Congressman Smith and Senator John Barrasso have introduced legislation to repeal the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit:

“Missouri’s families and farmers shouldn’t be footing the bill for others to drive high-end electric vehicles,” said Congressman Smith. “The Electric Vehicle Tax Credit has benefited the wealthy at the expense of everyday Americans just trying to get by. It’s time to end this wasteful subsidy and help rebuild our nation’s infrastructure by ensuring every driver contributes to improving the roads we all use.”

“It’s time to end the electric vehicle tax credit,” said Senator Barrasso. “The Fairness for Every Driver Act will save taxpayers billions of dollars and help keep our roads safe. The legislation levels the playing field for all cars across America. Gas, electric, and alternative fuel vehicles all use the same roads and put the same amount of wear and tear on those roads. Every driver should contribute to maintain America’s highways.”

“Electric Vehicles are much more expensive and much less environmentally friendly than industry propaganda suggests,” said spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg. “This study offers underreported truths about the industry and we’ll ensure policy makers receive a copy as they debate requiring working-class taxpayers to subsidize electric vehicles they could never afford to own themselves.”

Arthur D. Little Report Findings

“[Battery Electric Vehicles] generate a host of secondary environmental impacts greater than those of [Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles] … We found that over a twenty-year vehicle lifetime, a 2015 BEV generates enough human toxicity potential to impact human health by 20 days lost to death or disability… Battery pack manufacturing and more specifically human exposure to heavy metals such as cobalt and nickel in addition to graphite during the mining process accounts for the vast majority of human toxicity potential…The production of lithium-ion battery packs creates more damaging pollution to human life than ICEV generate over the course of a vehicle’s lifetime.” (Arthur D. Little Report, 11/29/16)

“...a consumer who chooses to drive a BEV over an ICEV shifts the environmental impact of car ownership. As detailed in a recent series of investigative reports by the Washington Post, much of the cobalt and graphite entering the supply chain for lithium-ion batteries is sourced from poorly regulated and heavily polluting mines in Congo and China. While the BEV driver reduces their local contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, they create a more diffuse set of environmental impacts spread across the globe, the consequences of which are largely borne by rural and often disadvantaged communities near the mines from which BEV suppliers source raw materials for battery pack manufacturing.” (Arthur D. Little Report, 11/29/16)

“Our study concluded that BEVs were significantly more expensive to own… BEVs are cheaper to operate than their ICEV counterparts. However, this cost advantage was subsumed by other factors, such as the higher manufacturing costs for BEVs, and the BEV’s need for a replacement battery pack and an alternative mode of transportation. Ultimately, the high underlying cost of BEVs is a limiting factor in their future market penetration in the US automotive market.” (Arthur D. Little Report, 11/29/16)

EEC Background: The Energy Equality Coalition is fighting to end unfair subsidies and ensure a level playing field for American energy consumers. The EEC works to educate the public about energy policies that disproportionately benefit the richest among us at the expense of working-class Americans. We believe there should be balance in energy policies, not special treatment for an elite few who can afford to take advantage of them. energyequalitycoalition.org

Add yet another problem to the list at Tesla Motors TSLA -3.02 % : lackluster growth.

Tesla announced on Sunday that it delivered 14,370 vehicles in the second quarter. That is well below its own forecast of about 17,000, which it gave in May. Although sales of its Model X grew significantly from the first quarter, its signature Model S sedan actually saw sales fall sequentially by more than 22%. That is surprising since Tesla said in May that Model S orders were strong. The company has now missed its own deliveries guidance for two consecutive quarters.

The electric auto maker has delivered fewer than 30,000 cars in the first half of the year, putting its full-year forecast of 80,000 to 100,000 in serious jeopardy. Tesla says it expects to deliver “about 50,000” cars in the next six months. That isn’t impossible, but Sunday’s news is disconcerting. Since Tesla can’t successfully forecast deliveries more than two months out, it stretches CEO Elon Musk’s bold forecast of 500,000 deliveries by 2018 from improbable to farcical.

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The Ratepayer Fairness Act: Authored by Congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas and Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona this measure was included in H.R. 8, the larger House passed energy bill. The Ratepayer Fairness Act requires public utilities to examine whether the policies they enact benefit only a small number of wealthy electricity consumers, and then publicize their findings. The bill also compels utilities to study whether new policies provide an unfair competitive advantage or negatively impact resource utilization and grid security.

EEC Background: The Energy Equality Coalition is fighting to end unfair subsidies and ensure a level playing field for American energy consumers. The EEC works to educate the public about energy policies that disproportionately benefit the richest among us at the expense of working-class Americans. We believe there should be balance in energy policies, not special treatment for an elite few who can afford to take advantage of them. http://www.energyequalitycoalition.org/

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The Prescott eNews summarizes:

Establishes a new Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act standard requiring state regulatory authorities and non-regulated boards to examine whether new policies would result in cost shifts among customers, where a large customer class ends up cross-subsidizing a technology only used by a few customers. Flake introduced this amendment as a standalone bill (S.2384), and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) successfully offered a substantially similar amendment to the House energy bill (H.R. 8, Section 1107).

Pushing for the amendment, Flake is pushing back on a competing amendment proposed by Senators King (I-ME), and Minority Leader Reid (D-NV) that would, as UtilityDive reports:

protect rooftop solar customers from changes to their net metering rates enacted after they install their systems. While existing solar users are typically "grandfathered in" to new rate structures, a recent decision in Nevada applied new, lower remuneration rates for rooftop solar generation to existing solar customers as well as new ones.

State utility commissions, at the behest of environmentalists, have adopted mandates for renewable energy that power companies must comply with. Even in sunny states, this has created an artificial "rooftop solar" market, replete with federal tax incentives, state tax incentives, and of course, rebates and reimbursements for homeowners who install rooftop solar panels. Homeowners who, for the most part, are typically wealthy, or least far from poor.

Even with all of these "nudges" from the feds and states, King and Reid are trying to keep the reimbursement rates for rooftop solar artificially high. This has drawn criticism from a broad swath of groups, including energy industry competitors. But it's also being opposed by groups representing "historically underrepresented consumers" like the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

In their letter to the Senate opposing King and Reid's amendment, the groups write:

"the real impacts net energy metering has on those living on the lower end of the economic scale. Already, we spend a higher percentage of our incomes on energy than others, and adding any more to our bills is just too much, regardless of our support for solar."

In other words, the groups argue that subsidizing rooftop solar payments will mean higher rates for everyone else.

Flake's amendment would require these state agencies to look at whether measures like "net metering" and requiring the construction of electric car charging stations costs other consumers money.

A spokesman for the Energy Equality Coalition praised Flake's measure, saying: "We believe authorities should consider the working-poor before requiring them to subsidize technology they could never afford, and that's why we support Senator Flake's Ratepayer Fairness proposal."

As both technologies are generally toys for the rich, what sense does it make to force everyone else to ensure Teslas are properly charged and rooftop solar enthusiasts get a good ROI?

The Senate is expected to continue debate on the measure through the end of the week and it's unclear whether either amendment will be guaranteed a vote. Will rich environmentalists win again? Or will Flake impose his version of fairness? Stay tuned to C-SPAN 2 to find out.

Bob Lutz certainly has credibility in the automotive world. As an ex-GM executive he was known as the father of the Chevy Volt, a taxpayer-subsidized vehicle that I have had plenty of criticism for. Now that such a noted figure as Lutz has changed direction and is questioning the logic of lithium-ion battery technology, the automotive community should be taking notice.

So, since Lutz’s criticisms carry much more weight than my own, we can proceed to some of the bombshells that were dropped by him during the interview which featured six automotive “superstars.” The roundtable discussion addressed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne’s assertion that “automakers waste billions on pointless R&D investment and destroy heaps of shareholder value.”

Here are the excerpts from a transcript of the discussion:

FORMER GM VICE CHAIRMAN BOB LUTZ: The automobile business consumes enormous amounts of capital, which is why our fixed cost is so high and why when there's a downturn and the volume collapses, we're all into the multibillion-dollar losses and hemorrhaging cash.

Regarding the Chevy Bolt, which is the latest GM electric car being hyped:

LUTZ: I no longer have access to General Motors figures, but I would be surprised and shocked if the 200-mile electric Bolt is going to make money. You look at the cost per kilowatt hour of batteries and the number of kilowatt hours they have got in there and then you look at the selling price. It's just not going to work.

OK, in case any of you automotive journalists are paying attention, that bears repeating. BOB LUTZ JUST SAID THE CHEVY BOLT IS NOT GOING TO WORK. And Lutz is just getting warmed up! There’s more:

LUTZ: For the last 30 or 40 years, investors and analysts have been saying the automobile business is a great consumer of capital and does not return economic value to the shareholders.

What's new here? This is the first time somebody in the business — rather than being defensive and saying, “Wait until next year” and “We just went through a rough patch,” etc., etc. — is agreeing with the premise that the automobile business is a destroyer of capital. It really is.

And regarding the mandates to force money-losing electric cars and alternative vehicles on the public:

LUTZ: Yeah. Just do one fuel cell vehicle and have about six companies each participate in the architecture so that at least they might attain a volume of maybe 100,000, so that everybody can have their 5,000 or 6,000, which they're going to need to comply with California.

I don't know if anybody noticed, but full-size sport-utilities used to be — just a few years ago used to be $42,000, all in, fully equipped. You can't touch a Chevy Tahoe for under about $65 [thousand] now. Yukons are in the $70 [thousands]. The Escalade comfortably hits $100 [thousand]. Three or four years ago they were about $60,000. What this is, is companies trying to recover what they're losing at the other end with what I call compliance vehicles, which are Chevy Volts, Bolts, plug-in Cadillacs and fuel cell vehicles.

So my new friend Bob now says that the money-losing electric cars like the Chevy Volt, Chevy Bolt and Cadillac ELR are adding up to $40,000 in cost to conventionally-powered SUVs so that GM can absorb the losses! What a poor way to run a company. It is baffling that there has not been more criticism for the EV folly which is seeing wealthy buyers of Chevy Volts and Cadillac ELRs getting a taxpayer supplied federal credit of $7,500 each while buyers of other GM vehicles are paying thousands of dollars more to make up for the losses incurred by GM in building the electric losers. So, is there any hope in ending this madness, Bob?

LUTZ: Ultimately capitalism is going to talk. As long as the price-earnings ratios of automobile companies are where they are … the automobile industry is going to have a tough time generating new capital. At some point, there is going to be pressure from shareholders, shareholder activists, hedge funds or whatever, for mergers.

Thanks, Bob. It is great to hear from you and I am glad to see you are now speaking very logically about the feasibility of cars like the Bolt and Volt. Unfortunately, mergers alone will not solve the politically-popular folly of electric cars. The Obama Administration was set on forcing electric cars like the Chevy Volt on the public, despite the lack of feasibility. Republican representatives do not seem to want to end the ridiculous EV subsidies, even though in most cases the cars make no economic sense, nor do they help the environment.

Let’s hope noted figures like Bob Lutz can bring to light the ill-effects of our government trying to pick winners and losers instead of allowing free markets to work. Electric cars may or may not be the long-term solution to reducing oil dependence. Current evidence points to two things, one is that electric cars are not the future answer and two is that our government should step back and let logical alternatives develop without their heavy-handed and costly intervention.

Mark Modica is an NLPC Associate Fellow.

California already has more than 100,000 electric cars on its roads, a greater number than any other state or country. And 60 percent of those cars reside in PG&E’s territory. But many potential buyers still suffer from “range anxiety,” the fear of running out of juice on the open road. More public charging stations would soothe that fear.

“There is some growth in EV adoption, there is some growth in (charging) infrastructure, but the growth is nowhere near where we need it to be to reach the state’s goals,” said James Ellis, director of electric vehicle programs at PG&E.

While other companies — including automakers such as Tesla Motors, BMW and Volkswagen — are deploying charging stations as well, PG&E’s plan comes with a significant difference. The program’s cost would be paid by all 5.1 million of PG&E’s electricity customers, whether they own electric cars or not.

In California, utility profits are based largely on the value of the equipment they own — the substations, wires, meters and poles. The cost for the charging stations would be passed on to PG&E customers in the same way, adding about 70 cents to the monthly bill of a typical residential customer, starting in 2018.

As a result, PG&E’s plan requires the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission, which sets utility rates. PG&E submitted its proposal to the commission on Monday.

The idea of passing on the program’s costs irks consumer advocates. Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, noted that charging-station technology is advancing quickly. And it’s still not clear, he said, that electric vehicles will win in the looming head-to-head competition with fuel-cell vehicles, championed by Toyota, Hyundai and several other automakers.

“It’s way too early in this technology to know what’s going to be around for the long term,” Toney said. “The last thing we want to see is to invest millions of ratepayer dollars into a technology that’s going to be obsolete in five years.”

By collecting a stable rate of return from its existing customers, PG&E would profit from the deal even if fuel-cell vehicles emerge victorious.

The utility does not, however, want to get into the business of running the stations. PG&E would own all of the chargers, but would bring in other companies to install and manage them. Electric car drivers would have to pay those companies to use the chargers.

As envisioned by PG&E, the chargers would be deployed at offices, multifamily buildings, shopping centers and other public locations. Most of the stations would feature “level 2 chargers,” which add about 25 miles of battery range for every hour of charging. But 100 would be “DC fast chargers,” which can largely fill the batteries of most EVs in a half hour or less.

The fast chargers would be strategically placed between cities, to facilitate long-range travel. BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint of Campbell recently announced plans for a similar fast-charger network on the West Coast, linking San Diego with Portland, Ore.

PG&E insists it isn’t trying to crowd out businesses such as ChargePoint that are already deploying charging stations. By the utility’s estimate, reaching Brown’s 2025 goal would require roughly 100,000 charging stations in PG&E’s territory, which covers 70,000 square miles.

“PG&E is not looking to control the market, by any means,” Ellis said.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @DavidBakerSF

Those interested in buying a Model X can make deposits through the Palo Alto company's website. But they won't be told how much the car will ultimately cost. Tesla has not yet announced a base price for the vehicle.

Musk has previously said the X would start at about $5,000 more than a comparably equipped Model S sedan, which would put the starting price at about $81,200 before federal and state electric car purchase incentives. The price could run much higher with options, as the average transaction price for a Model S is over $100,000.

A Tesla spokesperson declined to address the tax break question. But Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgson told the online auto news organization Autoblog that a deduction "could be taken for up to $25,000 of the purchase price" of a new Model X.

But analysts believe the vehicle price could be considerably higher than the Model S, and that the company may have difficulty fulfilling orders.

Morgan Stanley Research analyst Adam Jonas said he estimates the price will be $25,000 more than the sale price of a Model S — "and easily $10k to $15k higher than we had expected," he wrote.