Tesla has asked the Environmental Protection Agency not to roll back current vehicle emissions standards. This position breaks from other major automakers who want to see the rules eased.
The company’s request comes the same week that President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that he thinks climate change is a con job and a scam. Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent three hundred million dollars to help elect President Trump.
Tesla also asked the EPA not to scuttle a 2009 legal standard known as the Endangerment Finding. Many modern environmental regulations, like the vehicle emissions standards, are based on this finding. According to the company’s letter to the agency, Tesla said that finding is based on a robust factual and scientific record.
The EPA has been seeking comment since August for these proposed changes to environmental rules. The agency’s administrator Lee Zeldin said at the time that, if passed, the rollbacks would drive a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.
Tesla’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. The company also financially benefits from stricter environmental regulations. When other automakers fall short of fleet emissions goals, they pay companies like Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars to buy credits to make up the difference.
While Tesla is asking for the standards to be maintained, the company told the EPA it is open to discussing mechanisms to streamline them in order to keep the rules in place.