Dive Brief:

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week signed into law a $2,500 electric vehicle rebate program aimed at boosting adoption in the Lone Star State, but it is not clear if the incentive will apply to the most well-known EV manufacturer out there.
• The law reboots a 2013 rebate that expired two years ago. But that program did not apply to Tesla vehicles because it was run through dealerships—and Tesla sells direct to customers. Electrek.co reports that if the program maintains the same structure, the exclusion would likely apply again.
• The program is managed through the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, run by the state's Commission on Environmental Quality.

Dive Insight:

Texas wants to grow the number of electric vehicles operating in the state, and the law signed by Abbott will allow buyers to add $2,500 on top of their federal $7,500 credit. The program rules are still being crafted, but the rebate is likely to re-start in September, according to the Chronicle.

Electric vehicles are steadily growing in Texas: According to San Antonio Business Journal, there were less than 10,000 electric vehicles on the state's roads at the end of 2015. Now, the Chronicle estimates that figure at 16,000. But all states fall behind California, where almost a quarter-million EVs are registered.

States looking to tackle emissions, utilities interested in load management and consumers who want to reduce gas spending and environmental impacts, are all showing increased interest in plug-in vehicles.

There are about 580,000 EVs on the road in the U.S. today, representing 1 TWh of consumption. But by 2040, that could grow to 551 TWh, according to a recent report from the Smart Electric Power Alliance. The group says utilities are paying particular attention to the growing resource: 69% of utility professionals are “planning, researching, or considering” demand response programs that include managed charging.