Just yesterday, we learned that there’s a newly proposed US federal EV tax credit that could be signed into law soon. While the potential bill has all sorts of details related to consumer EVs, there’s also a credit for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. If the new credit becomes law, the upcoming Tesla Semi will be much cheaper.
Electrifying passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs certainly helps reduce emissions. However, it’s arguably even more important to transition fleets and larger commercial vehicles from gas to electric power, but it’s an extremely expensive mission, and the vehicles themselves aren’t cheap.
Tesla’s Semi is expected to start at around $150,000 and have a 300-miles range. However, Tesla has raised the prices on all of its EVs many times in the recent past. There’s a good chance that when the Semi finally arrives to market, it will cost more than the automaker originally expected. Either way, it’s highly likely that an electric semi-truck will cost much more than a diesel-powered option.
At any rate, the new Inflation Reduction Act of 2024 and reconciliation bill that was agreed upon by Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin provides tax credits for electric vehicles, along with other programs to help reduce inflation and protect our environment.
According to details about the EV tax credits in the bill, heavy-duty commercial vehicles that weigh over 14,000 pounds will be eligible for a tax credit of either $40,000 or 30 percent of the total cost of the vehicle. If the bill passes without any changes, the buyer would be able to take advantage of the lesser of the two options.
We can only assume that the Tesla Semi will be eligible for the tax credit if the bill passes. However, we have no way to know for sure. Moreover, it’s just a waiting game at this point as we learn more about the credit and await its fate.
Teslarati points out that certain US states also offer enticing incentives for electric Class 8 trucks and other heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The publication adds that California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) offers as much as $120,000 related to the purchase of an electric Class 8 vehicle.