SACRAMENTO, CA — Elon Musk has been arrested after investigators uncovered that Tesla collected nearly $295 million in fraudulent California EV credits by pretending to offer 90-second battery swaps—a technology that never existed for actual customers.
Under California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program, manufacturers could earn double the credits if their EVs could be recharged to 80% in 15 minutes or less. Musk, ever the showman, claimed that Tesla vehicles could be fully “refueled” in just 90 seconds via automated battery swaps.
The only problem? It was a lie.
🎬 One Fake Demo = $295 Million
In order to qualify for the lucrative ZEV credits, Tesla needed only to perform a single demonstration of the swap technology. And that’s exactly what they did—once—in 2013. The event was closed to the public, carefully staged, and never repeated for actual Tesla owners.
No Tesla customer was ever offered battery swapping as a real-world service. In fact, Tesla quietly dismantled the only known swap station shortly after collecting the credits, without ever disclosing the full number of swaps actually performed.
“It was vaporware dressed up as innovation,” said one former California Air Resources Board (CARB) staffer. “He gamed the system, got paid, and left taxpayers holding the bill.”
🧾 The Grift in Numbers
- $295 million in ZEV credits collected
- 0 real-world battery swaps offered to customers
- 1 staged demonstration to qualify
- Years of continued credit payouts before the loophole was closed
Tesla’s stock rose during the years they received those credits, and the company used the added revenue to promote its “green” credentials—even though the technology it claimed to pioneer never actually existed in practice.
📹 Watch: Instagram video on the scam
A short breakdown of how Musk faked a battery swap, defrauded the state, and kept the money.
For a deeper dive, see this breakdown by GotMusked.com, which details the timeline and regulatory failures that let this happen.
🛑 Why This Matters
California’s EV credit system was created to incentivize real innovation, not subsidize vaporware from billionaires who can afford to fake it. By taking nearly $300 million in credits, Tesla not only robbed the public—it deprived competing innovators of fair access to those funds.
And while this might seem like ancient history, the same Musk who pulled this off:
- Still rails against regulation
- Still claims to be “self-funded”
- And now wants to decide who should be fired in government agencies
while livestreaming himself playing video games
🧠 Disclaimer
This is satire, but based on public records, regulatory filings, and verified timelines. Elon Musk has not been arrested (yet), but he and Tesla did collect $295 million in credits based on a service that was never actually offered to the public.
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