Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
In a speech in Atlanta last weekend, Republican nominee Donald Trump expressed his support for electric vehicles, attributing his stance to the strong endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“I’m for electric cars. I have to be, you know, because Elon [Musk] endorsed me very strongly. So, I have no choice,” Trump stated.
Last month, Tesla CEO announced on X he supported Trump following the assassination attempt. However, and after several reports, has denied that he pledged a monthly $45 million donation to the pro-Trump super PAC.
However, Trump raised concerns about the feasibility and costs associated with the transition to electric vehicles.
“They want to go all electric. And there’s no way you can ever load them up. They call them loading them. You can’t load them. We’re going to have to spend $9 trillion,” he claimed.
Here’s the full video of Trump’s comment on electric vehicles.
Trump also criticized the expenditure on charging infrastructure, particularly in the Midwest.
“In the Midwest, you saw they built chargers. Now, a charger is a gas pump with electricity coming through it. Is that good? So, it’s like — for eight chargers, they spent $9 billion,” he added.
The Presidential candidate has recently criticised electric vehicle (EV) mandates and green energy policies. Trump labeled the current administration’s green initiatives as a “scam” and pledged to redirect funds towards more traditional infrastructure projects.
“Ridiculous and actually incredible waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis,” Trump declared, referring to the government’s investment in green energy.
He attributed the rising inflation rates to the massive expenditures associated with what he termed the “Green New Scam.”
According to a Washington Post report, Trump reaffirmed in a meeting with top U.S. oil executives in May that he is committed to reversing many of the measures Biden implemented to combat climate change.
In 2023, electric vehicle (EV) sales in the US surged by 40 percent compared to the previous year, reaching nearly 1.2 million vehicles, according to data from Cox Automotive. Additionally, the total EV market share in the US increased from 5.9 to 7.6 percent compared to the previous year.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
