Energy Secretary’s Favorite EV Ineligible For Tax Credits Over Chinese Parts

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s favorite electric vehicle (EV), the incredibly expensive Cadillac Lyriq that she used during her issue-plagued summer road trip, is no longer eligible for the Biden administration’s EV tax credits due to a new rule eliminating subsidies for vehicles made with certain Chinese components.

Granholm traveled across the United States in a Cadillac Lyriq during her infamous EV road trip in June 2023, which was filled with disasters. At one point in the trip, which was done to encourage Americans to purchase electric vehicles, Granholm’s roughly $60,000 Cadillac developed a “hardware issue,” making it difficult to charge the EV.

The trip was so problematic that the Republican-led House of Representatives has even launched an investigation into it for several reasons, including the fact that Granholm’s staff traveled ahead of her and blocked off a charging station for her to use — preventing a family from charging their vehicle in the “sweltering” Georgia heat, who ultimately called the police on Granholm’s staff.

“We are alarmed by recent reports of your four-day summer 2023 electric vehicle (EV) road trip apparently intended to showcase the Biden Administration’s progress in achieving a radical green agenda,” the Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Department of Energy (DOE).

“Using an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, your Department of Energy (DOE) staff blocked off an EV-only charging station so you could stay on a schedule which was ‘painstakingly mapped out ahead of time’ because of limited, slow, and nonworking EV chargers along your route,” the letter continued.

“In ‘sweltering’ Georgia heat, your staff’s actions caused a family with an infant child and low charge on their EV battery to call the police out of urgency while waiting at this charging station,” the lawmakers added.

Despite all of these problems, Granholm has repeatedly praised the Cadillac Lyriq and touted her trip as a relative success — declaring it “incredible” and “amazing” in a series of social media posts.

However, the vehicle that she has deemed her favorite is not eligible for tax credits. According to General Motors, Americans will no longer be able to receive a $7,500 Biden administration tax credit for purchasing a Cadillac Lyriq.

The change comes because of Treasury Department battery sourcing rules that went into effect on Monday, which prohibit tax credits from being used on EV’s that contain battery components from China or other foreign nations of concern.

General Motors will reportedly be offering consumers a new $7,500 incentive to offset this loss, which will apply to the Cadillac Lyriq and other EV’s that have lost eligibility for the tax credit.

In a statement, General Motors spokeswoman Liz Winter confirmed that the Lyriq had lost eligibility for the tax credit “because of two minor components.” She has predicted that the company will make some changes to allow the vehicle to “be eligible for the full incentive in early 2024.”