Tesla Plant in China May Be a First - The New York Times

Interesting times for Tesla; meanwhile, the Trump administration strives to make the future safe for coal -- see Trump’s electricity shakeup (Axios) for an update

"China already has the world’s largest market for electric cars. Their dominance is a byproduct of the government’s extensive subsidies, part of a broader plan to shift the country away from gasoline-powered cars. The shift would not only curb pollution but also reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil. LMC Automotive, a global consulting firm, estimates that 295,000 battery-electric cars will be sold this year in China, compared with 287,000 in the rest of the world combined.

The gap may widen. LMC predicts that China’s total will nearly triple in the next two years, while the rest of the world’s will merely double. That is because, in part, Chinese government regulations will require automakers starting in 2019 to sell ever-increasing numbers of electric cars and plug-in hybrids if they want to keep selling gasoline cars. China has also begun research on imposing a rule to ban the sale of internal combustion cars someday."

Tesla Plant in China May Be a First - The New York Times