Hyperdrive

California Weighs an Additional $2,000 Subsidy for Electric Cars

  • State increase to offset shrinking U.S. credits for Tesla, GM
  • Sacramento may also mandate more electric buses, cleaner fuel

Drivers charge electric vehicles at an electric charging station in Los Angeles, California.

Photographer: Dania Maxwell/Bloomberg
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California will hold a hearing this week on offering a $4,500 subsidy for each pure electric vehicle sold in the state, up from the current $2,500, even as customers from Tesla Inc. and General Motors Co. face the loss of even bigger federal credits.

The federal government now offers a $7,500 tax credit on electric vehicles sold. The credit is designed to start ratcheting downward once the companies have grown enough to sell a total of 200,000 vehicles each. Tesla passed this threshold in July and GM is getting close.