Donald Trump has never been one to show much support for eco-friendly tech. While he was in office, he pulled the U.S. out the Paris climate accords and so far through his re-election campaign he’s pledged to scrap an electric vehicle mandate that doesn’t actually exist. Despite all this, he now appears to be changing his tune on the EV revolution. Or, more likely, he’s now lying about his views for political expediency.
During one of his latest campaign rallies, the convicted felon decided to pause his EV bashing to come out in support of some of the battery-powered cars being produced across American, reports the New York Times. The presidential hopeful went so far as to even suggest that he might quite like EVs, as the Times reports:
On Saturday, he went further, telling a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., “I’m constantly talking about electric vehicles but I don’t mean I’m against them. I’m totally for them.” Moments later he said, “I’ve driven them and they are incredible, but they’re not for everybody.”
This subtle softening began after Mr. Trump met in March with Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive of Tesla $TSLA, in Palm Beach, Fla. The two men began frequent discussions on a range of topics, including conversations about electric vehicles, according to comments Mr. Musk made last month at a shareholders meeting. “He just called me out of the blue,” Mr. Musk said. “I don’t know why, but he does.”
As spring turned to summer, Mr. Trump shifted his attacks from the reliability and value of electric vehicles to the federal incentives for consumers to buy E.V.s, and to environmental regulations designed to prod automakers to step up production. He’s said that anyone who wants to buy an electric vehicle should be able to but the government should not shape the car market.
The shift in attitudes from the presidential hopeful comes mere weeks after Tesla boss Elon Musk pledged his support, and millions of dollars, to Trump’s campaign. Reporters soon stepped in to ask Musk what he thought of Trump’s softening towards EVs, with the Tesla boss reportedly saying that he “can be persuasive,” reports the Times.
Despite these shifting perceptions towards EVs, Trump’s campaign still leans heavily on a desire to go back to the way things were when it comes to traveling around America. Trump previously called for an end to subsidies offered on EVs by the current administration, a move that was, weirdly, welcomed by Musk.
One expert told the Times that Trump’s hatred of such policies are all to do with the man that implemented them: Joe Biden. His war against EVs is seen as much as a war against the legacy of the Biden administration as it is a fight against the tech.