The new EV tax credit will only apply to some Teslas
Tesla
The Inflation Reduction Act (a sweeping $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill) was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Included in the package are some incentives that will make buying electric cars in the US more affordable. The caveat is some of the most popular EVs being sold won’t see any difference.
A tax credit of up to $7,500 will be offered to purchasers of new all-electric vehicles and hybrid plug-in vehicles through 2032. For used versions of these vehicles, the plan would also establish a supplementary tax credit worth a maximum of $4,000.
However, the legislation also introduces additional restrictions on who can be eligible for the credit and which vehicles are eligible for it.
For brand-new cars, the manufacturer's suggested retail price for sedans must be less than $55,000 in order to qualify for the tax credit. For SUVs, trucks and vans, the maximum price would be $80,000.
That price cap effectively leaves out the Tesla Model X and Model S, which start at over $100,000, alongside other premium vehicles like the Mercedes EQS, Porsche Taycan, and GMC Hummer. Some of the more expensive configurations of the Tesla Model 3 won't qualify either.
Which Tesla Models Qualify
The only Model 3 that would currently qualify is the entry-level, rear-wheel drive model, which costs around $47,000. This model would be able to take full advantage of the federal tax credit.
Tesla recently discontinued orders for the all-wheel drive Model 3 Long Range model, which could have made the $55,000 cutoff if it received a small price reduction. It'll be interesting to see if Tesla begins to offer that model again in the near future.
The Model 3 rear-wheel drive is the only Tesla that is currently sold for under $55,000. Luckily Tesla's Model Y vehicles are classified as SUVs and will also classify under the truck, vans and SUV portion of the tax credit.
Since SUVs can cost up to $80,000 USD and still qualify for the full tax credit, both Model Ys will qualify as well, including the Performance model which currently comes in at just under $70,000.
Model
Price
Qualifies
Model 3 RWD
$46,990
Model 3 Performance
$62,990
Model Y Long Range (AWD)
$65,990
Model Y Performance
$69,990
Model S
$104,990
Model S Plaid
$135,990
Model X
$120,990
Model X Plaid
$138,990
This is significant, given that the Model Y and Model 3 are currently the most popular EVs in the United States. In the first half of 2022, more Model Y and Model 3s were sold in the United States than the combined sales of the next ten most popular EVs.
Used electric vehicles must be at least two model years old in order to qualify. The price cap would be $25,000 and the credit would be limited to the lesser of $4,000 or 30% of the cost of the vehicle.
Other hurdles include a requirement for the final assembly needs to be in North America. That should exclude EVs manufactured by Hyundai Motor, Kia, Audi, and Polestar Automotive. Those firms assemble EVs sold in the U.S. in Asia and Europe.
Additionally, the criteria for the EV purchase credit will alter. For instance, there are specifications for the locations of battery pack assembly and the sourcing of battery components. Those specifications appear to be intended to strengthen the American EV supply chain. Around 2024, these new complexities go into effect. The list of approved automobiles is maintained by the Treasury Department.
It's important to note that the existing $7,500 tax credit, which was established in 2008 and 2009 in order to encourage the adoption of electric cars, included a phase-out provision that would apply if a manufacturer sold 200,000 of the vehicles.
Tesla reached that mark in 2018, and as of right now, its electric vehicles are not eligible for the tax credit. The same applies to General Motors and Toyota (including its Lexus brand). But thanks to the revised bill's removal of the 200,000 sales cap, their electric cars would once again be eligible for the credit.
Additionally, single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income beyond $150,000 would not be eligible for the credit. This income cap would be $300,000 for married couples filing jointly and $225,000 for single people filing as heads of household.
It might seem like a smart idea to purchase an electric vehicle right now given all the changes to the EV tax credit. However, bear in mind that several benefits, such as the removal of manufacturer limitations and the application of the credit at the time of sale, won't take effect until 2024 or the next year.
Even though this modification to the tax incentives will make the already difficult to navigate EV market much more complicated in the immediate term, in the long term it will be great news for customers, especially middle-class mainstream consumers who later on can purchase more affordable EVs.
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Back in 2023, Tesla put together a rather unique Supercharger site idea - one with a CyberCanopy. This canopy is intended to provide solar power for Supercharging, helping to reduce the impact on the local grid while also providing a futuristic and Cybertruck-themed location that would set it apart.
Unfortunately, the plans never moved beyond the filing stage. Instead, Tesla opened a standard-looking Supercharger at the same Canton, Massachusetts location. However, the site is still well-situated just off the highway and benefits from natural tree cover in the parking area.
However, Tesla is at it again with a concept for another CyberCanopy with RGB lighting. Thanks to MarkoRP for spotting this. No April Fool’s this time.
We want to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worthy of the trip itself. - Max de Zegher
CyberCanopy 2
This second Supercharger with CyberCanopy is set for Roswell, New Mexico, at the Whataburger in town. Featuring just eight stalls, this will be one of Tesla’s smaller Supercharger sites, but for what it lacks in size, it makes up for it in uniqueness. The charging stalls are covered from the rain by a futuristic, Cybertruck-themed canopy, which will have solar panels installed on the top of it.
According to the plans, the CyberCanopy boasts 20.88kW of solar panels on its roof, providing shelter from the elements while also providing some power back to the grid.
RGB Lighting
At nighttime, the Supercharger will make a big statement. Tesla intends to light the long edges of the canopy, which will not only look amazing, but it’ll actually make finding the Supercharger easier in a large parking lot.
The lighting coming off the edge of the canopy reminds us a lot of the lightbar on the Cybertruck and now the new Model Y. It’s definitely the direction Tesla is moving for all their models, so expect all future models to have it, including the new Roadster and the next-gen model.
Tesla’s Max de Zegher also took to X after the plans for the new Supercharger were found and shared the image above. He stated that Tesla wants to build a few cool Superchargers that will be worth stopping at, even if they’re out of the way a little bit. So it seems like this isn’t just a concept, but an idea that Tesla wants to expand to several areas around the country or world.
We want to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worthy of the trip itself. Wish we could have kept it under wraps for longer, but submittal was needed for Planning Approval. We can't hide anything from @MarcoRPi1! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/X2WaKDd408
This particular site doesn't have a Megapack or other form of energy storage, unlike the upcoming Harris Ranch Supercharger site in California. That means that Tesla won’t be storing the solar energy gained from this site, but instead will be either offsetting the immediate grid impact or serving energy back to the grid when the site isn’t actively charging.
Tesla will likely be incorporating V4 Superchargers, including both V4 posts and the new, more powerful V4 Cabinets, as the permit states that Tesla will be redesigning the site internally before beginning construction. For Cybertruck owners, 500kW charging may be around the corner.
We’re hoping Tesla continues to deploy these kinds of Supercharger sites around the world - they make a stylistic statement about Tesla’s futurism, like the Shell gas station that was upcycled into a Supercharger site earlier this year in Spain.
They also make a big impact for ownership because it is a far more comfortable charging experience when you stop at a site that’s shaded from the elements - and one that’s better for the environment with offset emissions.
It was a rainy April 1st when a news-searching author went on a delve into the depths of April Fools to find fact from falsehood. And while we found a lot of fantastic jokes, we also found some good ideas.
So, with a shoutout to MarcoRP on X, whose April Fool’s Joke gave us a good run for our money for a couple of minutes, we thought to ourselves - what would a Cybercab Charging Station / Cleaning Hub really look like?
Cybercab Wireless Charging Sites
Now, before continuing, we’d like to point out that the image up top is a joke from Marco - it isn’t an accurate or real site map submission from Tesla. However, it gave us the impetus to think critically about what is required for a Robotaxi fleet, based primarily on the Cybercab, to be able to service a city.
Requirements
Tesla will likely need to charge a small fleet of Cybercabs at a single time and in a single place. That means that the site needs to be large enough to cover a major metro area while also still being compact enough to not cost too much money to build out.
In addition, we need to factor in charge times. The Cybercab is likely to launch with a battery around 50 kWh, which will result in a range of approximately 300 miles. With that much range, the average Cybercab may not need to charge more than once or at all during daytime shifts, so instead, most of the vehicles will charge overnight.
MarcoRP
Math and Charge Times
The overnight charging means that most of these vehicles could be charged slowly. When we did some back-of-the-napkin math last year, we determined that Tesla’s wireless charger will likely peak around 17 kW (for comparison, Tesla’s Wall Connector at 32 amps charges at about 7 kW). If we scale Tesla’s wireless charger down slightly to 10 kW, accounting for some energy loss and the potential size of the site, that means a Cybercab will be able to charge in about 5 hours.
Tesla’s upcoming V4 Supercharger unit can currently handle 1.5MW per cabinet, but this slower-speed charging is A/C, not DC, which means there is a step-down loss of about 3-5%. Let’s make that a comfortable 10% for any other overages, but we can estimate around 1.35MW of power. That 1.3MW will easily handle charging up to 100 Cybercabs at once - all wirelessly, using Tesla’s unique beam-forming and beam-steering technology to keep efficiency high at every single stall.
Within about 5 hours, a whole fleet of 100 Cybercabs could be charged overnight when electricity rates are cheaper and still be out in time for the morning commute.
While this is all just hypothetical, it really does make sense that Tesla will be establishing these sites that won’t require much space or a ton of energy.
Tesla recently curtained off a large section of the parking garage at Giga Texas, as well as some of their chargers on the eastern end of the facility, leading us to believe they may just be testing this at scale internally.
There’s a lot to look forward to with Tesla’s V4 Supercharger deployment coming this year and with Robotaxi launching in just a couple of months.
