CHANGE: Tesla Hits Delivery Threshold for Juicy Federal Tax Credit.
Tesla Motors announced Thursday that it officially reached 200,000 deliveries this month, which is good news in terms of overall sales. But the figure also means the company has surpassed the threshold requiring that federal tax credits be phased out, which is bad news.
Some speculate that, without government incentives, fewer people will be willing to buy Tesla-branded vehicles. While that’s a possibility, the brand offers unique, trendy models not readily available elsewhere. We’d presume a discount on an iPhone would probably help sales as well, but affordability it isn’t the main reason people purchase them.
We’ll see what kind of impact it has on the automaker as the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit for new owners is gradually phased out. It will also be telling for the electric vehicle market as a whole, as Tesla is the first EV producer to reach the limit.
Kill the tax subsidy, treat all cars the same.
I’m fine with people wanting electric cars, as long as they don’t get preachy about saving the environment without acknowledging the entire lifecycle environmental cost from production, operation, recharging, maintenance, and disposal.
h/t SG