GM’s plan would provide credits for production based on factors like battery range that have no bearing on emissions. Credits are ripe for political manipulation, and, right on time, GM is trying to game the system. GM suggests awarding 1.5 times as many credits for heavier duty vehicles and six times as many for driverless cars. GM’s Cruise startup is ahead of most manufacturers in the self-driving car race. As in California, credits could be banked and traded. No doubt GM hopes to emulate Tesla by hoarding and selling credits as the quotas increase.

GM also proposes to replace the 200,000 per manufacturer cap for the federal $7,500 tax credit with an industry-wide phase-out once electric cars exceed 5% of the U.S. light-duty fleet. While Tesla has already hit the limit and GM is expected to do so this quarter, most auto makers at their current sales rate won’t for half a decade.

GM’s cars would thus become less competitive, and it has a point that the existing cap punishes manufacturers that sell more EVs. But the better solution is to scrap the tax credits and let manufacturers compete on a level plane. The bigger problem, as GM acknowledges, is that electric cars still can’t compete with gas-fueled cars without government subsidies and mandates.