Trump administration halts $5 billion EV charging program that benefited Tesla

The Trump administration’s war on electric cars continues with the halt of a national program that sends money to states to install EV charging equipment. It was the latest move by President Donald Trump to reverse Biden-era EV policies — even as those policies have personally enriched his top ally, Elon Musk. According to a memo from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program will be put on pause while it is retooled to align with the new administration’s priorities (those priorities being more gas guzzlers and fewer EVs). The agency said it is “immediately suspending” the approval of plans to deploy new EV chargers “for all fiscal years” and will no longer approve new funding requests until a new plan is implemented. The FHWA said it aims to have updated guidance published by the spring, at which point it will start accepting public comment. After the comment period is closed, it will issue revised guidance that incorporates its responses to public comment. The agency is also giving leeway to those states (most of which are Republican-run) that have declined to spend federal funds already received under NEVI. “Since FHWA is suspending the existing State plans, States will be held harmless for not implementing their existing plans,” Emily Biondi, associate administrator at the agency, writes in the memo to state transportation officials. “Until new guidance is issued, reimbursement of existing obligations will be allowed in order to not disrupt current financial commitments.” Since his election, Trump has vowed to reverse many of his predecessor’s pro-EV policies, including the federal EV tax credit and new tailpipe emission rules that would require automakers to produce more EVs. The NEVI program, in particular, was often criticized by Republicans as wasteful, especially after The Washington Post reported in March 2024 that only seven charging stations with 38 ports had been opened under the program. NEVI may have gotten off to a slow start, but its most recent report for the fourth quarter of 2024 showed improved progress. According to the Q4 update, there are 126 public EV charging ports in operation across 31 NEVI stations in nine states, an 83 percent increase in open NEVI ports over the previous quarter. (In Q3, there were 69 public charging ports in operation across 17 NEVI stations in eight states.) A total of 41 states have released at least their first round of solicitations, as of November 2024. Of those states, 35 have issued conditional awards or put agreements in place for over 3,560 fast-charging ports across more than 890 charging station locations. That progress is now at risk with the Trump administration rescinding funds for NEVI. The legality of pausing the program is certainly an open question, especially considering the money for it was approved by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The Trump administration attempted to freeze all funding for federal programs, only to rescind the order after a judge ordered it to be paused. Another variable is Elon Musk, who is leading Trump’s efforts to root out waste in the federal government under the umbrella of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has said he supports eliminating federal incentives for EVs, while also collecting vast sums of taxpayer dollars to expand his company’s EV charging network. Tesla has received $31 million in NEVI funds to install 539 DC fast-charging ports, which represents 6 percent of all funds distributed so far, according to a dashboard that tracks the spending. Barring any legal challenges, the EV charging industry now must wait for the Department of Transportation to retool the program. The pause could also give congressional Republicans enough time to write legislation to rescind funding for the program altogether, which would obviate the need for the administration to follow the process it laid out in the memo. Eliminating federal funding for EV charging would have a significant impact on the number of chargers that get installed and could help further dampen EV sales. Consumers routinely cite charging anxiety as among their top concerns about switching to electric power. With today’s order, the Trump administration is essentially making that problem worse.