EV automakers, others rally to support rules critics say will increase California gasoline price

Tesla was one of several automakers who penned a letter to California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of the state’s legislature in support the state’s high-cost fuel standards.

On Nov. 8, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is set to vote on amendments to the state’s low-carbon fuel standard, and the letter declares that the program has been “highly successful” at lowering the state’s transportation-related emissions. 

“Since its inception, the program has helped displace over 25 billion gallons of petroleum fuels and reduced the carbon intensity of California's transportation fuels by over 15%,” the letter states. The signatories claim that the state's fuel standards haven’t kept pace with the growth of low-carbon fuels. 

The Oct. 24 letter, which was originally reported by Politico, was also signed by charging infrastructure companies. 

Critics of the proposed changes to the standards argue it will raise fuel prices. More than 100 commenters wrote to CARB protesting the amendments, according to Cal Matters. The air board has said that the standards currently add 8 to 10 cents to each gallon of gasoline sold in California, which has the highest gasoline costs in the nation, but estimates how much more the amendments will add vary.