Legal experts said the president was testing the boundaries of executive power with aggressive orders designed to stop the country from transitioning to renewable energy.
Automakers and even some Republicans may fight to preserve funds, and environmental activists will likely sue, but some experts said that some changes may not survive legal challenges.
The president said he’d declare an energy “emergency,” promote drilling and end support for electric cars. His pivot to oil and gas follows the hottest year in recorded history.
Rules for a $7,500 tax break for electric vehicle purchases and leases recently changed, but more far-reaching changes are expected when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.
State regulators said the measures would probably have been rejected by the Trump administration and that they would focus on homegrown legal strategies instead.
More car buyers are expected to eventually pick battery-powered cars and trucks as prices fall and technology improves, even if Biden-era incentives disappear.
The United Automobile Workers union asked a federal labor regulator to conduct an election at a factory Ford jointly owns with a South Korean battery company.
Climate issues are fueling the cost-of-living crisis, especially for the poor and working class.
Sales of the company’s cars are flagging, but investors are focusing on the potential of autonomous driving and Mr. Musk’s ties to President-elect Donald J. Trump.
President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to roll back many of the rules and subsidies that have attracted billions of dollars from the private sector to renewable energy and electric vehicles.