By Mish

Carbon Tax Credits

The Biden administration and the Department of Energy colluded to rig estimated gas mileage from EVs.

For example, a Tesla that gets the equivalent of 65 MPG, receives tax credits as if the Tesla gets 430 MPG.

Electric-Vehicle Cheating Scandal

The Wall Street Journal comments on The Electric-Vehicle Cheating Scandal

It's hard to think of a worse environmental scandal in recent years than Volkswagen's 2015 diesel-emissions cheating. The German automaker was rightly pursued by regulators, enforcement agencies and class-action lawyers.

The scandal ended up costing Volkswagen an estimated $33 billion in fines and financial settlements—and revealed that diesel-emissions cheating was endemic.

When it comes to electric cars, the government has a cheating scandal of its own. Under an Energy Department rule, carmakers can arbitrarily multiply the efficiency of electric cars by 6.67. This means that although a 2022 Tesla Model Y tests at the equivalent of about 65 miles per gallon in a laboratory (roughly the same as a hybrid), it is counted as having an absurdly high compliance value of 430 mpg. That number has no basis in reality or law.

Until recently, this subsidy was a Washington secret. Carmakers and regulators liked it that way. Regulators could announce what sounded like stringent targets, and carmakers would nod along, knowing they could comply by making electric cars with arbitrarily boosted compliance values. Consumers would unknowingly foot the bill.