Electric Truck News — Feds Say No To Tesla, California Rolls Back Electric Truck Rules – CleanTechnica

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The diesel engine has been a boon to humanity. Unfortunately, it also fills the air with climate killing pollution that creates health risks for those it benefits. An electric truck doesn’t leave oxides of nitrogen, fine particulates, or carbon dioxide in its wake and is far more efficient than diesel powered trucks. That’s the good news. The not so good news is that electric trucks have enormous batteries that need high-power charging equipment that can deliver 750 to 1000 kW of power to get them back on the road in a reasonable amount of time.

Those charging hubs for trucks are few and far between, which is why in 2023 the federal government created the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Within CFI is a proposal called “Transport Electrification Supporting Semis Operating in Arizona, California, and Texas,” or TESSERACT, that would construct nine charging stations for electric trucks along a route stretching from Fremont, California, down the coast of California to Compton before heading east to Phoenix, then along the southern border of the United States to Laredo, Texas.

Each station would feature eight 750 kW chargers for Tesla Semis and four chargers accessible to electric truck models from other manufacturers. Those four additional chargers are necessary in order to qualify for federal funding. Despite an ambitious plan to invest $24 million of its own money alongside the federal funds, Tesla’s bid was also denied in the first and second rounds of CFI funding in 2024 despite the fact that California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District joined in the funding application. The applicants were asking for $100 million in funds to begin work on the the TESSERACT charging network. Former Tesla policy VP Rohan Patel expressed optimism in 2024, stating that certain stations in the TESSERACT project would be “no-brainers even without funding.” However, progress appears to have stalled, leaving the fate of the 1,800-mile corridor uncertain.

On Friday, January 17, the Department of Transportation awarded $636 million to 46 applicants for EV charging infrastructure. Tesla and SCAQMD were not among those chosen for the awards. This is the third time Tesla has been snubbed by the Biden administration in its request for funding for Class 8 electric truck charging facilities. According to Autoblog, while Tesla has struggled to secure funding for its proposed electric truck charging corridor, other companies and states have been successful at obtaining federal money to further their own charging infrastructure plans. According to Bloomberg Green, 766 Level 3 charging stations came online in the US during the fourth quarter of 2024 — an 8% increase from the previous quarter. Those stations are opening in places like Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, expanding access for rural drivers and showcasing the growing momentum for consumer EV infrastructure outside coastal urban centers.

In theory, the DOT could announce further funding for EV charging infrastructure in the future. Although, whether or not that happens will be up to the new administration, which has shown a decided hostility toward electric vehicles of all types. But the wildcard in this situation is Elon Musk, who has secured unprecedented access as a private citizen to the next president. Kicking in a quarter of a billion dollars to get that person elected will do that. Is it possible that Elon the government advisor will be able to influence government policy to benefit a corporation Elon controls? Oh, you betcha.

Some could look at a map of the proposed electric truck charging corridor and draw the conclusion that it benefits Tesla specifically by providing charging infrastructure that connects the factory in Fremont, California, to the factory in Austin, Texas, and the proposed factory in Nueve Leon, Mexico. It should be noted there are no similar proposals from Tesla to encourage electric truck charging hubs anywhere else in the continental United States. Is that too cynical? Readers are free to make up their own minds on that question.

California Rolls Back Electric Truck Rules

Also last week, California decided to abandon its groundbreaking regulations phasing out diesel trucks and requiring cleaner locomotives because the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to allow the state to implement them. State officials have long considered the rules regulating diesel vehicles essential to cleaning up California’s severe air pollution and combating climate change. According to CalMatters, the decision comes after the Biden administration recently approved the California Air Resources Board’s mandate phasing out new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 but not other waivers for diesel truck standards.

“California has withdrawn its pending waiver and authorization requests that U.S. EPA has not yet acted on,” Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement. “While we are disappointed that U.S. EPA was unable to act on all the requests in time, the withdrawal is an important step given the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate, and has said will continue to oppose those programs.”

California’s Advanced Clean Fleet rule, which would phase out diesel trucks, was one of the most far-reaching and controversial rules that California has enacted in recent years in its quest to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. It would have ended the sale of new fossil fuel powered trucks in 2036 and required large trucking companies to convert their medium- and heavy-duty fleets to electric or hydrogen models by 2042. The truck fleet rule was approved in 2022 after years of analysis, public hearings, and discussions with industries and experts. It would have ended diesel’s stronghold on goods movement in the state, with potentially profound effects on the state’s environment and economy.

Trucking companies had already sued the state to stop the measure, saying electric and hydrogen big rigs are not practical for long-haul uses and that it would destroy the state’s economy. “The California Trucking Association has consistently stated the Advanced Clean Fleets Rule was unachievable,” Eric Sauer, chief executive of the association, said in a statement. He added the industry would work with CARB and the EPA “to further reduce emissions in a technologically feasible and cost-effective manner nthat preserves our State and the Nation’s critical supply chain.”

Under the Clean Air Act, Congress gave California permission to set its own aggressive emission standards for cars, trucks, and other vehicles because of its severe smog problem, but the EPA must grant California a waiver to implement those more rigorous standards. California air quality officials have been waiting for years for the EPA to approve the last four rules that pertain to heavy-duty trucks and locomotives, but the agency failed to act in time.

California may have to suspend any future rule-making for vehicles over the next four years of the Trump administration and rely instead on voluntary agreements with engine manufacturers, trucking companies, railroads, and other industries. “The California Air Resources Board is assessing its option to continue its progress as part of its commitment to move forward the important work of improving the state’s air quality and reducing harmful pollutants that contribute to poor health outcomes and worsen climate change. It’s clear that the public health, air quality, and climate challenges that California faces require urgent action. We are ready and committed to continuing the important work of building a clean air future,” Randolph said in the statement.

The truck fleet rule would have affected about 1.8 million medium- and heavy-duty trucks on California roads, including delivery trucks used by FedEx, UPS, and Amazon. The trucking industry had cited the high costs of zero-emission vehicles, limited charging and fueling infrastructure, and the financial burden on small operators. Despite the opposition, sales of zero-emissions trucks have increased recently. In 2023, one out of every six medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the state were zero emissions vehicles. That’s 18,000 more clean trucks on the road in California this year than last.

In the final analysis, fleet operators are far more focused on total costs of operation than on a political agenda. If those zero-emissions vehicles prove to be cheaper to operate, more of them will get sold. Access to charging infrastructure will also play an important role in electric truck adoption. We can assume the next administration will be hostile to expanding that access in any way, shape, or form. How that will affect the adoption of zero-emissions vehicles of all types remains to be seen.