Tesla electric vehicles at a charging station in Alhambra, California on March 11, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order aiming to eliminate the “electric vehicle mandate” and remove subsidies that favor EVs. Since then, his administration has taken steps to do exactly that, while automakers are left figuring out the impact on their bottom lines.
Late last month, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed rescinding a landmark finding from 2009 establishing that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health. The implication is that automakers would no longer be required to measure, control or report their greenhouse gas emissions.
That action follows the recent passage of Trump’s tax and spending bill, under which the $7,500 tax credit for new EVs and $4,000 credit for used EVs that automakers had benefited from is set to end after Sept. 30.
The new legislation will also end a provision that U.S. EV makers such as Tesla and Rivian have relied on as a key revenue source. Typically, traditional automakers that sell gas-powered cars buy regulatory credits from EV makers to make up for the emissions that come from their tailpipes. Under the new law, however, automakers will no longer have any reason to buy the regulatory credits — marking a win for gas-guzzlers and a loss for EV makers.
As a result of this changing EV landscape, U.S. automakers are evaluating their product lineups and calculating the dollar impacts. Here’s a roundup of what U.S. automakers have said on their latest earnings calls about the softer regulations.
Tesla
On Tesla’s July 23 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla is in a “weird transition period” as it deals with losing EV incentives in the U.S.
“Does that mean like we could have a few rough quarters? Yeah, we probably could have a few rough quarters,” he told analysts.
CFO Vaibhav Taneja said Tesla is focused on building and delivering as many vehicles as possible in the U.S. before the tax credits expire this fall. As a result of this renewed focus, the ramping of Tesla’s lower-cost model will happen slower than expected next quarter, Taneja said.
Taneja added that while Tesla has never planned its business around selling regulatory credits to other automakers, it will see lower revenue as a result of those changes.
General Motors
CFO Paul Jacobson said on the company’s July 22 earnings call that General Motors is anticipating headwinds to EV profitability as a result of the government removing incentives.
He said he expects a rush on EVs before the tax credits expire, but then slower demand after that. However, Jacobson said he expects the change in legislation to have a minimal impact on the automaker’s 2025 results.
Despite the company touting its portfolio, electric vehicles make up a relatively small portion of GM’s total vehicle sales — amounting to 46,300 for the second quarter compared with total vehicle sales of 974,000.
Jacobson said last month that GM has an “inherent advantage” over Tesla because it has more flexibility to adapt to changing EV demand through the diversity of its gas and electric offerings.
Ford Motor
At a Monday event in Louisville, Kentucky, Ford announced a “Universal EV Program” aimed at low-cost EVs, starting with a mid-size electric pickup that will reach customers in 2027 at a starting price of $30,000.
CEO Jim Farley said the new program is geared toward bolstering Ford as competition rises from Big Tech and Chinese EV makers, like BYD.
When asked on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Monday about EV tax credits going away later this year, Farley said the EV business has reached a reckoning.
“I personally think EVs are going to be pretty tough here, until all companies go through what Ford is doing, where they have to bring their cost level radically down and reshape these plants to make the EVs that people really want,” Farley said, adding that EVs in the $30,000 to $40,000 price range sell better than more expensive models.
On the company’s July 30 call with analysts, Farley said Ford has had to change its EV spending and capital allocation “pretty massively” as a result of softer U.S. regulations, including by moving out launches and canceling some products.
CFO Sherry House added that as a result of tax credits going away, Ford could possibly pull back some of its EV production from the U.S. into other areas, such as leaning more heavily on Europe or moving into internal combustion engine products.
Rivian
Rivian does not expect to earn any revenue from regulatory tax credits for the rest of 2025, CFO Claire McDonough told analysts during its Tuesday call. As a result, the EV maker brought its outlook for regulatory credit sales down to $160 million for the rest of 2025, from its prior outlook of $300 million.
CEO RJ Scaringe added that the regulatory credit changes mark a short-term reduction in positive cash for Rivian.
However, he said that the changes could also mean less long-term competition in the EV space, considering that there will be fewer incentives for traditional manufacturers to make investments toward electrification.
“When we look at all those things together, there’s of course some puts and some takes,” Scaringe said.
