The exodus began the morning after Trump won the big election. Left-leaning stragglers on X, formerly Twitter, started saying goodbye and posting their new handles for Bluesky, a decentralized Twitter clone. X helped elect Trump and who knows what will happen on the platform if Trump takes office. So people are running away from X By hundreds of thousands.
This is just one of the many ways people are protecting the technology in their lives from the inevitable changes that will come with a second Trump presidency. It’s still early and it’s not clear exactly what Trump’s technology policy will look like, but we have an idea of some priorities based on what he’s said.
We know that Trump has promised to impose stiff tariffs on imported goods, which he has said he will do on the first day. This will make your next laptop, smartphone or video game console more expensive. Trump is expected to rescind President Biden’s executive order on AI shortly after his inauguration, and whatever Trump plans to do next, it will affect how you use technology. Trump’s pledge To cancel any unspent funds Under the Inflationary Reduction Act (IRA), the big rebates you get for buying climate-friendly technology like heat pumps or solar panels could end. He even threatened to get rid of the $7,500 tax credit you currently get for buying some EVs.
Again, we don’t really know what Trump will do when he takes office. The former president and current president were elected A track record to follow In some commitments, even the most controversial, it would be wise to bind yourself. One easy way to do this: buy some stuff before Trump’s incoming policies make them more expensive.
Buy a gadget
Trump proposed A 10 to 20 percent tariff on all goods imported into the United States in an effort to lower prices and create jobs. Goods from China will face an additional 60 percent tariff. He also threatened to impose 100 percent tariff on imports from MexicoOne of America’s biggest trading partners, if the country doesn’t stop immigrants crossing the border.
It almost goes without saying that this will raise prices for consumers. The Yale Budget Lab estimates that the tariffs will cost the average American household Up to $7,600 a year With initial price increases as high as about 5 percent.
But if you look specifically at products from China, where many consumer electronics are made, the numbers get even worse. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) estimates that laptop and video game console prices would increase by 46 and 40 percent, respectively, if the costs of the tariffs were passed directly to consumers. Smartphone prices will increase by 26 percent. For example, a new iPhone 16 Pro has a sticker price of $1,000 right now, but if you buy the new model next year, it could cost more than $1,250 if Apple passes the cost of the tariff on to you.
While it’s not certain that prices will skyrocket as much as some estimates say they will, there’s a very good chance that Trump will follow through with these tariffs. After all, he is 2016 did just that.
“Everybody is taking the tariff threat seriously,” said Ed Brazitoa, CTA’s vice president of trade. “He made a campaign promise to impose these tariffs, and we hope he follows through.”
There is a chance that the Supreme Court could stop him, which could save the country a certain amount of economic pain. But even if the tariff plan fails, Inflation is expected to make an undesirable return Because of Trump’s promised mass deportations.
So, if you’ve already been thinking about getting a new laptop or upgrading your phone, you might want to consider doing it sooner rather than later. And hey, Black Friday is right around the corner, so you can get an extra special pre-tax deal.
Buy a heat pump or an EV (or both!).
The Inflation Reduction Act “is among the most important government investments in the US economy since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal,” According to William Tobin at the Atlantic Council. Can make groundbreaking laws Drive $3 trillion in investment for renewable energy, and led sales of electric vehicles to overtake their gas-powered counterparts before the end of the decade.
And it’s done a lot to make the latest climate technologies more accessible to millions of people: The IRA provides nearly $9 billion in rebates to households that install energy-efficient appliances, heat pumps, solar panels or even new windows for your home.
Trump wants to seize much of this money. President-elect said that he “Will repeal the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam” and “Repeal unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.” The IRA and the Green New Deal are not the same thing. Nevertheless, the next Trump administration may try to dismantle Biden’s historic climate legislation, though It will not be easy to do For many reasons. Chief among them is that Trump would have to co-operate with Congress to defund the fund, and taking free money away from voters is unlikely to happen. Could be a popular thing for lawmakers.
“It will also negatively affect many of his supporters,” Scott HardmanAssistant Director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California Davis. “A lot of the benefits have gone to red states, so it seems like it would be a bit of an odd decision to change that.”
Another subject Trump is hostile to: electric vehicles. Trump in his speech at the Republican National Convention in July said He will end the “electric car mandate on day one” as part of his wider plan to stop the “green new scam”. The plan includes eliminating a $7,500 tax credit and other incentives that the Biden administration created to make EVs more affordable for more Americans.
This appears to conflict with the interests of Trump’s biggest supporter, Elon Musk Recently hired To lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Musk also runs the world’s most valuable electric vehicle company, Tesla. Tesla has benefited greatly From government subsidies over the years. Some think musk Trump will change his mind About EVs, but it’s also possible that Musk thinks Tesla will benefit. On the one hand, after receiving government subsidies to help it grow, Tesla is now a trillion dollar company. Billions in profits It no longer needs subsidies, according to Hardman every quarter.
“Another line of thought,” Hardman said of Musk and EV subsidies, “is that he wouldn’t support them, because it would hurt Tesla’s competitors, and it would help Tesla become more dominant in the EV space.”
Maybe don’t buy crypto
You’ve noticed the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies Currently touching the sky Thanks for Trump’s win. Trump embraced the crypto community during his campaign, and many crypto investors believe his second administration will streamline regulation and establish a national crypto reserve. Starting a crypto renaissance.
It may be tempting to buy but don’t bet the farm. We’ve seen hot and frothy crypto markets in the past, and we’ve seen them turn into crypto winters. The crypto industry has also evolved An incredibly powerful lobbying forceHelping elect pro-crypto candidates with a 100 percent success rate this year cycle. That said, it’s still not clear what crypto is for other than financial speculation.
So if you’re not an expert in space, maybe consider buying a heat pump that will heat your house before throwing a few thousand dollars into the crypto ring. This isn’t financial advice – I’m just saying some technology actually does things, which are worth something.
One more thing I’ll say about all this discouraging information about what Trump can do on America’s climate policy highlights a very important fact: He hasn’t done it yet. Biden’s tax credits and rebates are still there. So if you’re already thinking about getting a heat pump, switching to an EV, upgrading your iPhone or, frankly, buying something imported, that means you’ve got just over two months to do so before Inauguration Day.
“As a consumer myself, I definitely want to buy something before January 20, if it means I’m going to pay less for it,” CTA’s Brzytwa told me. And I’m planning it. I love a deal.
A version of this story also appeared in the Vox Technology Newsletter. Sign up here So you don’t miss the next one!
