California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference in San Francisco.
Getty Images
California, the most important U.S. marketplace for electric vehicles, reported record levels of zero-emission cars and trucks. 25.7% of latest automobile sales within the second quarter. Governor Gavin Newsom praised gains from corporations like Rivian and Ford, but noted a 24% decline at Tesla.
“I want to commend and thank Rivian for their extraordinary work,” Newsom said on a conference call Tuesday, noting the brand’s 71% growth earlier this 12 months. “Tesla is no longer the sole manufacturer in this space. We are seeing a dramatic shift in competition across the industry. This is exactly what was predicted. This is exactly what we have been encouraging: competition in this space.”
Sales of so-called zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including battery-powered, plug-in and hydrogen-powered cars, totaled 118,181 within the quarter ended June 30, the second-highest, though down from 125,939 a 12 months earlier. However, with fewer people within the state buying latest cars, largely because of high rates of interest, ZEVs captured a rather larger market share than a 12 months ago, increasing 0.7 percent.
Newsom’s praise for Tesla competitors follows Elon Musk’s increasingly hostile attitude toward the state, which has been Tesla’s largest buyer of vehicles because it began delivering Roadsters 16 years ago. Although the corporate still builds and designs vehicles in California, the controversial billionaire moved Tesla’s headquarters to Austin several years ago and recently announced plans to maneuver the headquarters of SpaceX and X, formerly Twitter, to Texas as well.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe.
Jamel Toppin/The Forbes Collection
Tesla’s sales in California are declining much faster than overall sales. While global sales of Tesla vehicles fell 5% to 443,956 units in the primary half of the 12 months, they fell 17% in California, where the corporate sold 102,106 sales recorded in the course of the same period, the California New Car Dealers Association reported last month. At 23% of Tesla’s total volume, the Golden State is by far its biggest market, rivaled only by China, the world’s largest buyer of electrical vehicles.
Musk’s increasingly polarizing public image – stemming from social media posts which have accused him of anti-Semitism, racism and transphobia – might be further worsened in California by his support and financial backing of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a dangerous move within the heavily Democratic state.
Overall, growth in U.S. electric vehicle sales has slowed, however the segment continues to grow nationwide. EV sales rose 11.3% to 330,463 within the second quarter, in line with Cox CarThat was about 8% of all latest vehicles within the quarter.
Newsom announced a plan for California in 2020 that may require all latest cars sold to be zero-emission models by 2035. “Today, we can expect progress to continue, not just for this state, but for the entire nation.”
Governor Gavin Newsom on Threads
Separately, he touted $600 million in latest federal funding to enhance the state’s grid stability, provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
“This grid stability will enable grid improvements of over 100 miles and provide a cleaner, more reliable and more cost-effective grid.”
More from Forbes
