Texas doesn’t budge for Tesla. Safety agencies and consumer groups warn about Tesla Vision in the Model 3 and Model Y. And will Americans be able to get up to $12,500 with a re-upped EV tax credit? This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Legislation currently advancing in the Senate includes a provision to give the EV tax credit a big boost—lifting the sales ceiling that currently limits GM and Tesla, but adding provisions for U.S.-made and union-made, for a total of up to $12,500 per vehicle. With a manufacturing credit, an expansion in eligibility to commercial vehicles, and a tech emphasis for the Rust Belt, it could be a meaningful piece of President Biden’s infrastructure push.
We’ve reported on Texas’ unwavering resistance to Tesla’s direct sales model since 2013, and if you expected the American electric automaker’s announcement of a mammoth assembly plant and battery factory in Texas to change that, you’re sadly wrong. With the Texas legislature not due to convene again until 2023, changing its state franchise laws doesn’t appear to have been a priority. That leaves Tesla with a convoluted process in what should be its showcase state—in which it needs to route cars and purchases through other states and deliveries through service centers.
And Tesla’s transition to its next-generation “Tesla Vision” system doesn't sound like it's being rolled out as intended. That's because it leaves owners without some of the key safety features that the carmaker still lists as included in their vehicles. That’s caused confusion for buyers and new owners and, this week, led U.S. safety agencies to rescind the Model 3’s safety accolades and Consumer Reports to caution on it.
And over at The Car Connection: Although from an environmental standpoint 2020 brought good news—in fewer miles driven, as more Americans turned to telecommuting—pedestrian deaths increased at a record rate, with the largest annual increase on record, per vehicle mile traveled.
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