80% of EV credits were claimed by households with adjusted gross income of more than $100,000

See Subsidize My Electric Car, Please: Auto makers want Congress to expand this gift to the affluent. Excerpt:

"The federal government currently provides a $7,500 consumer tax break for an auto maker’s first 200,000 cars. The tax credit then drops by half for EVs sold over the next six months, and by half again for another six months. It then disappears.

Washington has been underwriting EVs for nearly 30 years, which is a long time for an infant industry. The current EV handout was part of the 2009 Obama “stimulus,” and its backers promised it would be temporary. But Tesla and General Motors hit 200,000 in sales last year, and Nissan, Ford and Toyota are well on their way. With the phaseout approaching, auto makers and environmental groups are now begging Congress for an extension.

They’re floating a bill from car-state Senators Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) and Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) that would extend a $7,000 buyer tax credit for another 400,000 cars once auto makers hit the 200,000 limit. An Ernst & Young study estimates the expansion would cost taxpayers nearly $16 billion over the next decade.

It’s hard to imagine a more blatant income transfer for the well-to-do. Electric cars are significantly more expensive than the average vehicle, with a starting price of around $36,000. A recent Congressional Research Service study found that nearly 80% of the credits were claimed by households with adjusted gross income of more than $100,000. Sales data show that about half of all electric vehicle sales occur in one state—California."