Well, it finally happened. On Thursday, Republicans in Congress voted to pass the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a sprawling budget bill that shreds federal support for electric vehicles. Among other things, the legislation means that you can say goodbye to the EV tax credit for new and used vehicles after September 30.
On this week's episode of The Plugged-In Podcast, we break down this current moment in EVs and EV policy with the help of Ben Prochazka. He's the Executive Director of the Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit group working to accelerate EV adoption in the U.S.
In this wide-ranging conversation recorded on June 27, we talk about the importance of electrifying transportation and the challenges facing the EV industry. Plus, we discuss why EVs have become so politicized—and how to reverse that trend.
"If you care about climate, don't lead with climate. That's not what's winning in transportation electrification right now," he told us. Instead, he argues, EV advocates need to focus on EV technology, jobs and competitiveness with China.
"We didn't do enough to make those other arguments," he said.
We also chat about what's going right in the world of EVs. Because although the policy outlook looks rough, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the long-term future of electric cars and trucks.
"If you read all the headlines, it would sound like this is the worst thing ever and soon the electric car will be gone. But that's just not really true," Prochazka said. The technology is getting better, manufacturing is scaling up and costs are coming down—all big moves in the right direction.
Bottom line: "The future of transportation is electric, and it's no longer a question of 'if,' it's just a question of 'when.' And so the federal policy stuff happening is really the 'when.'"
Check out the show wherever you get your podcasts. We're on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to the show and leave us a review.
And we're looking to answer more listener questions on the show! Drop your burning questions about EVs, EV buying and the future of transportation below, or email us at podcast@insideevs.com.
