Republicans launched a full-on assault against electric vehicles (EVs) this week. Not just EVs but clean air, American jobs, domestic manufacturing, the works. The attacks were loud, clumsy, and clearly written by the oil lobby. And no, they’re not going to stop EVs from taking over if you always find yourself questioning, “When will electric vehicles take over?” But here’s the thing: even if EVs continue to grow (and they will), these attacks can still do a lot of damage. Not to EVs themselves, but to the U.S. auto industry, the very thing Republicans claim to be protecting.
Attacking clean air, American jobs… and basic logic
This week’s anti-EV efforts were wild. Republicans tried to block funding that has helped kickstart new U.S. factories. They pushed to gut clean air rules. In one of the more absurd moves, they took a step toward raising fuel costs by $23 billion-yes, billion, which their Transportation Department appointee proudly talked about back in January.
None of this is surprising. These same folks have been against clean air and renewable energy for years. They’re not even hiding why anymore; it’s about keeping the money flowing from the oil industry. The policies make no sense for the public, but they make perfect sense for Exxon and Chevron.
EVs are winning anyway, but at a cost
Let’s be clear: these attacks won’t stop EVs. They didn’t last time, and they won’t now.
Back when Trump was president, his administration tried everything to stop the EV shift, rolling back emissions rules, freezing fuel economy standards, and attacking EV tax credits. And guess what? EVs still grew. Tesla boomed. New startups emerged. Legacy automakers slowly started shifting their plans.
EVs are just a better technology. They’re cleaner, cheaper to fuel, and cheaper to maintain. Consumers are figuring that out, even if Fox News hasn’t.
But just because you can’t stop the train doesn’t mean you can’t slow it down, and that’s what Republicans are doing. Slowing down progress, delaying investment, and killing jobs before they even start.
Imagine where we’d be
What if, instead of four years of chaos under Trump, we’d had serious industrial policy? Something like what Biden’s doing now; attracting hundreds of billions in private investment, building factories, training workers.
We’d be way ahead.
Instead, we wasted time. And now, while Republicans try to kill those same policies, manufacturing projects are being canceled. Jobs lost. Momentum stalled. Meanwhile, over in China…
China isn’t messing around
While we argue about whether EVs are “woke,” China has been laser-focused for over a decade: securing battery materials, building supply chains, funding startups, and scaling factories.
The payoff? In just a few short years, China went from the sixth-largest car exporter in the world (right behind the U.S.) to number one. They just passed Japan, a title Japan held for decades. And they’re still accelerating.
Meanwhile, the U.S.? We slipped to sixth. Because while they were building, we were fighting each other.
Tariffs won’t fix this
In response to China’s rise, the U.S. slapped tariffs on Chinese cars. Biden even quadrupled them. It’s one of the rare things both parties agree on, but that doesn’t make it smart.
We’ve tried this before. Remember the 1970s and 80s? Japan built better cars, and instead of competing, the U.S. tried to block them with tariffs. It didn’t work. It made our automakers lazy, and Japan kept winning anyway.
We’re doing the same thing now, hoping to hide behind trade barriers instead of just getting better. That’s not how you win.
You can’t catch up by standing still
The EV revolution is real, fast, and global. But instead of embracing it, Republicans are doing everything they can to slow it down; yanking away incentives, blocking infrastructure, and creating chaos in the policy landscape.
And business hates chaos. Automakers want certainty. They’re already juggling the biggest transition in a century. The last thing they need is Washington pulling the rug out every election cycle.
But that’s what’s happening. And it’s driving away investment, not to mention trust.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s CEO is funding the sabotage
You’d think the CEO of the biggest American EV company would want EVs to succeed, right?
Apparently not.
Elon Musk is now one of the biggest funders of the same Republican party that’s trying to kill the U.S. auto industry. Yes, the guy who built Tesla is bankrolling the movement working to dismantle the very market he helped create.
Make it make sense.
This isn’t just about cars
It’s about whether the U.S. is going to lead the industries of the future or just whine about them while other countries eat our lunch.
It’s about clean air, yes. It’s about jobs, too. But more than anything, it’s about whether we believe in American innovation or are content to sit back, take oil money, and watch someone else build the future.
If we keep going down this road, China is not only going to win; they already are.
When the dust settles, don’t forget who lit the fire
Someday, when the U.S. auto industry is a shell of what it could’ve been, people will act shocked. There will be long think pieces. Politicians will point fingers. Everyone will say, “How could we have seen this coming?”
Well, we did see it coming. It was obvious.
The people trying to kill EVs now are doing it knowingly, for short-term political gain and fossil fuel money. They know it will hurt jobs. They know it will hurt the economy. They just don’t care.
So when the consequences show up in full force, remember: it wasn’t a mystery. It was a choice.
And they made it.
