[SmokingJoe]

The oil and gas companies have received government subsidies for decades.
And GM got a huge loan of over $50 Billion in 2008, out of which they were not able to pay back $11 Billion so the federal government was forced to write that $11 Billion off. Thats subsidies.
And if you think Toyota is going to do an Apple iPod on Tesla, you are living in could cuckoo-land.

[Dr. Sivana]

The oil and gas companies have received government subsidies for decades.
And GM got a huge loan of over $50 Billion in 2008, out of which they were not able to pay back $11 Billion so the federal government was forced to write that $11 Billion off. Thats subsidies.
And if you think Toyota is going to do an Apple iPod on Tesla, you are living in could cuckoo-land.

The subsidies the CAR companies got do not come close per car that EV manufacturers got for sales ($7,000+ per car depending on state).

EVs get the HOV lanes, gas cars don't get that, and never have.

Gas cars pay gas taxes, electric taxes in most jurisdictions are considerably less, and they do NOT support the road infrastructure that EVs use.

I only used Apple as an example to show that you don't have to be first on a trend to be a leader.

I am not even against EVs, but I don't see them as being the #1 car in the household for most people. They are quiet, they can be very reliable, performance for speed and acceleration is usually excellent, depending on your use they may be less expensive to operate once you pay for the more expensive car itself. That alone does not make it the most desirable choice for a new car or SUV.

Worse than the government incentives are the crushing regulations put on ICE car & truck manufacturers. If the government pulled back we would not have cars 4 cylinder turbos where there should be V-6s, and CVTs, where there should be regular automatic transmissions, and mandated computer crap that a lot people neither want to have nor pay for. We would also have somewhat underpowered but functional $12,000 cars that don't have a flotilla of airbags.

Toyota and Ford didn't take the bailout money, and GM's $$$ spent on EVs has not resulted in a great return. Jumping in with Volt and Bolt and the EV Caddy hasn't brought them any real return. Toyota is wise to wait.

Good luck to Tesla, they set a nice standard for EVs, and best to Rivian and the rest. I am confident that Toyota will still be standing when everything settles down.