Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and its extensive Supercharger network, sought clarification from Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg regarding the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. This program is dedicated to building a national charging network and has a budget of $7.5 billion. Musk needed Buttigieg to intervene and address misinformation spread by some Republican leaders.
In response to Ohio congressperson Michael Rulli’s false claims about the NEVI program, Musk requested Buttigieg to post a rebuttal. Buttigieg clarified that the $7.5 billion budget is for the entire NEVI program, which is part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. States apply for funding from this budget to build EV chargers, not the federal government as wrongly stated.
Criticism has arisen due to the slow installation of government-funded electric vehicle chargers. However, Buttigieg mentioned that nine states have operational NEVI-funded chargers, with more planned for the future. The administration aims to expand the network substantially in the coming years. He also provided a Google Map link showing the status of NEVI-funded chargers.
