Tesla lobbies for higher taxes on gas-powered vehicles in UK

Tesla has lobbied the UK government to promote higher taxes for gas-powered vehicles, or petrol cars, as they would say, as well as the proposed ban on internal combustion engine vehicles.

Over the years, Tesla has occasionally lobbied for electric vehicle incentives, but the automaker has always made its position clear about the best solution being to tax products that result in more polluting emissions in order to represent their true cost.

Now, we’ve learned that Tesla submitted a proposal to the UK government to increase taxes on petrol and diesel-powered vehicles.

The Guardian obtained the proposal, which was submitted last summer but only recently uncovered:

“The US electric car pioneer called for a rise in fuel duty and a charge on petrol and diesel car purchases to pay for grants and tax breaks such as a VAT exemption for battery-powered cars, according to submissions to the government seen by the Guardian.”

Tesla wrote in the proposal:

“Supporting zero-emissions vehicle uptake via mechanisms to make new fossil-fuelled cars pay for the damage they cause is entirely reasonable and logical. The result can be a revenue-neutral system for the government.”

The proposal comes amid a proposed ban on all new internal combustion engine vehicle sales by 2030 in the country.

According to the report, Tesla is the only automaker that has officially given its support to the ban.

Tesla is reportedly suggesting a similar scheme as California’s ZEV mandate:

“Tesla also argued that car manufacturers should be forced to sell a certain proportion of zero-emission vehicles – a “zero-emissions mandate” similar to the company’s home state of California. Other proposals included paying people to switch away from older polluting vehicles, tax breaks for corporate car users, and a “charging promise” that the government would install chargers on any street in the UK when requested.”

Lobbying disclosures show that the government in the UK has more often met with companies opposing the ban than those who are for the ICE car ban.