The Trump administration, in a letter Thursday, directed states to stop spending money for EV charging infrastructure — funds that had been allocated under former President Joe Biden. President Trump has slammed federal funding for electric vehicle chargers as “an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars.”
But the administration may need an act of Congress to freeze the states’ spending, and it’s not clear there will be one. Industry leaders say customer demand will continue to drive growth in the charging network, regardless of federal funding.
The Tesla Supercharger network — led by CEO Elon Musk, now leading Mr. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency — has received millions of dollars through the program that was just halted. But it also has a massive footprint of chargers across the country. Tesla will continue expanding its network regardless of federal money and is likely to benefit from its competitors receiving fewer funds.
Trump and EV charging
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump paused billions in funding for a nationwide buildout of fast electric car chargers that had been allocated to states through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program.
Then the Federal Highway Administration, the Transportation Department agency that administers NEVI funding, told states Thursday to stop carrying out their plans, pending new guidelines. It’s part of the broader effort to dismantle many environmental policies and incentives put in place by the Biden administration.
Some states, like Alabama and Rhode Island, had already suspended their programs in response to the Inauguration Day order, but Thursday’s directive is a further push from the Trump administration to halt federal efforts to electrify the roads and reduce planet-warming emissions from transportation.
States that currently have NEVI-funded projects up and running mostly have been reimbursed by the federal government. But the new memo means states with projects in the works, or those currently contracting for them, are to be halted immediately, and they don’t know if or when they will be able to proceed and request reimbursement.
Impact on EV drivers in the U.S.
NEVI was created through the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed by Congress in 2021, to fill gaps in the EV charging infrastructure network. It addresses the concern many car buyers have for road trips where charging stations are too far apart.
The NEVI program awards states $5 billion over five years, but they’ve struggled with permitting delays, complicated electrical upgrades and contracting.
Estimates suggest $3.3 billion of NEVI funding had already gone out the door to states.
Uncertainty for charging stations along highways
This announcement creates uncertainty, said Ryan Gallentine, managing director at business association Advanced Energy United.
“Most of the unawarded money is sitting in state Department of Transportation bank accounts ready to be spent,” Gallentine said in a statement. States are under no obligation to stop these projects based solely on this announcement, he said. “We call on state DOTs and program administrators to continue executing this program until new guidance is finalized.”
Others say the effort is sure to trigger legal battles.
The administration has “no legal basis” for stopping plans that have already been approved and funded, said Andrew Wishnia, former deputy assistant secretary for climate policy at the DOT who helped author the NEVI program.
Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren, a company that tracks EV charging data, predicted EV range concerns will linger for drivers. “If you don’t have convenient access either where you live or where you work or in between, why would you get an EV? It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Money that was leftover after states met their highway obligations was meant to fill other gaps in charging: areas where there are low rates of EVs, including low-income areas or areas with a lot of apartment buildings where it hard for people to charge.
The road ahead for U.S. highway EV charging
The federal buildout is not the only effort to build EV charging across the nation. Private companies have collectively spent billions on this infrastructure.
EV industry executives say that the demand from drivers for EV chargers will propel companies to build more of them. “I think the trend will continue. Maybe it’ll slow down over the next four years … but it’s going to continue,” said Bassem Ammouri, the chief operating officer at EV Connect, a major EV charging platform.
But some fear that delaying critical charging infrastructure could have a domino effect on the EV transition, because it could slow sales, said Matt Stephens-Rich, director of programs at the non-partisan group Electrification Coalition.
“As the world is shifting to electric vehicles, any slowdown will put the U.S. auto industry further behind,” Stephens-Rich said.
