EVwire brief: California has launched MyFirstEV, a new electric vehicle rebate program that offers up to $3,500 to eligible first-time EV buyers, but a provision in the legislation gives California-based automakers such as Rivian and Lucid an exemption from the program's $50,000 MSRP price cap.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 168, creating a rebate that will be applied directly at participating dealerships. Under the law, most eligible EVs must have a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $50,000 or less, but the cap does not apply to automakers headquartered in California.
The Rivian R2 Performance is covered by the incentive.
The exemption means several higher-priced Rivian and Lucid models could qualify for the incentive if their manufacturers choose to participate in the program by matching the state's contribution. As per RivianTrackr, that includes the Rivian R2 Performance Launch Edition, priced at $57,990, and the R2 Premium, which starts at $53,990.
The incentive is limited to first-time zero-emission vehicle buyers, meaning existing EV owners will not qualify. California has allocated $135.5 million for the program, with participating automakers required to match state funding dollar for dollar before customers can receive the full rebate. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the bill on X:
Context:
The rebate program is designed to encourage more gasoline vehicle owners to switch to electric vehicles while helping lower the upfront cost of EV ownership. California has long been the largest EV market in the United States, and the state continues to introduce new incentive programs even as several federal EV incentives have been reduced or phased out.
The California-specific exemption, however, is already drawing attention. Because the legislation ties the MSRP cap exemption to an automaker's headquarters, companies such as Rivian and Lucid stand to benefit while Tesla, whose corporate headquarters moved from California to Texas in 2021, and which still dominates EV sales nationwide, remains subject to the $50,000 limit. Lawmakers also included a severability clause in the bill, allowing the broader rebate program to remain in effect even if the California-company exemption is successfully challenged in court.
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