A sense of gloom pervades the electric truck industry these days.
Regulations that would smooth the path to adoption are gone or under threat. Funding for crucial projects has been yanked. Startups are going bankrupt. Tariffs are hitting. And the vehicles are as expensive and hard to charge as ever.
“When you have a national government that is actively working against the industry, like heavy-duty electric trucking, it is always going to make it difficult,” said Rustam Kocher, an industry veteran who worked at auto manufacturer Daimler and with an Oregon power company to charge electric trucks.
President Donald Trump delights in dissing electric trucks. On the campaign trail, he described their shortcomings in detail, depicting them as Biden-mobiles that were detached from commercial reality.
