The clock is ticking for Tesla buyers in the US to receive the full $7,500 federal tax credit for electric cars. Tesla delivered its 200,000th car this month which means a slow phase-out of the tax credit has begun.
Put in place early on in the Obama administration, the tax credit was seen as a tool that could be used to encourage customers to buy plug-in electric or hybrid vehicles. It was meant to offer consumers a bit of a break while the cost of battery technology slowly came down and to encourage manufacturers to push for greater advancements in that technology.
Tesla has sold over 300,000 cars around the world, but until now it wasn’t clear when the company would pass 200,000 delivered in the US. Tesla was quickly closing in on the milestone this spring, and the company’s mad push to make and ship as many Model 3s as possible ramped up the pressure. The full tax credit will be around for six more months.
