The shift comes some two weeks before Germany had initially planned to end the subsidy program.
Germany planned to end its government subsidy on electric vehicles at the end of this year but on Sunday, it decided to ax the program effective immediately. Now, Tesla is stepping in to offer a matching discount for Model 3 and Model Y customers who take delivery by December 31st.
Germany’s EV subsidies offered buyers up to 4,500 euros ($4,900 in current exchange rates) in addition to 2,250 euros ($2,450) that would go to the manufacturer. Initially, the government said the subsidy would end on December 31 and wouldn’t offer such a program in 2024. Ending the program abruptly on Sunday came as a surprise.
Tesla responded by announcing that it would cover the difference for any buyer willing to take delivery by December 31. As noted above, the condition applies only to Model Y and Model 3 buyers.
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According to Teslarati, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) said: “As part of the negotiations on the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), it was decided on December 13, 2023, to end support through the environmental bonus as soon as possible.
As of December 17, 2023, no new applications for the environmental bonus can be submitted to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA). The background is the implementation of the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling, as a result of which 60 billion euros will be withdrawn from the KTF. Therefore, the KTF’s economic plan for 2024 has to be redrafted, and fewer resources are available to it.”
