EV sales are barreling toward a record finish in Q3—but the rest of the year looks murky for battery-powered vehicles.

That’s because consumers are racing to take advantage of lucrative deals on electric models that are only available until the Sept. 30 expiration of federal EV tax credits that offer buyers up to $7,500 in incentives.

“Despite initial concerns that EV inventory could be a bottleneck, inventory is now more likely an albatross,” Tyson Jominy, SVP of data and analytics at JD Power, said in a statement.

“There are 197,000 EV units on the ground, down just 10,000 from July, and a robust 59-day supply,” he added. “Yet, like Cinderella’s magic, this brilliance faces a deadline—when the clock strikes midnight on Oct. 1, the $7,500 federal support vanishes, threatening to turn this inventory into costly pumpkins for automakers and dealers.”

Records galore: General Motors reported that its US EV sales “likely set an all-time monthly record in August, as customers rushed to make purchases ahead of” the tax credits’ expiration. The Detroit automaker (which doesn’t report sales totals on a monthly basis and will share Q3 numbers in October) sold more than 21,000 EVs across its Cadillac, Chevy, and GMC brands.

Keep reading here.—JG

In terms of allowing developers to access clean energy tax credits before they’re phased out in coming years, recent IRS rules on applicable projects aren’t as bad as some feared—but they also could be more clear on the particulars, a lawyer told Tech Brew.

The rules were drafted by the Department of Treasury as a follow-up to the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, and in response to a Trump executive order to clarify what counts as “beginning construction” on a wind or solar energy project. A project’s ability to claim tax credits is based on when it begins construction, or what the rules call “physical work.” And the new rules say that the “physical work test” is now the only way that projects can prove they’ve commenced construction, though passage of the test will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

“Construction of an applicable wind or solar facility begins when physical work of a significant nature begins,” the rules state. “Provided that physical work performed is of a significant nature, there is no fixed minimum amount of work or monetary or percentage threshold required.”

“Significant nature” are the key words there, and one of the biggest changes in the new rules, lawyer Keith Martin told Tech Brew. Martin is an expert in tax law and the co-head of US projects at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

Keep reading here.—TC

The war for AI talent has turned the tech industry into a real-life game of The Price is Right, and let’s just say most companies aren’t making it to the Showcase Showdown.

High salary expectations are the biggest challenge companies of all sizes face when hiring AI talent, with small to mid-size companies feeling the brunt of the sticker shock.

That’s according to a recent CloudZero survey querying 500 US software engineers, senior managers, and other higher-ups at companies with between 250 and 10,000 employees earlier this year. Other challenges the survey referenced include a shortage of qualified candidates, a too-lengthy hiring process, and unclear role requirements.

Houston, we have a problem. Aaron Sines, director of AI recruiting at tech recruitment agency Edison & Black, told IT Brew that he has seen salary expectation problems time and time again, largely because of a salary expectations “mismatch” between companies and candidates.

“Companies think they can hire AI talent like they can hire software engineers, and it’s like trying to hire Elon Musk with a Toyota salary,” Sines said.

Keep reading here.—BM