Is DeSantis Igniting A Firestorm With Elon Musk Over Florida Electric Vehicle Bill Veto?

For more than a year, Elon Musk has shown support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a potential presidential candidate that can win the 2024 election.

Although DeSantis has recently enacted several policies potentially beneficial to Musk-led businesses, a new decision has caused confusion among experts and might lead to a fallout with the Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO.

What Happened: Despite near-unanimous bipartisan support and passage by Florida lawmakers, DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have increased the state's purchase of electric vehicles, according to the Miami Herald.

The proposed legislation would have enabled the state to reduce costs by acquiring electric vehicles for its fleet of state-owned vehicles. The vetoed bill would have taken into account total ownership, including gas and repairs, over the lifetime of a vehicle instead of just upfront costs when selecting new vehicles. Similar legislation has been passed in Nevada and Virginia.

DeSantis's decision last week to veto the bill, despite his previously expressed support for electric vehicles, left several state experts taken aback.

“This veto is a baffling decision that will cost Florida taxpayers millions of dollars,” Advanced Energy United’s Michael Weiss said. “The Florida Legislature saw the clear economic and taxpayer benefits of a modern and efficient state fleet, but Gov. DeSantis somehow didn’t get the memo.”

Advanced Energy United listed the estimated state savings from the bill at $277 million over a 15-year period.

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Why It’s Important: The Miami Herald said DeSantis normally lists reasons why he vetoes bills, but did not do so in this instance.

In the past, Governor DeSantis has expressed support for electric vehicles within the state. As recently as 2022, he lauded a state plan to acquire electric buses, terming it a "win-win" situation.

“This funding will help lower emissions while also bringing our transit bus fleets to more modern standards. This is a win-win for air quality and advancing the state’s efforts to bolster growing electric vehicle usage.”

News of the recent veto also comes after DeSantis signed House Bill 637 into law, which will ban automakers from using Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) methods to sell vehicles, if they didn’t already have the process in place.

The law is expected to help companies like Tesla and could hurt companies like Ford Motor Company F and General Motors GM that rely on a traditional dealer model for the sale of their vehicles to consumers.

With growing electric vehicle fleet sales divisions, Ford and General Motors could also be losers from the veto by DeSantis.

Tesla has seen an increase in purchases by police forces across the country, with cost savings typically realized by the local and state governments. The veto will make this harder to accomplish, which could cause tension between DeSantis and Musk.

Musk has been a supporter of DeSantis for over a year. DeSantis announced his official 2024 presidential candidacy on Twitter, a social media platform owned by Musk.

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