President Biden has found himself in the hot seat after appearing behind the wheel of a GMC Hummer EV in a picture posted to his Twitter account while promoting electric vehicle tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The problem is that the model touted by the president is too expensive to qualify for the credits and is so inefficient and heavy that it is estimated to be worse for the environment than smaller, gas-powered vehicles.
“On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified,” Mr. Biden tweeted Monday with a photo of him smiling in the driver’s seat of a Hummer EV. “And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle.”
The $7,500 credit applies only to new vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks that cost $80,000 or less. The Hummer EV starts at $87,000 and climbs into six figures.
The 9,000-lb. vehicle also emits more per-mile carbon dioxide pollution when taking into consideration its electricity use than a gas-powered Chevy Malibu sedan, according to the nonprofit research firm American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The EV tax credits are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ tax-and-climate-spending package from last year that included $360 billion in clean energy credits and rebates over the next decade.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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