Donald Trump’s second administration plans to act on the president-elect’s campaign commitment to complete President Joe Biden’s EV levy capitalization that has benefited Tesla.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said members of Trump’s shift throng intend to kill the $7,500 buyer levy capitalization for electric vehicle purchases as part of broader levy reform legislation, Reuters reported Thursday. It’s a policy that has benefited Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and Trump’s newly appointed head of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk, a vocal Trump supporter and the globe’s richest person, according to Forbes, has said that while killing the subsidy could hurt Tesla, which is best known for selling electric vehicles, it would devastate its competitors in the United States. When pressed on why he backed a candidate who wanted to complete a subsidy benefiting his corporation, Musk did not appear concerned.

“receive away the subsidies. It will only assist Tesla,” Musk wrote in a post on X as he campaigned and raised money for Trump in July. “Also, remove subsidies from all industries!”

The week after Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election, he announced Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy would navigator a department with an evocative acronym to cut potentially trillions in government spending.

Musk defended his companies in a community trade on X in September when businessman Vinod Khosla questioned how much back they receive from the government.

“SpaceX gets no subsidies and received half as much as Boeing for astronaut transport, but did 100% of the work,” Musk said. “As for Tesla, receive a minute to read our community filings and you will view that EV incentives represent a minor part of our income.”

Although Musk is now tasked with slashing federal spending, several of his companies are likely to continue to advantage from it, even if the EV levy capitalization is killed. Over the history 16 years, Musk’s business deals with the government total nearly $20 billion, according to federal contracting data.

More:Trump taps Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to navigator recent ‘Department of Government Efficiency’

Tesla

Musk’s automotive and vigor corporation, known for its pioneering electric vehicles and its battery storage innovations, has received $41.9 million in federal contracts since 2008.

Some of the largest purchasers include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which spent $13.6 million; NASA, which spent $10.8 million; and the Department of Defense, which spent $9 million.

In 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that Musk’s growing Tesla empire separately benefited from about $4.9 billion in government subsidies. That figure, according to the newspaper, was estimated using a compilation of grants, levy breaks, factory construction, discounted loans and environmental credits the corporation can’t sell, as well as Tesla buyer levy credits and rebates.

SpaceX

The tech billionaire’s aerospace corporation has benefited from nearly $19.8 billion in federal contracts since 2008.

A majority of that money − $14.4 billion − went to NASA and $5.32 billion went to the Defense Department to pay for SpaceX rocket launches and satellites.

budgetary year 2024 was the largest on record for SpaceX, aided by at least $3.8 billion in U.S. government contracts.

SpaceX is also a U.S. contractor for use in Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Turkmenistan.

Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler and Reuters

Reach Rachel Barber [email protected] and pursue her on X @rachelbarber_