Between Attacks on Electric Cars, Trump Says They’re ‘Incredible’

Former President Donald J. Trump has spent years ridiculing electric vehicles, saying they don’t go far, are too expensive and are made in China. He has promised to end federal support for electric vehicles, a central feature of President Biden’s strategy to cut the carbon dioxide that is heating the planet.

But in recent months, Mr. Trump has been saying some nice things about E.V.s. While he still throws some shade on electric vehicles, in the same breath he also tells crowds that he likes them.

On Saturday, he went further, telling a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., “I’m constantly talking about electric vehicles but I don’t mean I’m against them. I’m totally for them.” Moments later he said, “I’ve driven them and they are incredible, but they’re not for everybody.”

This subtle softening began after Mr. Trump met in March with Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla, in Palm Beach, Fla. The two men began frequent discussions on a range of topics, including conversations about electric vehicles, according to comments Mr. Musk made last month at a shareholders meeting. “He just called me out of the blue,” Mr. Musk said. “I don’t know why, but he does.”

As spring turned to summer, Mr. Trump shifted his attacks from the reliability and value of electric vehicles to the federal incentives for consumers to buy E.V.s, and to environmental regulations designed to prod automakers to step up production. He’s said that anyone who wants to buy an electric vehicle should be able to but the government should not shape the car market.

Asked at the Tesla shareholders meeting in June about Mr. Trump’s apparent turn, Mr. Musk replied, “I can be persuasive,” according to an audio recording.