Tesla hasn’t been eligible for the federal EV tax credit for a few years now, and while that initially seemed like it could affect sales for the brands by making its already expensive cars even more so, things more or less rolled on like the change never happened.
Fast-forward to 2022: Tesla’s latest round of price increases means that, as CarsDirect reported Thursday, Tesla currently has no models eligible for California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, which is worth around $2,000 to consumers.
Tesla’s eligibility problem specifically stems from price caps set by California to help keep EV prices lower. The threshold for cars is $45,000, and the cap for SUVs and crossovers is $60,000. You can’t currently put a Model 3 in your driveway for less than $48,440, including destination fees, and a base-spec Model Y will run you $64,440 (and not get delivered until 2023). Luckily for people who bought before the price increases, CVRP eligibility is based on your vehicle order date, so even if it doesn’t get built for a few months, those models should still get the rebate.
The question that remains is whether this will affect the brand’s sales in California. Our guess is that it won’t. People who want a Tesla will buy a Tesla. A more significant threat to the company’s sales, in our opinion, is the introduction of new, quality EVs from legacy manufacturers that offer comparable range with much better build quality and very similar driver assistance tech.