Infrastructure, Technology, and Innovation

Trump Administration Actions Affecting Infrastructure,

Technology, and Innovation

👎 Removing tax incentives to purchase electric vehicles (January 20, 2025)

Donald Trump, two months before taking office for his second term, vowed to get rid of the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases. His close adviser, Elon Musk, heartily agreed. “Take away the subsidies, it will only help Tesla,” Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. The elimination of the tax credit would most likely hurt General Motors, Ford, Rivian, and Stellantis—the weakest American rivals to Tesla. Edmunds.com, an automobile purchasing guide, warned that “the potential elimination of the federal tax credit for electric vehicles by the Trump administration—without another form of incentive to replace it—could derail the trajectory of EV sales in the United States.”

But Tesla has been hurt, with sales falling dramatically in the US and worldwide, not because of the loss of a tax incentive, but because of the broad-scale dislike of Elon Musk and his slash-and-burn actions.

Source: Kate Gibson, “Trump’s Win Could Sharply Raise the Cost of Electric Vehicles. Here’s Why,” CBS News, November 15,2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tesla-elon-musk-donald-trump-ev-tax-credit/.

👎 Biden E.O. on Artificial Intelligence risks is rescinded by Trump Executive Order (January 20, 2025)

Early in his second term, Trump rescinded the Biden Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence. That October 2023 order required AI systems that might pose a risk to US national security, the economy, or public health or safety to share the results with the federal government before being released to the public. In 2024, the Republican Party platform vowed to repeal the Biden order, arguing that “Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing.”

Source: Executive Order, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” White House, January 23, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence/;

👎 Cutting and Threatening Academic Research and Development (March 2025)

As Donald Trump threatens to withhold vital scientific research funds from universities, some policymakers have sounded the alarm. Federal funding for R&D isn’t a gift to universities, it is a vital part of American national security. Senator Todd Young (Republican-Indiana) and Matt Pottinger, chair of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, write that “The US is racing against its adversaries to lead not only in artificial intelligence but also biotech, quantum computing, robotics and other technologies that will be pivotal for US prosperity and security.”

Source: Todd Young and Matt Pottinger, “Funding for R&D Isn’t a Gift to Academia,” Washington Post, March 24, 2025, https://www.washingtpost.com/opinions/2025/03/24/research-development-china-national-security/.