Steps Plus

California's $3,500 first-time electric vehicle rebate stopped being a promise on August 7, when Hyundai, Lucid, and Tesla began issuing instant discounts at the point of sale — no applications, no tax return required, no waiting.

With gas prices remaining high due to the war in Iran, California officials are hoping a new rebate program for electric cars can make the math work for buyers at a time when federal incentives have gone away under the Trump administration.

Gil Tal, director of the University of California, Davis’ EV Research Center, said that while car sales data shows California drivers rushed to buy electric models in April and May, there was a steep drop-off in June.

Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California, Davis, explained why Mexico's EV market has shifted so quickly: "The demand was there. What changed was the supply."

The first ever low-cost electric car to be mass-produced in Mexico could herald a new age for electric mobility.