Because Tesla sells these credits, they completely negate any environmental benefit from buying one, and always have. Any Tesla you buy just allows another automaker to sell a huge gas guzzler that they otherwise would not have been able to. As a bonus, selling them discourages other automakers to make EVs. Tesla can stall the EV programs of competitors by selling them these credits. They are contrary to Tesla’s mission statement, and if Tesla cared about the environment, they would keep the credits and not sell them: forcing the world to move to EVs faster.
The fact that these credits are going away is a really bad thing, but let’s not pretend there is any environmental benefit to buying a Tesla. Once the credits are gone there will be, but not now.
It’s called the waterbed effect and is an oversimplification actually. The pollution is not simply modeled with theses credits, there’s more to it.
The waterbed effect is something often cited, even by environmentalists, especially economists that think they have modelled pollution and feel obligated to publish a book about it, I noticed.
To be clear, I am not saying you are either of these things, just putting some context around the concept. I fell hard for the waterbed effect but I came back from it =)
There is a huge environmental benefit to buying a Tesla not only in the mitigated emissions but in the transfer of emission credit money from polluters to clean energy focused Tesla. Tesla's scale and innovation has dramatically changed the costs of batteries unlocking massive solar adoption and paving the way for a renewable distributed energy future.
The idea that buying a Tesla doesn't do anything for the environment is just something people who buy gas cars tell themselves as they destroy our climate.
The fact that these credits are going away is a really bad thing, but let’s not pretend there is any environmental benefit to buying a Tesla. Once the credits are gone there will be, but not now.