Democrats have been pushing to incentivize union-made electric vehicles, effectively favoring models built by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
The move has been heavily criticized and now it’s becoming clear Democrats don’t know which vehicles are union-made.
In a tweet, President Biden said “With my Build Back Better Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re going to create jobs, boost manufacturing here in the U.S., and create consumer rebates for folks to buy American-made, union-made electric vehicles.” While that’s fine by itself, the tweet was accompanied by a video featuring a Tesla Model X.
Also Read: Mexico Says U.S. Plan For Union-Made EV Tax Credits Is “Contrary To Free Trade”
Electric vehicles are the future.
With my Build Back Better Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we're going to create jobs, boost manufacturing here in the U.S., and create consumer rebates for folks to buy American-made, union-made electric vehicles. pic.twitter.com/Zep59V6hNk
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 8, 2021
That’s a major oversight as Tesla isn’t unionized and CEO Elon Musk recently came out against the incentives. While Teslas would apparently be eligible for some tax credits under the proposal, they’d miss out on the $4,500 credit that is reserved for vehicles made by union members in America.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the clip also features the Ford Mustang Mach-E. That’s another notable oversight as the electric crossover is made in Mexico.
Getting back to the union-specific credit, it’s been billed as a gift to the UAW and has been heavily criticized by automakers who aren’t unionized. Last month, it was slammed by Toyota who said “Let’s not play politics with the environment, the American autoworker, or the American consumer.” The company went on to note consumers who want to buy an electric vehicle not made by one of the Big Three, would effectively be taxed $4,500. The automaker added the proposal effectively says “having more electric vehicles on the road is secondary to promoting unionization.”
Toyota summed things up by saying the union-based credit “isn’t fair” and “isn’t right.” They went on to call for the government to “treat all American autoworkers fairly” and let consumers “choose the best electric vehicle for them without needing to pay an extra $4,500 to buy an electric vehicle not made by Ford, GM or Chrysler.”
Toyota isn’t the only automaker to speak up as Honda has previously said they were “disappointed” by the proposal as it “discriminates among EVs made by hard-working American auto workers based simply on whether they belong to a union.” The company went on to say, “If Congress is serious about addressing the climate crisis, as well as its goal to see these vehicles built in America, it should treat all EVs made by U.S. auto workers fairly and equally.”