Tesla Cars: Are the Automakers Uniting Against Tesla?
Are Lobbyists Going to Hurt or Help Tesla Cars?
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is among one of the few holdouts in the automotive industry not actively lobbying to have the recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel consumption standard fleet requirement of 54.5 mpg by 2025 changed. Tesla cars, for instance, already meet these standards by being gas-free.
The EPA mandate would force automakers to add more electric vehicles to their car rosters, which involves marketing, mass producing, and selling affordable consumer-facing green vehicles. Which makes sense as to why Elon Musk is not joining the cries to have the mandate reconfigured, seeing as how the “Model 3” and other Tesla cars largely fit the EPA desires. (Source: “Virtually all automakers (except for Tesla) are currently lobbying to block EPA’s new fuel consumption standard,” Electrek, December 9, 2016.)
Other than Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), there’s been little public comment on the EPA fuel consumption standard. But now major lobbying groups—the Association of Global Automakers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers—have been reportedly lobbying hard against the standards, hoping that the more carbon-friendly Donald Trump administration would be willing to slash the mandates.
As pundits discuss just how a Trump presidency will impact Elon Musk and Tesla cars, this is a clear move of automakers toward the status quo versus rocking the boat, something that Tesla cars and Elon Musk are prone to do.
While not perhaps the best news for green tech enthusiasts, there may be one winner that emerges from this: Tesla cars. If the EPA standards become reset, then the Model 3 may face less competition as a result, becoming the go-to vehicle for those looking to go gas-free.
The two aforementioned lobbying groups combined account for representation of nearly the entire auto industry. Just see Electrek‘s list below:
- Aston Martin
- BMW
- FCA
- Chrysler
- Fiat
- Maserati
- Ford
- GM
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Isuzu
- Kia
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Mazda
- Mercedes-Benz USA
- Mitsubishi Motors
- Nissan
- Subaru
- Suzuki
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Audi
- Porsche
- VW
- Volvo
