California is rolling out a new incentive aimed at getting first-time buyers into electric vehicles. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill creating the “MyFirstEV” program, which will hand qualifying first-time EV buyers an instant $3,500 rebate directly at the dealership starting later this summer.

The program arrives at a pivotal moment for the EV market. With the federal EV tax credit no longer available, states have increasingly stepped in to fill the gap and keep adoption momentum going. California, long the largest EV market in the country, is betting that an upfront, point-of-sale discount will do more to move buyers than a tax credit claimed months later at filing time.

Details on income limits, vehicle price caps and which models qualify are expected to be finalized before the program opens to shoppers. The move is likely to be watched closely by other states weighing their own replacement incentives following the repeal of the national credit.

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