Tesla has used up its entire share of California's new first-time-buyer rebate five days after the money became available to its customers. The MyFirstEV programme opened to Tesla buyers on 3 August. By 8 August, Tesla's own website was telling shoppers the funds were gone.
How the programme works
MyFirstEV came out of SB 168 and is deliberately unlike the application-based schemes it replaces. There is no form and no waiting for a cheque: eligible buyers get $3,500 taken off at the dealership, at the moment of purchase. Eligibility is narrow — the buyer must be a California resident buying or leasing their first zero-emission vehicle, and the new car must list under $50,000. A separate $1,750 applies to used EVs at $25,000 or less.
The funding is a matched pot. California put in $135 million and the thirteen participating automakers match it dollar for dollar, so roughly $270 million is available in total.
| MyFirstEV | Figure |
|---|---|
| State contribution | $135m |
| Automaker match | $135m |
| Total available | ~$270m |
| New-EV rebate | $3,500 |
| Used-EV rebate (≤$25,000) | $1,750 |
| New-EV price cap | under $50,000 |
| Participating automakers | 13 |
Splitting the state money thirteen ways gives each brand something in the region of $10 million before its own match. Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota and Volvo are all in.
Five days
Buyers claimed around half of Tesla's allocation in the first three days and drained the rest by 8 August. Electrek estimates roughly $18 million in state and matching rebates went to Tesla vehicles alone — consistent with a share of about $9 million in state funds plus Tesla's own matching contribution.
The speed is arithmetic more than enthusiasm. Tesla registered 45,953 vehicles in California in the second quarter, up 11.8% year on year, which is roughly 500 cars a day in the state. A pot sized for one thirteenth of the market empties quickly when it is handed to the brand holding a far larger share than that, and when the price cap sits comfortably above the Model 3 and base Model Y.
There is an irony in the timing. When the rules were published in July, the reading was that MyFirstEV favoured Rivian and Lucid over Tesla, because the first-time-buyer condition steers money towards brands whose customers are new to EVs. Tesla, with the largest installed base of existing owners in the state, had the smallest pool of qualifying buyers. It still went through its allocation first.
Why this matters in Europe
The pattern is familiar here. Germany's purchase premium showed Tesla leading the application count early on, and Italy's electric-van incentives were claimed out in twenty minutes. Per-brand allocation is meant to spread public money across the market; in practice it front-loads it onto whoever already sells the most, then closes the window before slower-moving buyers reach it.
For a European reader the useful takeaway is about the shape of these schemes rather than the American money. A capped, instant, per-manufacturer rebate rewards buyers who are ready on day one. If your market announces one, the practical advice is the same as it was in Rome and Berlin: the deadline that matters is not the published end date, it is the moment the allocation runs dry.