Tesla has been snubbed for the second time by the Biden Administration for funding that would help build out an electric vehicle charging corridor on the West Coast for EV semi-trucks.
It is the second time the Biden White House has denied Tesla funding for the corridor, a project it is working on with California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).
In total, 49 applicants won $636 million from the Department of Transportation in this round of funding requests. Tesla was not on the list of recipients, and the SCAQMD confirmed to TechCrunch that the two companies had once again applied for funding during this round.
Tesla requested funding from the government in 2023 as a part of the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program, which was part of the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal that was signed in 2021.
In 2024, the first request from Tesla and SCAQMD was denied.
After the creation of the CFI, Tesla developed plans to build an EV charging corridor spanning from Fremont in Northern California, all the way to Laredo, Texas, which falls in the southern portion of the state right on the border of Mexico.
Nine total stops were projected to be created on this corridor, including Fremont, CA, Bakersfield, CA, Compton, CA, Indio, CA, Phoenix, AZ, San Simon, AZ, Sparks, TX, Fort Stockton, TX, and Laredo, TX.
It is unlikely this is the final round of funding for the entire CFI, as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law set aside $2.5 billion for EV charging expansion.
With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in just one week, it seems clear that perhaps some of the funding could go in the direction of Tesla, especially given his relationship with CEO Elon Musk.
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