This is all too familiar. The EV rebate system is a total scam and I am guilty of partaking in it. Multiple times.
We bought our first EV (a Tesla P85) 5 years ago and got both the federal and state tax credits as well as the other perks like HOV lane access and utility rebates. It was worth way over $10,000. Then we upgraded to a P85D 4 years ago and got the same kickbacks. We got tired of Teslas and just traded in the P85D for a new BMW plug in hybrid and once again got the tax kickbacks and a new HOV sticker plus our utility is going to give us a check for $800.
The thing is that we pay massive amounts of taxes and if these scams are going to be allowed, and we’re going to be paying for them, we might as well benefit as well.
The really screwed up thing is that we ended up MAKING money by trading in the Tesla for the BMW. BMW is pricing the 530 plug in hybrid lower than the value of a used Tesla, and when you add in the tax credits and utility rebates, we ended up putting about $5,000 in our pockets for buying a new BMW.
This is the scam of green product incentives. Were it up to me, it would all be abolished. But it exists and we’d be fools to not benefit from what we’re paying for.
Remy is a national treasure.
h/t SnappyKyle