California’s new electric vehicle (EV) rebate program has only been running for a week, but Tesla buyers have already used up all of the funding allocated to the automaker.
The MyFirstEV program officially launched on August 3, offering first-time EV buyers in California an instant $3,500 rebate on qualifying vehicles. Tesla confirmed over the weekend through its website that purchases of some of its used inventory vehicles were eligible, despite new vehicles not qualifying thanks to how the program was structured.
Despite that, there were apparently plenty of interested buyers, and the money allocated to Tesla through the program disappeared in just five days. By Thursday, August 6, Tesla reportedly had about 50% of its allocation remaining. That fell to just 30% one day later before the remaining funds were exhausted on Saturday, according to updates shared by Sawyer Merritt. (note: Merritt says four days, but it was actually five – August 3-8)
UPDATE: Tesla’s allocated funds for California’s MyFirstEV program have officially been all used up. Just 22 hours ago, 30% of the funds remained.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 8, 2026
The program launched on August 3rd, so this means buyers used up all of Tesla's allocated funds in just 4 days lol. https://t.co/c0tByx4q3m
As we previously reported, California created MyFirstEV following the end of the federal US$7,500 EV tax credit. Unlike the former federal incentive, the new program is funded jointly by the state and participating automakers, with approximately $270 million available overall.
Tesla’s participation was particularly interesting because the company did not receive the same exemption from the program’s US$50,000 new vehicle price cap as Rivian and Lucid. Although Tesla still builds vehicles in Fremont and has its engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, it moved its corporate headquarters to Texas in 2021.
Rivian and Lucid, meanwhile, are headquartered in California, allowing their vehicles to qualify regardless of price.
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