Electric vehicle industry at crossroads, not a dead end

Momentum is with the emerging electric vehicle industry even with many question marks surrounding energy policy as the Trump administration takes office in January, observers of the industry say.

“At the local and state level, there's an incredible amount of energy and action taking place to support transportation electrification,” Ben Prochazka, executive director of the Electrification Coalition, told The Center Square.

With Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, playing a significant role in President-elect Donald Trump’s election and chosen with Vivek Ramaswamy to head his new Department of Government Efficiency, it is also unlikely that the electric vehicle industry will be neglected nationally.

“The hope is that Elon Musk has influence in the new administration, which does look to be the case,” said Prochazka. “Hopefully, that means there’s a great recognition around the economic benefits that exist.”

It remains to be seen how electric vehicle incentive or tax credit programs – different than mandates – might be affected by Trump’s moves to cut spending. Mainstream outlets have already proclaimed that Trump has an "anti-EV agenda," as a group of automakers urged him to retain a national $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicle purchases.

On the other hand, Prochazka said tariffs and the deregulation of the domestic automotive industry could play a positive role in the electric vehicle industry, depending on how they are "established."

“With any new administration, there's always going to be question marks about what the prevailing winds are,” explained Prochazka, whose nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition engages in policy development, advocacy campaigns and consumer education. "Everything has the potential to be reevaluated and then changed."

Willett Kempton is in the University of Delaware's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and has research interests in offshore wind power, electric vehicles and public environmental beliefs and values. He agrees with Prochazka that a lot is still up in the air about Trump’s policy approach to the electric vehicle industry.

Certain policies could potentially "slow down" growth domestically, he said. Yet, that wouldn't permanently stop growth.

“National governments can slow this growth by policy changes, but that doesn’t change the cost advantages nor the long-term trends,” Kempton told The Center Square.

In the past, Republicans generally have been notably skeptical about electric vehicles and especially mandates for them, preferring those powered by fossil fuels. Reliability is among the key drivers of the party's choice when it comes to opposition of the broader green agenda of Democrats.

Musk’s involvement has the potential to change that skepticism.

Prochazka said he is hopeful for that, emphasizing that his organization believes that electric vehicles should not be a partisan issue.

“The last election ultimately created more partisan views on electrification,” he said. “We are working really hard to make sure it's clear that transportation electrification is not a red or a blue issue, but it's really about what's better for the country, especially when you look at it through the lens of global competition. We need to maintain our automotive leadership.”

For Prochazka, growing the eclectic vehicle industry is an issue of both “national and economic security.”

“The automotive sector is a trillion dollar a year industry that has millions and millions of jobs that are a part of the U.S. automotive sector," he said. "So, as the world goes electric, we need to compete so that we can not only maintain our current market share, but hopefully grow it. There’s a global race to electrification.”

There are nearly 2.5 million electric vehicles registered throughout the nation, with the highest percentage of those in California. Even then, only 2.5% of the vehicles in California are electric vehicles and only 6.8% of the vehicles sold nationwide in 2024 were electric.

Kempton and Prochazka say the transition to electric vehicles will be inevitable and that America should be the nation leading it.

“The shift to electric vehicles is worldwide and there are so many advantages to EVs that this will proceed,” Kempton said. “In most territories, clean energy is already the lowest-cost electricity source and largest amount of new generation being installed. These are driven by market forces and producer projections of where the most future growth will be. So, I would not call these ‘movements’ but rather markets or growth trends and adoption of new technologies.”

Only 38% of United States adults say they would even consider buying an electric vehicle.

Prochazka said he believes that will continue to change, both as there are nationally moves to protect the economic interests of the United States and as more people get familiar with electric vehicles.

“We need to also make sure the U.S. is moving as quickly as possible, so that we can compete with the sort of global efforts to electrify,” he said. “Most people have not gotten behind the wheel and have not plugged one in. I think it’s something that people really just need to try, because then they'll realize this is a much better vehicle. It's just about getting people behind the wheel.”