Trump considers Elon Musk for cabinet role in potential return to White House
Trump also proposed taxing American-made automobiles built in Mexico to boost domestic production.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk may be nominated to a top cabinet if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wins the next election. The leading Republican is blunt enough to suggest that he may also consider reviewing the $7,500 tax credit currently being extended to electric vehicle purchasers, which might just affect the dynamics in Tesla’s market.
Reuters noted that Trump made this declaration by alluding that he was asking himself the question of whether these tax breaks, among them the EV credit, were working, “Tax credits and incentives are not generally a very good thing.” However, he was yet to make up his mind conclusively on the fate of the EV credit since, in his opinion, both electric cars and those using conventional gasoline were important.
Trump tweeted, describing Elon Musk as “one very smart guy” and “brilliant,” in a reflection on his past affirmative declarations and positive commentary on Musk’s talents and potential contributions to his administration.
Regarding prospective policy changes, Trump mentioned changes to Treasury Department guidelines that now allow automakers to claim the $7,500 EV credit. He warned that some of the Biden administration’s policies, which promote the development of EVs and hybrids to meet stringent pollution regulations, could be reversed. Trump suggested that the expensive cost of EVs and their limited battery range could keep the market small.
Trump also proposed taxing American-made automobiles built in Mexico to boost domestic production. He reiterated his opposition to Chinese automakers using Mexico as a production base for the US market, but gave them some leeway by allowing them to establish manufacturing facilities in the US if they created American jobs.
In a related comment, Trump compared Google to the “Wild West,” but did not specify any actions he would take against the tech powerhouse. This follows a recent legal decision declaring Google an illegal monopoly.
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