NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee's booming electric vehicle industry could be in limbo if the U.S. Senate passes President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" as is.

The proposal includes cuts to federal tax credits for EV owners and manufacturers.

Tennessee is a leader in the EV industry in the Southeast, with three EV manufacturing plants and multiple battery plants under construction. The industry has created more than 16,300 jobs and drawn $17.6 billion in investments in the Volunteer State, according to the Electrification Coalition.

Federal tax credits for EV owners and manufacturers, which were a part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, including an up to $7,500 tax credit for many who purchase an EV, have incentivized owning and building EVs, aiding the industry's rapid growth, Ben Prochazka, the executive director of the Electrification Coalition told News 2.

“These credits were designed to help make sure that the U.S. is really a leader and can catch up to other countries that have really invested a lot more in the policy or just direct investments that can support the cultivation of that industry," Prochazka said.

However, those federal tax credits could be cut if the Senate passes the budget bill as is. President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" includes cuts to all tax credits regarding EVs.

Prochazka argued the cuts would put EV jobs and investments at risk.

“What the inflation reduction act credits did was it was intended to really unlock huge private sector investments, and that happened, but now those private sector investments are a question mark because companies that were planning to build battery manufacturing facilities and or vehicle manufacturing are slowing down and in some cases canceling those plans altogether," Prochazka said. “If we don't make these investments, we have the potential to fall way behind and lose vast numbers of automotive sector jobs, battery jobs, infrastructure jobs, and those are all really critical to states like Tennessee, but also across the country."

President Trump has long spoken against the federal tax credits for EVs and has been vocal about his support for the traditional automotive industry and its workers.

Republicans hope to send the bill to the President's desk by July 4.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/tn-ev-industry-big-beautiful-bill-impact/