May 07, 2025

DOGE Wants To Kill The Program That Made Tesla Successful. Here’s Why.

The Advanced Technology Vehicle Loans provided by the US government helped massively expand Nissan LEAF production, brought large scale EV battery manufacturing facilities to the US, has promised to help Rivian expand and was a huge part of what allowed Tesla to reach production.

Those loans might now be going away. We look at the history of the loans, what they achieved, and why they might be coming to an end.

And we promise there's no pictures of Elon Musk or Trump.

We appreciate Plug In America's generous rights clearance for their images, and urge you all to donate here: https://pluginamerica.org/?form=FUNLHRARVGD

00:00 - Introduction

01:09 - The automakers didn't want to build EVs

02:39 - Automakers claimed they couldn't build them so...

04:18 - The Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program

07:07 - How does the loan program work?

09:49 - The ATVM loans are conditional

10:48 - Examples of ATVM loans

13:39 - What about the failures?

16:30 - So what is DOGE doing?

18:38 - What will be the impacts?

24:12 - Final thoughts

25:48 - Thanks and Credits

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20230813071455/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/28/business/expecting-a-fizzle-gm-puts-electric-car-to-test.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/26/us/california-is-backing-off-mandate-for-electric-car.html

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/zero-emission-vehicle-program/about

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/zev2003/22004memo.pdf

https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/6/cosponsors

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/29/florida-republicans-immigrant-jobs-child-labor

https://publicintegrity.org/environment/energy-department-bet-on-fisker-automotive-ends-in-bankruptcy/ (This site has a degree of very subtle right wing bias...)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/elon-musk-business-government-contracts-funding/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/musk-works-slash-federal-spending-firms-received-billions/story?id=118589121

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-twitter-value-advertising-2025-3

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/29/musks-companies-got-billions-from-the-government-now-hes-pulling-up-the-ladder-behind-him

https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-battery-swap-harris-ranch-20150310-story.html

https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/04/cost-of-doge-cuts-appear-to-wipe-out-most-of-agencys-reported-savings.html

https://www.ocregister.com/2013/04/25/washington-hearing-puts-fisker-in-the-hot-seat/

Script: Kate Walton-Elliott, Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Presenter: Kate Walton-Elliott

Editor, Colorist: Kate Walton-Elliott

Art and Animation: Erin Carlie

Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Music supplied through Artlist.io

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