Electrify Expo Draws Crowds Ahead Of EV Credit Deadline

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The Electrify Expo returns to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sasha Lekach

The Electrify Expo returned to the San Francisco Bay Area on Aug. 23 and 24 to show off the latest on all things electric: cars, SUVs, trucks, motorcycles, scooters and more. This year there was a frenetic energy with the federal $7,500 subsidy for clean cars set to end on Sep. 30.

A consumer-friendly show, car brands including Tesla, Ford, Lexus, Toyota, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Volvo, Lucid and others took over Alameda Point across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco with plug-ins and hybrids on display. Before the gates opened at 10 a.m., a queue had formed at the entrance along with Tesla and Elon Musk protesters who had set up blow-up Musk statues and signs urging, “Don’t Buy Tesla.” But most attendees were eager to scope out the EV scene, especially with the added pressure of a disappearing discount.

Demo rides in Bay Area-based Lucid’s new all-electric SUV, the Gravity, had the longest lines in the first hour after opening to the public. This marked the first time the Gravity was available for drives in the Bay Area. The second wave of deliveries of the 450-mile range SUV was in April.

Cadillac displayed its all-electric lineup of SUVs: Lyriq, Optiq, Visitiq and Escalade IQ. A booth representative said the Escalade gets the most attention with its dominating size (it’s a hulking 9,300 pounds in total weight), 200 kWh battery with 450-mile range and massive 12.2 cubic-foot front trunk (known as a frunk, but Cadillac calls it an “eTrunk”), but at $129,990 starting price it’s not an everyday purchase.

Volvo made its West Coast debut for its EX30 Cross Country, a modified version of its smallest all-electric SUV with higher ride height, all-terrain tires and adventure accessories like a roof basket.

At a Ford meetup just before the Expo opened, a group of Ford F-150 Lightning owners lined up their vehicles with the USS Hornet in the background and the SF Bay beyond. One owner bought his Lightning in July after owning a Mustang Mach-E since 2023. He wanted to take advantage of the tax credit before it went away.

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July, included a provision that killed 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act and its clean energy incentives. Starting in October, it will be the first time since 2009 that there are no federal incentives for buying an electric vehicle.

The biggest loss will be for EV leases. Known as the “Lease Loophole,” it automatically knocked off $7,500 for any battery-powered vehicle lease deal, with no eligibility restrictions such as income and manufacturing requirements. This allowed vehicles like Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 to qualify despite its initial overseas manufacturing that made it ineligible for the discount for purchases. Lucid Air, the company’s luxury sedan, hit over the max purchase price of $55,000 for an electric sedan (the Air Pure base starts at $69,900), but could include the discount on leases.

Lucid is still offering $7,500 off all Gravity leases as long as you order it by the end of Sep. 30. The car can be delivered until Dec. 31. It’s calling it the “$7,500 Lucid Advantage Credit.”

Tesla had posters up about the Sep. 30 deadline at its stretch of the Expo. A Tesla booth representative said online orders were piling up as the deadline loomed. Buyers can still qualify for the subsidy as long as they make the purchase by Sep. 30. Delivery can be later into October and beyond to still snag the deal.

The two-day EV show wrapped up Sunday evening in the Bay Area. Its next stop is Chicago in September—only two weeks before the credit expires.