Taking $3,500 off an electric car helps get someone into the showroom. But it doesn’t put people at ease regarding where they will charge it.

California wants to address both. The state revealed that nearly 12,000 first-time buyers have used its MyFirstEV rebate program since August, according to an October 16 state announcement. Alongside that update, the California Energy Commission released new projections for the charging network needed to support millions more plug-in vehicles.

MyFirstEV provides an immediate discount for participating manufacturers. It gives buyers $3,500 toward eligible new vehicles with an MSRP of up to $50,000, or $1,750 toward eligible used plug-in vehicles costing up to $25,000 through manufacturers’ pre-owned programs. Automakers match the state’s $135.5 million contribution, creating a funding pool of over $270 million.

That money doesn’t last indefinitely, though. Tesla, for instance, exhausted its allocation in just five days. The nearly 12,000 transactions clearly show uptake, though they can’t say how many buyers would have gone electric without assistance.

California is still well ahead of the national average. Pure electric vehicles made up 16.3% of new-car sales in Q3, compared with 6.4% nationwide. Including plug-in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles, the share actually reached 19.1%.

Keeping those vehicles charged is another topic altogether. The commission now projects California will need 478,000 public charging ports to support an expected 6.8 million EVs in 2030. Its forecast accounts for changes in vehicle range, battery capacity, fast-charging availability, and home charging.

As of June 30, California had 224,438 public and limited-access chargers, roughly 47% of that projected requirement.

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