President Trump Threatens to Pull Electric Car Subsidies Over GM Plant Closures

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he may try to eliminate electric car subsidies for General Motors Co. after it announced it will close factories and lay off thousands of U.S. workers.

GM fell as much as 2.9 percent and traded down 2.4 percent at $36.73 at 2:16 p.m. in New York.

Trump has repeatedly expressed anger over GM’s plan to close five North American factories and since its chief executive Mary Barra announced the layoffs on Monday.

“There’s great disappointment that it seems like GM would rather build its electric cars in China rather than the United States,” Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday, just before Trump’s tweets. “We are going to be looking at certain subsidies regarding electric cars and others and whether they should apply or not. Can’t say anything final about that, but we’re looking into it.”

Currently, consumers who purchase a fully-electric vehicle are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. The credit begins to phase-out after an automaker sells 200,000 eligible vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Bolt electric car.

Tesla Inc. has already reached the cap and GM is expected to be next. Both companies have lobbied in Washington for an extension.

Some members of Congress have proposed raising the cap or otherwise extending the credit, including Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, and Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, where Tesla operates a large battery factory. Heller, a Republican, lost his re-election bid this month to Democrat Jacky Rosen.