to see so much progress being made in renewables – and energy storage especially. Costs are coming down faster than anyone expected – the wind is now cheaper than coal in many parts of America and solar is helping displace natural gas around the world.
At Tesla, we’re going all-in on sustainable energy. After rising to 86,000 cars last year, we’re building a gigantic new factory in Nevada which will allow us to scale production volume to 500,000 cars per year by 2020. To do that, we need another $10 billion or so – but we have high hopes for Model 3… Our goal is to produce an affordable mid-range car that almost anyone can buy – about $35k after tax incentives – and which operates on full electric with zero emissions. In true Silicon Valley fashion, it should be both fast and elegant: our fastest acceleration will be from 0-60 mph in less than six seconds.
A Partnership Between Tesla and the US Government
So why is it that now, after all these years, is there an official partnership between Tesla and our government? What prompted such a move. It’s not like Elon Musk hasn’t been trying to get federal support for electric vehicles. He has. But no one paid much attention to him or his company until recently, and only because he’s been so successful at making electric cars sexy does anyone care about them at all now. And we’ve already seen how well that worked with Solyndra—so what makes anyone think working with Elon Musk will be any different from working with a solar panel company run by political donors that ended up going bankrupt?
To understand why our government would partner with a company like Tesla, we need to look at where our dependence on foreign oil comes from. Why do we need electric cars in America in order to move away from buying gas from other countries? The answer is that our economic reliance on oil isn’t just about which country we get it from. It’s also a matter of supply and demand. And that may be an even bigger reason why now, of all times, is when these partnerships are finally happening.
For as long as there has been a gasoline industry, prices have been relatively consistent—as they should be since they’re based entirely on supply and demand.
In recent years, though, gas prices have been on a steady rise. For those of us living in gas-producing states and for those who take advantage of buying gas at home when it’s cheap, that isn’t necessarily a problem. However, for everyone else, it can be a big deal—especially if you need to drive long distances to get to work. Prices are on track to hit $4 or even $5 per gallon by summer or fall. When they do, people will finally see what we’ve been talking about—that electric cars aren’t just sexy, eco-friendly rides; they’re also affordable alternatives that could change how we fuel our vehicles forever.
Tesla Going Global
It’s great news for both sides. For Tesla, it means they’re one step closer to a market that has fewer regulations and more government support.
For us, it means we have our first EV with mass-market appeal. If Elon Musk can make EVs cool here in America, you can bet he’ll be able to do so anywhere else around the world. This is exactly what we need if we want to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and switch over to renewable energy sources. Thanks for making electric cars an option, Elon!
It makes perfect sense, right? There’s a massive market for EVs in Europe, and no American company is going to be able to establish themselves there without some government backing. It sounds great for everyone involved, especially for us here in America. So what does it mean for you if we suddenly have an EV option on par with companies like Toyota and Volkswagen? Well, things are about to get even better! We’ll finally see some competition as more automakers start investing in electric vehicles of their own. Right now, all we have is Ford’s mediocre Focus Electric or Nissan’s barely-better Leaf if we want an EV.
As automakers see that EVs are popular, they’ll start investing in their own models so they can keep up with demand. This will cut down on costs for consumers, which means we’ll be able to get better options for less money. If Tesla is any indication, we’ll also see a major shift from gas-powered cars to electric-powered cars as governments start taxing or limiting fossil fuels. It might not happen overnight, but it’s going to be exciting for anyone who loves technology and greener living!
Elon Musk – Washington Power Player?
Since 2013, approximately 1 million Teslas have been sold worldwide. In 2017 alone, almost 120,000 vehicles were delivered to customers. While that’s impressive on its own, there is a greater story behind these numbers. For some time now, there has been tension between Tesla and its home country – namely, between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. Musk is known for his criticism of Trump and his administration’s policies and actions on social media (he even deleted SpaceX’s Facebook page in response to a comment from Zuckerberg). As such, he has become somewhat of a public enemy for many in Washington D.C., with some saying he should be removed from his position as CEO at Tesla. However…
Yet, it seems there is a force growing against those who would seek to remove Musk from his position. A force that is looking to pull Musk into Washington D.C., instead of having him look down on it with contempt. According to sources within Washington, Senator Joe Biden is looking to recruit Musk into an advisory role as part of a broader economic growth effort being coordinated with other leading CEOs. More specifically, Biden wants Musk involved in an advisory group he has helped establish that will include executives such as Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Richard Branson (Virgin Group), and Tim Cook (Apple). It appears…
How Is the US Government Helping Tesla?
Vice President Joe Biden recently said that government and industry must work together to advance electric vehicles. And in many ways, Tesla is doing just that—by setting an example with its fast-charging stations, re-using vehicle batteries to power homes, and continually improving battery life. But it’s also getting a boost from Uncle Sam: In 2013, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval approved $1.3 billion in tax breaks to lure a massive new Tesla battery factory to Reno—and California has also given up $15 million in incentives for another factory near Los Angeles.
Still, there’s only so much Uncle Sam can do for green-energy companies. Legislation supporting electric vehicles has bipartisan support in Congress—at least 16 bills are currently in session—but actual incentives aren’t as widespread. Only seven states offer rebates to consumers who purchase electric vehicles, while six others provide tax credits to people and businesses that install charging stations. (Neither of these, however, take effect until 2017.) Other states—including Nevada—give EV owners free tolls or access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes on highways. On a national level, Tesla buyers can get up to $7,500 from Uncle Sam by taking advantage of federal tax credits.
We can only speculate what will happen next, but it’s clear that government and industry must continue to work together. We need to see a lot more competition and innovation on how we power our cars in order to drive down costs and increase efficiencies, Biden said. And he’s right—with or without Uncle Sam’s help, electric vehicles are rapidly gaining popularity with consumers. In fact, a study from Pike Research predicts that sales of EVs will reach 11 million by 2020! But government support is still important—after all, no one wants to buy a car that everyone else is buying.
The Future of Tesla in the US
Let’s be honest: it was hard to think that, before January 2017, Elon Musk and his electric-car company Tesla were going to save us all. Tesla (TSLA), for all its pioneering work on autonomous cars and battery packs for homes, is a niche luxury automaker at best. But Musk has managed to keep grabbing headlines even as other high-flying tech stocks lose altitude. As I write, his net worth has risen by $8 billion in three weeks—more than Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg—and that’s no accident.
Musk has leveraged his reputation to influence public policy in a way no other CEO could. He’s been meeting with Trump administration officials regularly, from Travis Kalanick of Uber to Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson. This week, he and fellow entrepreneur (and Elon Musk superfan) Steve Wozniak even had an audience with Vice President Joe Biden. Musk is helping lead an advisory board on how to improve the U.S.
policy—something that’s important to Trump, who has complained that China isn’t playing by the rules on trade and intellectual property. Musk’s automaker faces rising competition from China-based automakers, so it helps to have friends in Washington. And government and Wall Street have become so intertwined, thanks to bailouts and Quantitative Easing programs, it’s hard to know where one ends and another begins. Do deals with governments mean higher stock prices for Tesla?
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