Gavin Newsom says his latest lawsuit against Trump would ‘help Elon.’ Here’s why
With his latest lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to help out another political opponent: Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 16 other states Wednesday to challenge an executive order Trump signed on his first day back in the White House. The order directs the Federal Highway Administration to pull back billions of dollars to build electric vehicle charging stations around the country.
The governor framed the issue as contrary to Trump’s interests, arguing it would hurt American jobs and Musk’s company, which in recent years ceded its position as the world’s top EV producer to Chinese manufacturer BYD.
“When America retreats, China wins,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the suit. “President Trump’s illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China — ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs.”
The funding was part of a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure package approved by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021. In addition to increased funding for California roads, the state received nearly $150 million last year to build EV infrastructure.
A total of $5 billion was supposed to be doled out across the U.S. for EV charging stations, according to Newsom’s office.
“Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon — and the nation — by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding,” Newsom said.
The governor and Musk have fought publicly and repeatedly in recent years over transgender rights, artificial intelligence and California’s response to COVID-19.
Newsom also has a political stake in the future of electric vehicles. He ordered in 2020 that the state phase out the sale of new gas-powered engines by 2035. The state is far behind its first benchmark of 35% EV sales by 2026 and not at all helped by a recent drop in Tesla sales, prompting car dealers to call for more time.
According to Bonta, the lawsuit is the 19th his office has filed against the Trump administration since the president was sworn in just over 100 days ago.
Trump’s role in the funding should be simply “to execute” and make sure states get the agreed upon money, Bonta said at a Bay Area press conference announcing the lawsuit. “Instead he is violating the law by attempting to withhold funding that Congress has already appropriated.”
Democrats in California have pushed a transition to electric vehicles to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions as well as pollution from tailpipes. Earlier this year,the number of EV charging ports in California surpassed the number of gasoline nozzles.
But the state still needs about a million additional public charging stations by 2030 to meet demand for larger EV fleets.
“As we work toward a clean transportation future, it’s critical that we make electric vehicles as accessible as possible to all Californians,” Bonta said. “Trump’s actions threaten the infrastructure we plan to build to make that happen.”
“The transition is underway but how quickly we get to the destination matters a lot,” said David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission. “We want to move as quickly as we can and bring those benefits home – and that clean air home – to Californians.”
The attorney general said the state has already signed $37 million in contracts using funds the Trump administration is trying to pull back.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 1:24 PM.