From the campaign way, President Donald Trump constant: He will “finish the electric car mandate.” So the phrase is not surprising popped up in an executive order he signed on Monday, hours after taking the oath of office.

Here’s the catch: The US has no EV mandate, or any kind of law or regulation NEEDS American buyers are going electric. Instead, the previous administration tried to create a series of carrots and sticks designed to make electric cars more attractive to the manufacturers who make them and the people who buy them. An executive order issued yesterday attempted to undo all of that.

But it’s complicated. Experts say the effects of the order are unclear and will likely take time to iron out. The electric vehicle parts of the order seem to be more about messaging than immediate practical effects. “A lot of this informs the administration’s intent,” said Timothy Johnson, a professor of energy and the environment at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment. “It’s not clear what the administration can do right away.”

In the meantime, automakers will continue to make and sell electric cars, and consumers will continue to buy them. Some of the stricter emissions standards come into effect as late as 2026, and it usually takes manufacturers five years to plan and build cars, meaning cars that comply with future emissions regulations must be made. and sell.

US and global automakers have backed off some of their more ambitious EV-related promises, but electrics are still coming. The long-term future of the US auto industry is far from clear. Some governments are still pursuing EV-friendly policies, and critics warn that they will see increasingly towards China’s auto industry to get them through the transition.

One thing is clear for the future of EVs in the United States: There are lawsuits.

Reports to come

Monday’s executive order asks US agencies to review their rules related to EVs and determine whether they are “unduly burdensome” and interfere with consumer choice. Agencies must write up the findings in reports, which are due in 30 days.

From there, the bureaucracy starts to grind, said Kathy Harris, who directs the Natural Resources Defense Council’s clean vehicles program. “If an agency wants to withdraw a regulation, they have to go through a public process,” he said. That means publishing new proposed rules, taking public comments, going back and forth with the industry, and then publishing those comments. A lot of paperwork sits between the Trump administration and the eventual elimination of any EV-related programs.

The most obvious way for the White House to loosen rules that require automakers to produce more EVs is to target vehicle fuel efficiency and tailpipe standards. It requires manufacturers to achieve certain levels of gas efficiency in all the cars they produce in the coming years and to end the pollutants emitted. One of the easier ways for automakers to hit those goals is to sell more electric cars, which don’t use gas or emit tailpipe emissions. Last time Trump was in office, it took more than three years for his administration to replace Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. During this time, agencies will be more efficient and succeed in changing the rules more quickly, Harris said. However, the process can take months and months.