Business
With an executive order, Trump casts doubt on the future of EVs in California
Shel Singh has gone all-in on electric vehicles in recent years. The 36-year-old business owner currently drives an electric Porsche. Before that, it was a Tesla.
But with President Trump working aggressively to reverse policies enacted by former President Biden intended to bolster the EV market and phase out gas-powered vehicles, he’s starting to question the wisdom of his choices.
Faced with what he expects to be declining demand for EVs and fewer resources to build a network of charging stations under Trump, Singh, who lives near Sylmar in northern Los Angeles County, said he’s not optimistic about his chances for re-selling his Porsche in the future.
He is not alone. Electric vehicle owners, sellers and manufacturers are awash in uncertainty after Trump signed an executive order Monday that took aim at several EV-friendly initiatives. With the stroke of a pen, the President froze funding allocated for charging infrastructure and abandoned Biden’s ambitious goal that EVs make up half of new cars sold in the U.S. by 2030.
Trump also signaled in the order that he would eliminate a popular $7,500 tax credit available to eligible buyers of electric vehicles and revoke California’s authority to set its own regulations on gas-powered cars. Both of those moves come with legal hurdles, said Bryant Walker Smith, an associate law professor at the University of South Carolina.
“The executive order is clearly evidence of a change in tone from the last administration,” Smith said. “But there are legal constraints that in theory should limit some of the short-term implications.”
Although Trump has said he wants to do away with what he calls Biden’s “EV mandate,” there is no federal rule requiring the purchase of EVs. Last December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed off on a California clean air rule that would ban the sale of new gasoline vehicles in the state by 2035. If it survives Trump’s challenges, the Advanced Clean Cars II rule would require 35% of new vehicles sold in the state to be all-electric by 2026, a goal that dealerships have said is unrealistic.
More than a dozen states have followed California’s lead in adopting clean air standards that are stricter than federal law. Trump is seeking to eliminate these standards and the EV incentive programs that come with them.
If Trump is successful in killing the tax credit, EV sales will take a hit, experts agreed. The credit goes a long way in making a new or used EV more affordable and desirable, said Karl Brauer, an executive analyst at iSeeCars.com.
“We’re going to see an undeniable drop in electric vehicle sales when the $7,500 credit goes away,” he said. “It’s not as easy to pin down how drastic that drop will be.”
When he bought his Tesla 3, Singh, who owns an online electronics company, said he was told by the salesperson that he would receive the credit, but later discovered his income was too high for him to be eligible. His frustration led to him trading out his Tesla for the Porsche.
Preparing for a drop in interest driven by the new administration, some manufacturers have already begun shifting away from sales strategies dominated by electric vehicles, including Porsche, which hinted last October that it would stray from its electric-only strategy.
Major manufacturers that produce electric and gasoline-powered vehicles have a better chance of adapting if EV sales fall significantly, Brauer said, including Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors. Companies like Rivian and Lucid, which make only EVs and sell directly to consumers, are in a more precarious position.
Days before Trump took office, Rivian finalized a $6.6-billion loan agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to fund a manufacturing facility in Georgia. Rivian’s stock has dropped more than 9% over the past month.
Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities industry analyst, said his company predicts demand for EVs will fall between 15% and 20% over the next three to four years if the tax credit is revoked. As a result, he said, the EV market will shrink.
“There’s going to be consolidation,” Ives said. “There’s less incentives for car manufacturers to head down that road when the government is going the opposite way.”
While the elimination of the tax credit would hurt most sellers of EVs, Tesla is a likely exception, Ives said. Because of the company’s size and market dominance, Tesla could actually benefit from decreased competition from manufacturers who relied on the credit to increase sales.
Across California, dealerships vary in their reliance on EV sales. Robb Hernandez, president of Camino Real Chevrolet in Monterey Park, said roughly 50 to 60 of the 150 to 200 new cars they sell per month are electric.
“EV sales have been strong for us the last four to six months with new launches,” Hernandez said, which include the Blazer EV and Silverado EV. “Because of the incentives and lease programs and everything else out there, we’ve been able to do pretty well moving them.”
With Trump targeting those incentives, Hernandez said he’s not sure how things will play out.
“We’re in a holding pattern,” he said. “We don’t really know what kind of short- or long-term effects this is going to have on the market.”
Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Assn., said an average of 13% of sales across the 1,400 dealerships his organization represents are electric, but that number can vary significantly based on location and manufacturer.
Jessie Dosanjh, who owns 18 dealerships in the Bay Area, said electric vehicles make up around 15% of sales in aggregate. That’s a far cry from the 35% the state wants to see by 2026, he said.
Orange County resident Tina Thurm received the $7,500 tax credit when she purchased her Tesla Model S in 2020, but said she likely would have bought the car anyway. “That wasn’t instrumental in my decision to purchase,” she said of the credit. “It was the test drive that pushed me over.”
Thurm, who owns two gas-powered vehicles along with her Tesla, said Trump is protecting Americans’ right to choose what kind of car they drive.
“Nothing should be mandated,” said Thurm, who owns a jewelry business and is now semi-retired at 70 years old. “I certainly don’t want the government to tell me what I must purchase.”
Other SoCal residents are discouraged by Trump’s actions and what they signify for the EV market.
“Not getting another EV after my Tesla lease ends,” one Californian wrote on social media this week. “This country is moving backwards and isn’t ready for full EV adoption. It’s a shame because I really love my Tesla.”
The luxury shopping center in Pacific Palisades will reopen next month after more than $100 million in renovations forced by the January 2025 wildfire that devastated the Los Angeles neighborhood.
Palisades Village will reopen Aug. 15, owner Rick Caruso announced Wednesday. The outdoor center survived the blaze that destroyed homes and other businesses but needed refurbishment to eliminate contaminants that the fire could have spread.
Crews are putting finishing touches on mall buildings after tearing them down to the studs, treating the wood and rebuilding the walls, Caruso said.
“Everybody’s working, and stores are moving their products in,” he said. “It’s a really cool feeling that people have really locked arms and are working together.”
An electrician installs lighting for a restaurant at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village on Thursday. The shopping center is scheduled to reopen mid-August.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Pacific Palisades resident Allison Polhill, who is rebuilding the home of 30 years that her family lost in the blaze, said she is “thrilled” at the prospect of returning to the mall she used to frequent. Its comeback is a boost for the community, she said.
“Every single step that we make to reopen our commercial corridors is going to bring more people back into the Palisades,” said Polhill, who expects to move back into her home at the end of August.
A total of 6,822 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, including more than 5,500 residences and 100 commercial businesses, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Caruso previously attributed the mall’s survival to the hard work of private firefighters and the fire-resistant materials used in the mall’s construction.
The $200-million shopping and dining center opened in 2018 with a movie theater and a roster of upmarket tenants, including Erewhon, which may be the only grocer in the heart of the fire-ravaged neighborhood when it opens.
Caruso’s company was able to fill the mall with tenants despite the long shutdown.
Palisades Village is 99% leased, with the majority of tenants returning, said Jackie Levy, chief financial and revenue officer. Nearly one-third of the shops and restaurants are new to the property.
A firefighter carries a hose back to his rig while walking through a destroyed home from the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Last year, Pacific Palisades-based fashion designer Elyse Walker said she would reopen her eponymous store in Palisades Village after losing her 25-year flagship location on Antioch Street to the inferno.
Other neighborhood shops destroyed in the fire that are reopening at the mall include K Bakery and Loomey’s Toys, which caters to children up to age 12 and used to be across the street from Palisades Elementary Charter School.
“It’s been a journey and I’m excited because I wasn’t sure that there was going to be a place to come back to,” said toy store owner Amanda Rastegar. “Hopefully we can bring some of that magic back.”
Rastegar’s home in the Palisades survived but was damaged by the fire. The family returned about eight weeks ago. Her last memory of the fire was a burning supermarket.
“I just couldn’t wrap my brain around what was happening,” she said. “By the time I left, Gelson’s was on fire.”
Among the returning tenants is Angelini Ristorante & Bar. Well-known Los Angeles chef Gino Angelini said he will be in the kitchen next month for a return of the Italian restaurant.
“We won’t do a big celebrity open,” he said. “We want to have a very soft opening and see our customers come back.”
Construction takes place at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village on Thursday. The shopping center is scheduled to reopen mid-August.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
An elaborate celebration would not feel “correct for me,” Angelini said, because the devastation has been “very sad” for so many.
Other new tenants include local chef Nancy Silverton, who has agreed to move in with a new Italian steakhouse called Spacca Tutto. Women’s activewear retailer LESET will open its first West Coast location.
Caruso said he is optimistic that customers will return to the center, even though many Pacific Palisades residents are still dispersed. One tracking system estimated that about 30% of the Village’s customer base was impacted by the fire, he said.
“That means 70% did not get impacted, so there’s a lot of customers still left out there,” Caruso said. Historically, the center drew customers from as far away as Beverly Hills and Calabasas, as well as Malibu, Brentwood and Santa Monica.
He also hopes many will be inspired to visit the revived mall.
“I believe in the goodness of people and I believe that people are going to want to support the Palisades,” he said. “They’re going to want to be there and support the businesses that have had the courage and the heart to reopen.”
Walmart is rapidly expanding its network of electric vehicle chargers designed for customers to use while they shop.
The network could help fill gaps in EV infrastructure in states with greater need for chargers. Walmart, which has more than 5,000 locations in the U.S. and hundreds in California, says more than 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one of its stores.
The chargers also offer an incentive for customers to choose Walmart — Walmart Plus members will receive a 10% discount off an average price of $0.46 per kilowatt-hour of energy at the company’s chargers.
Walmart chargers are already available at more than 75 locations in 17 states, with Texas boasting the most charging stations, followed by Florida and Arizona.
Matthew Nelson, Walmart’s director of energy policy, said last week on LinkedIn that the network will soon reach 29 states, including California.
“We are delivering on the promise of affordable, reliable and convenient charging,” Nelson said in his post.
According to Walmart’s website, six charging stations are coming to California soon, though the company did not offer a specific timeline.
The chargers will be installed at stores in Antelope, Brea, Fresno, Stockton, Suisun City and Vallejo.
Most charging sites in California will include eight to 16 fast-charging stalls, said Walmart spokesperson Kelsey Bohl.
The company first announced plans in April 2023 to install its own EV chargers at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, with a goal of installing thousands of chargers by 2030. Partnering with ABB E-Mobility and Alpitronic, it added 25 new charging sites this past May and six more in June.
“Walmart is building a leading retail-integrated EV fast-charging network, focused on delivering an affordable, reliable and convenient charging experience where customers already shop,” Bohl said in an emailed statement. “Customers can charge while they shop, access stations through the Walmart app they already use, and benefit from affordable pricing.”
The charging stations already available include 612 individual charging stalls using 400-kilowatt chargers. Each stall has a dual charging cord with both Combined Charging System and North American Charging Standard connectors. The standard connectors, designed by Tesla, are smaller and lighter than the combined systems.
The primary way to pay for the chargers is through the Walmart app, but the company is also experimenting with built-in credit card readers to allow those without the app to use the stations.
Customers can check charger availability on the Walmart app. The company said the chargers will be available 24 hours a day.
Robotaxis could be turning into robocops.
A self-driving Waymo reported two teens to San Mateo, Calif., police on Monday after they were found drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns in the back of the vehicle.
According to a social media post from the San Mateo Police Department, officers detained two 15-year-olds after the Waymo they were riding in contacted the department and stopped in a parking lot until law enforcement arrived.
“Parents do you know where your teens are?” the San Mateo Police Department wrote on Facebook following the incident. “Waymo does!”
Officers removed both teens from the vehicle and determined they were using toy guns to shoot Orbeez out the windows. Orbeez are small, water-absorbing beads sold at toy stores.
“Toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” the Police Department said. “The simple handling of them can cause fear in [passersby].” “
A video posted on Facebook shows at least five officers and a police dog responding to the scene and approaching the Waymo with their weapons raised.
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Waymo vehicles have internal cameras and microphones that may be used in an emergency or to “promote safety and security,” according to Waymo’s online support page.
The cameras are also used to ensure the vehicles are clean and to help find lost items, according to the support page.
The company said it does not use facial recognition or other biometric identification technologies to identify individuals.
“In more urgent circumstances, support may access live video during a trip,” the Waymo page said.
The San Mateo Police Department’s Facebook post has garnered nearly 60 comments, with one user accusing Waymo of “snitching.”
“At least they got a designated driver?!” one user commented.
-
Seattle, WA5 minutes agoStudy finds dangerous chemicals in the breast milk of Seattle moms
-
San Diego, CA8 minutes agoTom Krasovic: Justin Verlander’s announcement recalls Padres’ 2004 draft blunder
-
Milwaukee, WI13 minutes ago‘Peace on Every Block’ brings Milwaukee community together to fight gun violence
-
Atlanta, GA20 minutes agoAtlanta smash-and-grab: Masked men ram U-Haul into clothing store
-
Minneapolis, MN23 minutes agoMinneapolis police drone debate sparks privacy concerns
-
Indianapolis, IN28 minutes ago
Adam Vinatieri will celebrate on the field in Indianapolis again as Colts’ Ring of Honor member
-
Pittsburg, PA35 minutes agoU.S. launches more strikes against Iran
-
Augusta, GA38 minutes agoAugusta groups work to keep veterans housed through SSVF program
