California to offer $3,500 EV rebates to first-time buyers

Incentives provided through companies headquartered in state

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A vehicle by Rivian Automotives, the maker of all-electric SUVs and pickup trucks, charging outside the company’s service center in Mira Mesa in January 2024. Rob Nikolewski — San Diego Union-Tribune

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By Rob Nikolewski

San Diego Union-Tribune

California rebates for electric vehicles are coming back.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Monday that offers $3,500 for first-time buyers of EVs that cost $50,000 or less. There’s also a rebate of $1,750 for first-time buyers who purchase a used electric vehicle with an MSRP of up to $25,000.

The governor’s office said Californians can take advantage of the rebates “later this summer,” but did not give a specific date.

The new Golden State initiative, called the MyFirstEV program, comes in reaction to last year’s 940-page federal budget legislation dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Republicans on Capitol Hill and signed into law by President Donald Trump. It included provisions that eliminated the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 on the purchase or lease of a new EV and $4,000 for a used one.

While visiting the headquarters of Rivian Automotive, Newsom signed Senate Bill 168 that earmarks $135.5 million for the rebate program that will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by automakers who choose to participate in the program, meaning MyFirstEV could deliver $270 million in total.

There’s also an interesting clause within SB 168 that benefits zero-emissions carmakers Rivian and Lucid.

The legislation says “incentives under the (rebate) program shall be provided to California-headquartered zero-emission vehicle companies regardless of the vehicle manufacturer’s suggested retail price or sales price.”

That means that all vehicles from Rivian and Lucid qualify for the $3,500 rebates, even though Rivian’s least expensive model costs about $58,000 and Lucid’s cheapest offering runs around $71,000. Rivian is based in Irvine, and Lucid is headquartered in the Bay Area city of Newark.

Tesla, meanwhile, moved its production headquarters from California to Texas in December 2021. That means Tesla will not receive the MSRP exemption — although it can take part in the rebate program with $50,000 limits for new EVs and $25,000 for used vehicles, if it chooses to do so.

The California Air Resources Board will administer the MyFirstEV program. CARB expects to announce next month which car companies will take part and provide more details.