Elon Musk Brushes Aside Concerns On Trump's EV Policies: 'Sustainable Transport Is Inevitable … It Can't Be Stopped'

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk has turned increasingly political in recent years, a move that may have hurt the brand value of the electric vehicle company.

While Musk is OK with supporting President Donald Trump and the end of the $7,500 federal tax credit, the billionaire also has his eyes set on a sustainable future.

What Happened: A proposed end to the $7,500 EV tax credit by Trump is one of the biggest storylines for the electric vehicle sector and Musk is a supporter of making such a change.

Musk and Tesla analysts believe the decision to end the credit would be bad for Tesla in the short term, but ultimately benefit the company in the long term as it would be tougher on competitors.

The Tesla CEO was asked about electric vehicle policies under Trump during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

An analyst asked about plans to reverse the "EV mandate" and potential slowdowns of electric vehicle demand in the U.S. due to regulations.

Musk shied away from the question but did highlight his continued belief on electric vehicles being a big part of the future.

"At this point, I think that sustainable transport is inevitable," Musk said, as shared by InsideEVs. "I'm highly confident that all transport will be autonomous, electric, including aircraft, and that simply, it can't be stopped."

Musk went on to compare the rise of electric vehicles to the introduction of the internal combustion engine.

"Even if you've been the biggest horse advocate on Earth … like, ‘horses are the way, not these new-fangled automobiles,' you can't stop the advent of the automobile and you can't stop the advent of electric cars. It's going to happen."

The Tesla CEO said the only thing holding back electric vehicles previously was range, which has been solved.

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Why It's Important: While investors and analysts wanted to hear about Musk's relationship with Trump, what his role at the D.O.G.E. means for his time commitment at Tesla and how Trump's EV policies could shape the industry, the earnings call left many questions unanswered.

Trump has been a vocal critic of electric vehicles and also previously said he would ban autonomous vehicles from U.S. roads, a move that would severely hurt the future growth plan of Tesla and its robotaxis.

New Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared in a memo that the previous push by Joe Biden's administration for electric vehicles was "forced" on people.

Musk's comments about the future being all-electric and autonomous go against the commentary of Trump and his administration, which could make the friendship between the billionaire and president an interesting development to watch as Musk will likely have to push for support of autonomous vehicles.

Rivian Automotive CEO RJ Scaringe recently shared a similar commentary of keeping his eyes on the future and ignoring the short-term "speed bumps" created by items like the end of the federal tax credit.

“I started the company with the view of making highly compelling products, and none of my decision to start Rivian had anything to do with what the policy was going to look like,” Scaringe said.

Scaringe said that the potential elimination of the $7,500 tax credit would be “equally applied to all,” which could mean a level playing field for all companies in the electric vehicle sector.

“The future of transportation will be electric.”

Scaringe said policy revisions like this can’t slow down the long-term trend of electric vehicle growth and the necessity of having more electric vehicles on the road.

“This is not a political thing. It’s not like the left wants to move to electrification. It’s that the future of transportation will be electric.”

Watch the Tesla fourth-quarter earnings call with Musk below.

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