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Elon Musk's electric car company Tesla pushed the government to force drivers of petrol cars to “pay more” in the days after Labor won the general election.
Musk, the Tesla chief executive, has openly waded into British politics on social media, predicting a “civil war” and criticizing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
But behind the scenes, his company was trying to persuade the new government to extend a policy that could increase its profits.
The company called for the mandate to boost electric car sales to be extended to trucks, and said subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) could come from charging people buying gasoline and diesel cars.
“The government should ask those who still choose to buy a new polluting vehicle to pay more,” wrote Tesla’s European boss, Joe Ward, in a letter sent in July to Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood.
The letter, published under a Freedom of Information request made by EV newsletter The Fast Charge, shows that Tesla “applauded the Labor Party's strong stance (on) the decarbonisation of the energy system by 2030, growth and net zero”.
The praise came just weeks before Musk lashed out online at the British government over the summer riots.
The BBC reported in September that Musk was not invited to the government investment summit, partly because of tensions over his political interventions.
Since then, the billionaire has become the indispensable right-hand man of the next American president, Donald Trump. The growing value of his Tesla stake since the election has supported an incredible increase in Musk's wealth.
The UK government is currently consulting on changes to a key measure intended to encourage the sale of electric cars, the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
The ZEV mandate requires automakers to sell a set number of electric vehicles per year, and if they can't meet their targets, they must buy credits from other electric vehicle makers who have sold more less-polluting vehicles .
British carmakers are pushing for the policy to be diluted, arguing that customers are not yet buying enough electric vehicles.
Tesla's letter pushed for an opposite policy, saying the ZEV mandate “must be protected and strengthened.”
Tesla is poised to become a major beneficiary of the ZEV mandate, as it can sell excess credits from its imports of its own electric vehicles, made in China.
Tesla also lobbied the new government for the UK to take the lead in “autonomous vehicle development” and offered a demonstration of the companies' vision.
