Tesla Buyers Won't Get A $7,500 Tax Credit For Much Longer

Tesla owners looking to grab a bargain better be quick as before long, every vehicle in the company’s range will become more expensive.

Sometime next year, Tesla will have topped 200,000 cumulative sales of fully-electric vehicles, meaning those cars it produces will no longer qualify for the government’s $7,500 federal tax credit.

Car and Driver reports that Alan Baum of Baum & Associates believes Tesla will reach the 200,000 mark in the first quarter of 2018, if not earlier. Once that sales mark is reached, a phase-out period of the tax credit will commence.

For the following year, buyers will be able to claim 50 per cent of the credit ($3,750) and for the two quarters after that, 25 per cent ($1,875). Based on current estimates, this means the $7,500 tax credit will only be available for Teslas delivered by September. The 50 per cent credit will then apply throughout the entirety of 2018 before the $1,875 credit is offered for the first two quarters of 2019.

Based on current U.S. sales figures, it appears that both Nissan and Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid and EV models will be available with the full $7,500 tax credit for at least the next 12 months.