Don’t bank on any tax credits for Tesla Motors' Model 3.
Government rebates could run out before most customers receive Palo Alto-based Tesla’s new affordable electric vehicle, according to the Los Angeles Times. Almost 276,000 pre-orders have been put in for the Model 3, so far.
The $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles is capped at 200,000 units sold in the U.S. per manufacturer. According to industry estimates, Tesla has already sold about 67,000 Model S and Model X vehicles that are qualified for rebates and has plans to move 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year. The federal rebates could expire for Tesla before the first Model 3 delivers.
California could allocate more funds to its Clean Vehicle Rebate Project in future budgets. The budget for the next fiscal year starts July 1 and contains $175 million, Colin Santulli, senior manager of clean transportation for the Center for Sustainable Energy, told the Times.
"What the state is going to designate for 2017, 2018, 2019, when the Tesla [Model 3] hits consumers' driveways and they can apply for the incentives, we really can't say," Santulli said.
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