All the Car Stuff in the 2023 State of the Union

Photo: Bill Clark (AP)

Joe Biden is known for being a pretty serious car guy, so it should come as no surprise that during Tuesday night’s State of the Union, the President talked at length and passionately about what his administration is doing and will do in the future for the automobile industry. Most of these sections of the President’s over-an-hour-long speech had to do with the production of semiconductors, electric vehicles, and batteries for said electric vehicles. Another recurring theme, as you may have guessed, has to do with building things in the country.

“We’re going to make sure the supply chain for American beings in America,” Biden said.

According to Automotive News, One of the pieces of legislation that the President touted was the CHIPS and Science Act, which was the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by the government back in November of 2021. In some ways it’s regarded as the biggest legislative achievement of Biden’s first couple of years in office. It’s supposed to help fund a national network of electric vehicle charging stations, and it allocates over $7 billion to support the U.S. battery supply chain.

“Today’s automobiles need up to 3,000 chips each, but American automakers couldn’t make enough cars because there weren’t enough chips,” Biden said. “Car prices went up […] We can never let that happen again.”

Biden also spoke about the Inflation Reduction Act, AutoNews reports. That piece of legislation is meant to boost U.S. EV and battery manufacturing. It includes U.S.-made battery cell and module tax credits as well as federal incentives for car buyers.

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Those federal incentives come in the form of the now-very confusing $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers. It introduced some very complex eligibility restrictions that are meant – in theory – to incentivize automakers to build their EVs domestically and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. It also puts an income cap on buyers, so it’ll prevent them from getting the discount.

During the speech, the President called the IRA, “the most significant investment ever” in the effort to fight climate change.

“Lowering utility bills, creating American jobs, and leading the world to a clean energy future,” Biden said on Tuesday.