Hello guys I’ve been hearing a high pitch whistle sound (other than the synthetic sound) while driving my ev car. It’s a trumpchi ge3 2019. The sound is getting worse with time. Any suggestions about the reason or cause of that whistle sound?

I'm an energy lobbyist in D.C. and kept this subreddit updated during the Inflation Reduction Act negotiations in 2022 that modified the EV tax credit. I wanted to share an update on where things stand.

Why is the election important for the EV tax credit?

While I, along with most of the D.C. world, viewed divided government as the most likely outcome of the election, Republicans have already gained control of the Senate (with a 3 vote majority buffer) and are favorites to take the House. At the time of this post, the House breakdown is 212 Republican, 199 Democrat, with 24 seats to be called. 218 seats cements the majority.

When one party controls the White House, Senate, and House, it unlocks a procedural tool called Budget Reconciliation. This avoids the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate that normally kills partisan legislation and is how the IRA was passed, Trump's 2017 tax cut bill was passed, and how the Affordable Care Act was passed under Obama.

Many provisions from Trump's tax cuts start to expire in 2025 so he will be looking to take up another large tax reform bill. In order to pay for other priorities, like extending the increased standard deduction, higher child tax credits, and adding in some new priorities like possibly no taxes on tips or social security, they'll find offsets elsewhere in the law to repeal. Unfortunately, the EV tax credit will be one of the first things they go after.

How will it change? Will they simply go back to how it was pre-IRA with caps for manufacturers?

It's unclear how they decide to change it but the goal is to reduce the "score" which is just a term for how much a legislative proposal costs or saves the government. The cleanest path would be to simply sunset the EV tax credit. They could also make it so that it's impossible to qualify for the credit: reduce the MSRP of the cars that qualify even further or require the entire supply chain going into the car to be from the U.S. This would allow them to message that they preserved the credit but hey, you gotta build it here. I think this is less likely than sunsetting the credit. I don't see them going back to the pre-IRA version of the credit since the goal is to save money to fund other things.

When might it change?

it depends how quickly the budget reconciliation process moves. It's never as easy as people think it'll be particularly when you're tweaking the tax code. It might take most of the year. But to be conservative, I think it's very possible that calendar year 2025 would be the last time to buy an EV and get a credit.

But Elon Musk is in the White House and he owns the largest EV company in the world...

Yes, but what's a punch in the gut to Tesla is a shot to the head for Tesla's competitors. Tesla still has a massive advantage in the U.S. EV market and would do much better than companies that are still struggling to develop (and sell) EVs. Don't be surprised if Musk fully endorses initiatives that would benefit his company more than competitors or simply hurts them more than him.

What should I watch for?

First let's make sure that Republicans get the 218 seats. It's very likely they do, but it's not impossible that Democrats could sneak a razor thin majority.

Assuming they do, budget reconciliation efforts always start in the House with the Ways and Means Committee. They'll start to hold hearings and put out discussion documents for how they plan to address the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

While I'm fairly confident they will sunset the credit, what I'm not sure about is when. If the process moves quickly and they pass a bill in, say, July... do they say the credit only applies to purchases made on or before July 31, 2025? I tend to thing these things take longer than shorter, so if I was to make a wager I'd say anyone looking to buy an EV probably has most or all of 2025 to do it, but there's certainly danger that I'm wrong so the sooner the better. We'll only know for sure when we see legislative text which will take several months.

It seems like a lot of risk buying one if that's the case, accidents happen, and who can afford a new battery out-of-pocket?

Please help me where to start. What should be the 101 subject, any EV techs here that can guide me?

Any online or universities nearby Charlotte NC area?

So, maybe this is more venting than anything else, but I just really don't see any career upside in EVs for the next four years.

I work on the business side, and not directly for any of the automakers. But it seems basically inevitable that a Trump presidency is going to result in fewer EVs (with him targeting subsidies, "mandates" and tariffs). I've spent the last few years working almost exclusively in EVs and policy space, and it feels like my career path is crumbling, even if Trump is unsuccessful in some of the bigger targets (e.g., no way he fully repeals the IRA).

For other people working in the EV or EV-adjacent spaces: what are you thinking, career-wise? This feels like America is just giving up on a key industry. With protectionism and a lack of industrial policy, it just seems like America is going to fall even further behind China (and Europe), and I can't see US automakers being globally competitive, and there's not going to be much new EV demand.

So, is it pivot time? Or do we all just hold out for 2-4 years and hope that the IRA, CARB and EPA stay alive? Or is there some secret plan where Musk is going to electrify America (despite supporting subsidy phaseout and everything Trump's said).

Just got a new EV and one of my decision points was free charging at my office building, using a pin for an Enel X Juicebox. Well I tried using the promo code and the app just says error code 12500.

There is no one who answers the customer service line and it doesn’t appear as if there is a North America service number at all. I see other cars plugged in.. does anyone know what to do here?

Anybody else seen a RAM REV up close? There is one at SEMA in Las Vegas this week. Looks nice. I put my $100 down to be on the list.

So just seen some videos that they're bringing the extended version to the states. With a price tag of 61,500 for the base model and a 230 mile range. Am I crazy or is this going to totally flop in the American market?

So we took our ICE vehicle into for servicing and to get the snow tires put on. Its a 2014 Subaru Forester. I was a lemon, and we put a new engine into it when it was 3-4 years old. It has lots of mileage (about 600 k km) due to my work. It is reaching the end of the life we have for it. We also have a Prius Prime PHEV which we both love.

So to replace the Subaru, we are starting to shop for a full EV. This new vehicle might be our last new vehicle ever, with luck as we are older and I am retired, and spouse works part time from home. But for various reasons, we still need two vehicles. We are thinking of a spring purchase, so have time to do lots of research and test driving.

My spouse mentioned to our mechanic today that we are looking, and have test driven a couple of the Hyundai's (Ioniq 5 and 6) and the mechanic went off about all the recalls and problems. I am not seeing a lot of issues when I do a search in this sub, and both are highly rated by CR, Edmunds, Car and Driver etc. We love our mechanic and have been with the same folks for 40 years, they are honest, reliable and do excellent work, at a fair price.

Is it partly that mechanics see their business leaving with the arrival of EVs and are negative in general?

Are there many service providers for EVs outside of dealerships yet? What servicing will a full EV need? When I take my Prius in, its all about the ICE for servicing, except when I had an issue with the 12 Volt battery, which was covered under warranty.

Following filing under CCAA (Canadian equivalent of bankruptcy) in July and approval of restructure plan last month. Email today said this (in French, followed by English):

Hello,

Based on our records, you have been identified as one of the unsecured creditors on Taiga's list due to the customer deposit you placed.

Following the recent acquisition of all issued outstanding shares of the Taiga Group by Mr. Wilkinson, we must inform you that your deposit will not be returned, and no proceeds will be allocated towards the reimbursement of your deposit.

We understand the impact this decision may have on you, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Please find attached the creditors notice for more detail.

Sincerely, 

Deloitte Restructuring Inc.

A different email last week promised that the deposits would "be fully credited toward the purchase" of a snowmobile (Nomad model only) "until May 31, 2025". Presumably that's still the case, and the above only got sent to depositors that had inquired about a refund. I'm also not sure if the situation is the same for the watercraft, but would assume so.

Moral of the story: vehicle deposits to early stage companies are risky, buyer beware, etc.

Seattle has a bunch of Electrify America stations that are out of service. Is this due to upgrade work, or are they all broken?

Does anyone know if the new equinox ev uses the can fd protocol? I need to program a key and I am unsure if I need the can fd adaptor. I have an autel mx808s scanner. I think the key dance does not work on ev models, but again I'm not sure. Thank you for any advice.