Former President Donald Trump says he is "for electric cars" and has "no choice" about it following his endorsement by the billionaire owner of Tesla, Elon Musk.
Musk issued a full endorsement for Trump on July 13, just after the failed attempt on Trump's life in Pennsylvania. Since then, Trump has repeatedly praised electric vehicles and downplayed his earlier criticism.
"I'm for electric cars,” Trump said last weekend. "I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly. So I have no choice."
He later said he only supports electric vehicles "for a small slice," saying, "You want to have gas-propelled cars, you want to have hybrids, you want to have every kind of a car imaginable."
At a rally in Michigan toward the end of last month, Trump also praised electric vehicles, noting, "I'm constantly talking about electric vehicles, but I don't mean I'm against them. I'm totally for them," adding, "I've driven them and they are incredible, but they're not for everybody."
"I would expect that a Trump posture would not be forcing the traditional automakers into mandates that require them to do EVs, but there could be tax incentives," Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe told The Hill, adding, "which would be beneficial to Tesla."
The Wall Street Journal previously reported Musk and Trump a possible adviser role for the tech mogul if the Republican is able to retake the White House in November.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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