Just yesterday we made this observation: Tesla electric car and the 650 hp Camaro -- what a contrast!
But now we see this shocker, although it shouldn't be a shocker: Tesla sales stopped dead in Hong Kong after a tax break for electric cars was scrapped:
Data analysis from The Journal has shown that zero new Tesla Model S sedans and Model X SUVs were registered with the transport department in April, after the vehicle-registration tax waiver for electrics was discontinued at the start of that month.
Following that, just five privately owned electric cars were registered in May.
The Journal reported a sales surge just before the April 1 rule change, with 2,939 Tesla vehicles registered in March and nearly 3,700 entering the department's books for the first quarter of 2017. The end of the tax break was announced in February.
Mr. Musk has done well by governments that are happy to hand out incentives for green autos -- last year nearly 7% of cars sold in Hong Kong were Teslas. Take those incentives away, and Tesla is going to have to compete the old fashioned way.
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1:00 PM 7/10/2017
We subsidize the hell outta corn, so why not also subsidize something that's at least innovative?
Like Mr. Musk or not, ya hafta agree that his creations are a sharp spur in the behind of the competitors in every category. Much like his fellow disruptor Steve Jobs and his iPhone, Elon may not have invented the electric car (or solar panels, etc., etc.) but he made them commercially viable and/or appealing.
And too, we bailed out GM (for which taxpayers shelled out $10B or more net) yet until Musk et al came along to rattle them up, they weren't making any strides on electric cars, autonomous driving, etc.
Posted by: Rob O. | July 11, 2017 at 06:00 PM
End all subsidies.
Posted by: Geo | July 12, 2017 at 05:53 AM