Verified August 2026
MyFirstEV is LIVE (opened Aug 3, 2026): $3,500 off your first new EV / $1,750 used, instant at the dealer, no income cap. The catch is which badge is on the car — each automaker got its own pot of roughly 5,900 rebates, and Tesla burned through most of its allocation in the first week. Stack it with income-qualified programs (up to ~$12,000) and the utility used-EV rebates. Budget the $121/yr ZEV fee.
The $7,500 federal new-EV credit and $4,000 used-EV credit ended September 30, 2025 — and the federal home-charger credit (30C) followed on June 30, 2026. If anyone tells you otherwise, they're reading an old script. (Charger installed on or before June 30, 2026? That one's still claimable on that year's return — IRS Form 8911.)
Income-qualified (≤300% of federal poverty level), statewide. The scrap-and-replace path is open; the financing-assist path is closed for some income tiers due to demand.
Scrap an older car, income-qualified, via 5 regional air districts only — Bay Area open, SoCal "Replace Your Ride" active; waitlists vary by district.
Your first-ever ZEV (buy or lease), CA resident, NO income cap. Caps: $50k MSRP new / $25k used via manufacturer pre-owned programs. Point-of-sale, no application. THE CATCH: funding is split per-automaker (~5,900 rebates each), not first-come statewide. Tesla, Hyundai and Lucid opened Aug 3 and Tesla was down to ~30% of its allocation within four days. Rivian, Ford, Kia, Toyota, Honda and Subaru came online across August/September with their allocations still intact — check the fund status for your brand BEFORE you go car shopping.
$1,000 standard / $4,000 income-qualified on a used EV. Heads up: the standard tier ENDS Aug 31, 2026 — income-qualified only after that. 90-day application window.
$1,000 standard / $4,000 income-qualified ("Rebate Plus") on a used EV — apply within 180 days of purchase.
$1,500 for all customers / $4,000 low-income (EZ-SAVE/Lifeline) on a used EV.
The catch: California charges EV owners an extra $121/yr at registration.
The old CVRP rebate is dead (closed Nov 2023) — MyFirstEV is its simpler successor: instant instead of apply-and-wait, and no income cap. Fun fine print: the $50k cap is waived for California-headquartered EV-only automakers, i.e. Rivian and Lucid; Tesla (Texas HQ since 2021) gets no waiver, so only sub-$50k Model 3/Y trims qualify. Meanwhile the quiet story stands: between PG&E/SCE/LADWP used-EV rebates, California is one of the best USED-EV states in the country. The $121/yr Road Improvement Fee applies to model-year 2020+ EVs at renewal (waived on the initial dealer registration).
Go deeper: MyFirstEV explained: who qualifies, when it opens, and the Tesla asterisk.
Programs change monthly — confirm at the official links before signing. Got a dealer quote? Run it through the free Deal-Checker.