How to Crash America’s Manufacturing Renaissance

Republicans in Washington are pushing for at least two big changes to the country’s car-related policies. In Congress, some lawmakers want to repeal the $7,500 tax credit that helps consumers buy or lease a new electric vehicle — as well as a matching tax credit that lets companies buy heavy-duty zero-carbon trucks. And at the Environmental Protection Agency, officials are trying to roll back Biden-era rules encouraging dealerships to sell more EVs through 2032. 

What will that mean for the climate — and for the slate of new EV and battery factories popping up around the country? On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk about new research from Jesse’s lab, the REPEAT Project, about what will happen if Congress and the Trump administration get their way. What will happen to America’s factory boom? How soon would the effects be felt? And would tariffs stem the bleeding at all? Shift Key is hosted by Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University, and Robinson Meyer, Heatmap’s executive editor.

Mentioned: 

The REPEAT Project’s new study on repeal of the EV tax credits and EPA clean car rules 

94% of Germans say they won’t buy a Tesla car

WSJ: How Tesla’s sales are shifting across the US 

“Detroit killed the sedan. Trump’s trade war will make them wish they hadn’t.”

Jesse’s downshift; Rob's sorta upshift.

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Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.

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