The California MyFirstEV rebate works on leases. If you have never bought or leased an electric car, you get $3,500 off a new one at signing. The sticker price (MSRP) must be $50,000 or less and the brand must be in the program. It started August 3, 2026, has no income limit, and funds run out brand by brand.
Quick facts, September 2026
Want to see which EVs we are leasing right now? Browse this month's lease specials, all quoted with $3,000 due at signing.
MyFirstEV is a discount that comes off the price when you sign, not a check you wait for, and it is live for leases. When you lease through us, we put it in the contract for you.
It covers your first zero-emission vehicle, a car with no tailpipe: electric or hydrogen.
The law behind it, SB 168, signed July 13, 2026, tells CARB to sign contracts with carmakers, who must match the state's money dollar for dollar.
The state put in $135.5 million, one time, about $271 million with the match (some official releases say $270 million). It comes from Cap-and-Invest, the pollution fees California charges companies, plus smog-abatement fees, per the Governor's office, and must be spent by September 1, 2031.
You qualify if you are a California resident who has never bought or leased a zero-emission vehicle and the car will be registered in California.
If that describes you, start the credit application now; it takes a few minutes and gets you approved before you settle on the car.
New electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with a sticker price of $50,000 or less qualify; plug-in hybrids do not, and the used rebate is purchase-only.
As of September 3, 2026 on CARB's page, every listed brand except Tesla, Mitsubishi and Nissan is live.
| Brand | CARB status, September 3, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Ford, Lucid, Rivian, Volvo | Live, new and used |
| Cadillac, Chevrolet, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Subaru, Toyota | Live, new only |
| Mitsubishi | Launching November 2026 |
| Nissan | Coming soon |
| Tesla | Closed, funds exhausted |
Every brand got an equal pile of state money, so a big seller empties it faster; Tesla's lasted about five days, per Electrek. CARB does not say how much any brand has left.
Vehicles ordered or purchased before a participating manufacturer has made the incentive available will not receive the incentive.
That sentence is CARB's: a Nissan ordered today does not get the rebate when Nissan goes live. The list moves both ways; Cadillac went live in early September.
Check CARB's participating manufacturers list the week you sign; if your brand is closed, we price a similar car from a live brand.
Waiting on Nissan or Mitsubishi, or hoping Tesla reopens? Sign up for deal alerts by text and we tell you the week a brand changes status; reply STOP any time.
The $3,500 comes off inside the lease contract, after you submit CARB's form and before you sign. You do not need to visit a dealership: tell us the car, we shop it across our dealer network, put MyFirstEV in the contract, and deliver the car to you.
Can you get this on top of the brand's own lease discount? At Hyundai, yes, on one real deal. A contract posted August 15, 2026 on Leasehackr (a public forum for posted lease deals) shows $7,250 of Hyundai lease cash, money the brand adds to lower the price, plus $3,500 of MyFirstEV on one IONIQ 5 lease. CARB and the brands have not addressed this in writing.
The catch is the dealer. Leasehackr posters report dealers treating the $3,500 as their money and refusing any discount. CARB's contracts require brands to stop dealers inflating prices to absorb the rebate; nothing published covers the discount you negotiate below sticker.
We make dealers compete on the car's price before the rebate is applied. Every payment we advertise is quoted the same way: $3,000 due at signing, tax not included, so the rebate shows as its own line.
Do you pay tax on the $3,500? On the lease paperwork we have seen, yes. Hyundai's contract posted on Leasehackr August 25, 2026 books MyFirstEV as a taxed incentive: sales tax is charged on the $3,500 before it reduces what you owe. The lender's contract decides this, not CARB.
Example only, at Glendale's current 10.5% rate: tax on $3,500 is $367.50, so the rebate is really worth about $3,132.50. From October 1, 2026 the rate is 11% in Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena under LA County's Measure ER sales tax increase, which also raises the tax on every monthly payment. We show that line on every quote.
The 4-year rule. SB 168 says the carmaker cannot resell or re-lease a MyFirstEV car in another state for four years. That is on the brand, not you, but we have not found CARB guidance for lessees who move mid-lease, so tell us if a move is possible.
Want numbers on a specific EV? Send us your city and the model through Request a car and we quote it with and without MyFirstEV, tax line included.
CARB says MyFirstEV can be combined with other CARB and non-CARB programs, but in September 2026 most LA programs are used-car only, paused, or limited by income.
These programs pause and reopen with little notice, so before you count on any of them, call or text us at (818) 797-9795 and we check what is open that week.
Whether you have a car picked out or only know you want your first EV, here is how to take the next step with us.
MyFirstEV takes $3,500 off a new zero-emission vehicle, $1,750 from California and $1,750 from the carmaker. You fill out CARB's online form during the transaction, send us the confirmation number, and the discount applies in the contract before you sign.
No. You fill out CARB's online self-attestation at the time of purchase or lease and send us the confirmation number before the deal is finalized. We handle the dealer; there is no waitlist or pre-approval.
On a lease, so far yes. Hyundai's paperwork reported on Leasehackr in August 2026 books it as a taxed incentive, so sales tax is charged on the $3,500 before it reduces your cash due. The lender's contract decides it, so we show it line by line.
No. CARB's FAQ sets no income limit for MyFirstEV. Income only matters for programs you might add on top: DCAP stops at 300% of the federal poverty level, and Replace Your Ride is tiered by income.
Tesla had no MSRP cap because it is based in California, but its funds ran out about five days after the August 3, 2026 launch, per Electrek. As of September 3, 2026, CARB lists Tesla as closed.
No. CARB excludes plug-in hybrids because they have gasoline engines that produce tailpipe emissions. Only battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles qualify.
Ready to use it? Check this month's lease specials for EVs that fit the price cap, or fill out our credit application (the form the lender uses to approve you) and tell us it is your first EV. We confirm the brand is live on CARB's list the day we submit.
Keep reading: should you lease or buy a car in Los Angeles, and the best lease deals in Southern California this month.
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