General Motor's announcement was consistent in some ways with evolving public policy. Just four months earlier, California-with the largest car market in the United States-had announced that all new cars and passenger trucks sold in the state would have to be zero-emission by 2035. On the federal level, in one of his first acts in office, President Biden had signed an executive order ordering the conversion of more than half a million vehicles in the federal fleet, including postal delivery trucks, to "clean and zero-emission" technology. Just by itself, this would increase the number of EVs in the United States by 50 percent. For GM to make good on its pledge, it would need continued government support. In 2021, the U.S. government subsidized electric car purchases with a $7,500 tax credit. But the subsidy phased out after of threshold number of cars sold, and General Motors had already almost reached its cap. An extension of these credits would certainly boost EV sales. And much work remained to advance the underlying technologies, from batteries to charging equipment. On January 28, 2021, General Motors (GM) made a momentous announcement. By 2035 , the company said, all its new light-duty vehicles would have zero tailpipe emissions. To accomplish this, it planned to roll out a full suite of 30 electric vehicles (EVs), including sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks. The company said it expected to invest $27 billion over the next five years, re-tool three factories for EV production, and develop an innovative new battery. GM, the fifth largest automaker in the world, also announced its intention to become carbon neutral by 2040 . This meant that both its vehicles on the road and its own facilities would together generate net zero carbon emissions. This goal would be accomplished, it said, by a combination of switching to EVs, improving the energy-efficiency of its factories and offices, and purchasing carbon offsets. The company publicized its plans with a funny Super Bowl ad, which featured the actors Will Ferrell, Kenan Thompson, and Awkwafina on a spoof trip to Norway to challenge that county's dominance in electric vehicles. The tagline: "We're coming Norway." Many hailed General Motors' announcement as a breakthrough corporate commitment to combat climate change. According to the EPA, passenger cars and light trucks produced 16 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group, praised GM, saying if the auto industry could go all-electric by 2040 , it would reduce carbon emissions by 600 million metric tons a year, helping stabilize the climate. It would also reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate pollution, leading to cleaner air. Investors apparently liked the idea-the company's share price shot up more the 7 percent on the news. But some pointed to weaknesses in GM's plan. The environmental impact of electric vehicles depended entirely on the energy source that fed their batteries. EVs plugged into an electrical grid supplied by natural gas or coal-fired power plants would still indirectly contribute to carbon emissions. Adoption of EVs would thus have to go hand in hand with a switch to renewable energy to make a difference. Would consumers buy GM's new line of EVs? In 2019, Americans purchased 17 million vehicles. Only a quarter of a million of them were all-electric, and most of these were expensive Tesla models out of reach of most buyers. A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute scoffed at GM's plans to switch to EVs, calling on policy makers to protect Americans' right "to choose the cars they want to drive." A shift from gas-powered to electric vehicles would both destroy and create American jobs. Many gas station attendants, engine mechanics, and auto factory workers would be laid off, for example. The United Auto Workers estimated that EVswhich had fewer moving parts-might reduce labor hours per vehicle by 30 percent. But other people would be hired to work in battery and electric parts production, charging station construction and maintenance, mineral mining, and EV assembly. When the U.S. government subsidized electric car purchases with a $7,500 tax credit, this was an example of which type of regulatory policy, according o the case? Multiple Choice Market-based incentive Command-and-control Information disclosure Market-based cap-and-trade