For the second consecutive year, Tesla has been overlooked by the Biden Administration in its bid to secure funding for a key electric vehicle (EV) semi-truck charging corridor on the West Coast. Despite its ongoing collaboration with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California, Tesla was once again excluded from the list of recipients for the Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program.
In this round of funding, 49 applicants were awarded a total of $636 million. Tesla and SCAQMD had applied for financial support to help develop a corridor of EV charging stations stretching from Fremont, California, to Laredo, Texas, but were not among the recipients. This marks the second time in as many years that their request has been denied.
Tesla’s 2023 and 2024 Funding Requests Denied
Tesla’s request for funding from the CFI program, which was created under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, initially came in 2023. The company sought support to establish an EV charging corridor that would connect major locations on the West Coast, with the goal of facilitating long-haul trucking with electric vehicles.
The corridor, as outlined in Tesla’s plans, was intended to span approximately 2,400 miles, with nine designated charging stations at key locations, including Fremont, Bakersfield, Compton, and Indio in California; Phoenix and San Simon in Arizona; and Sparks, Fort Stockton, and Laredo in Texas. These stations would support the growing demand for EV semi-trucks, which Tesla has aggressively entered with its all-electric Semi model.
However, despite the ambitious nature of this project and Tesla’s active role in the development of electric transportation infrastructure, the company’s 2023 application was denied, and its 2024 request met the same fate.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Future Opportunities
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed into effect in 2021, set aside $2.5 billion for expanding EV charging infrastructure, with the goal of supporting the transition to electric transportation across the United States. With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office soon, there are speculations that some of the remaining funds could potentially benefit Tesla, particularly given the company’s close ties with the incoming administration and CEO Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump.
While Tesla’s exclusion from the funding pool for now may be a setback, the CFI program is ongoing, and there are additional opportunities for companies to secure funding in future rounds. Tesla’s corridor project is seen as an important part of the national effort to reduce carbon emissions from freight transportation, and the company remains a key player in the shift to electric commercial vehicles.
As the infrastructure plan evolves, Tesla’s innovative work in EV charging and long-haul electric trucking may yet find support, despite the current funding setbacks.
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