Dateline: October 1, 2025. There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about the demise of the $7500. tax credit for electric vehicles (EVs). Auto executives have sent confusing signals that incite fear. Their retreat to gasoline vehicles has sparked concern that EV production will take a dive, like they did after the “cancel culture” of 1998. If you missed the fervor, Sept. 30, 2025 was the last day of the federal tax credit.
It is often forgotten in the media frenzy that many EV models did not qualify for the credit. It depended upon where the car was manufactured, the sourcing of battery materials, and ultimately the buyer’s income. There was also a loophole that was used to offer favorable lease terms for all buyers. The tax credit was intended to be used for fleet vehicles, but it ended up being an opportunity to trial the newest technology for two or three years. Fortunately, older EVs are resold in the secondary market or their batteries get recycled for new production.
The News Cycle:
During the third quarter, there were record breaking EV sales, led by General Motors and Tesla. The ending of the $7500. credit brought a lot of media attention.
So, it is a unique moment to look back at the recent news cycle, and observe how it might have helped shape public opinion. Stories about the Sept. 30 deadline were repeated over and over. They promoted the cars in ways that paid ads and commercials had failed. Specifically, they reached fence-sitting, first-time buyers. These were shoppers who were unlikely to switch from a gasoline vehicle but got motivated to visit a dealership and try one out. The hubbub around the $7500 credit was bait.
In the showroom, first time buyers were probably surprised. The EVs looked like conventional gas vehicles and someimtes shared the same name ( E-Equinox or gas Equinox). Importantly, the dubious new customer learned that 2025 models had an acceptable range, 320 miles or more. Until people visit showrooms, they are likely to recall the older graphic stories: stranded Teslas in the Chicago freeze and underpowered Nissan Leafs.
The rebates increased sales, but the media attention surely helped create a deadline. Auto executives were on record saying that they planned to cut back EV production: e.g., Ford Chief Executive, Jim Farley “it’s going to be a smaller ( EV industry)…way smaller.”
These pronouncements brought uncertainty for drivers planning, say in 2026, to look at new electric vehicles or renew a lease. They felt compelled to move their purchase forward fearing that vehicle production would be cut.
Doublespeak:
Now it’s October and we have reached the peak of this news cycle, so the doublespeak has clarity. General Motors reports that it is working with dealers on a way to extend the $7500. credit for leases for an unspecified period of time. Following the GM announcement, Ford chimed in to do the same. Hyundai, a major player in the EV market, will continue the $7500. credit on its 2025 models, and cut the prices on its Ioniq-5 model- the best-selling EV, by up to $9,800.
EV manufacturing should get cheaper, even without the rebates. Media stories neglect to mention that the price of EV batteries is rapidly dropping. It is now close to $100 per kilowatt hour. Like our cellphones, most of the cost for these cars is in the battery production.
Next News Cycle?:
Since the media focus has been centered on the $7500 credit, it’s easy to forget that yet another EV issue will bubble up. While gasoline prices have been stable, electricity prices are not. And this is an issue that touches every driver’s bottom line.
But there is also technology missing in this discussion. Electric vehicles can be charged off-peak, sometimes with solar or stored wind power energy. State-of-the art EVs are bi-directional. So instead of straining the grid, they also have the capability to supply itduring outages or periods of peak demand.
Just a thought- but as news of the $7500. tax credit fades from the public agenda, could the rising cost of electric energy might be the next wave of EV stories ready to crest? Or, will there be other chimeras on the road to innovation.