Draft:Gil Tal
American transportation researcher and electric vehicle policy expert
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{{Infobox academic ...
M.A., Environmental Policy and Planning, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Gil Tal | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | Professor; Research Director |
| Employer | University of California, Davis |
| Known for | Electric vehicle adoption research; EV policy |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Ph.D., Transportation Technology and Policy, UC Davis M.A., Environmental Policy and Planning, Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Website | ev |
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Gil Tal is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and a widely cited academic expert on electric vehicle (EV) adoption, markets, and policy. He directs the UC Davis Electric Vehicle Research Center and the STEPS+ Research Consortium at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS).
Tal has published more than 200 articles, peer-reviewed papers, conference proceedings, reports, and books. He regularly advises policymakers and industry leaders in the United States, Mexico, China, and Europe.[1]
Current roles
Electric Vehicle Research Center
The center was founded in 2007 as the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center, renamed the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center in 2010, and subsequently rebranded as the Electric Vehicle Research Center. Early media citations and some institutional records use the earlier names to refer to the same center.[2]
As Director of the UC Davis Electric Vehicle Research Center, Tal leads one of the foremost academic research centers studying EV markets, consumer behavior, charging infrastructure, and transportation policy. The center has operated continuously since 2007 with support from the California Energy Commission and collaborates with utilities, automakers, regulators, and institutions including Argonne National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute.[1][2]
STEPS+ Research Consortium
Tal also directs STEPS+, the ITS research consortium connecting researchers, government agencies, and industry. He organizes the annual STEPS+ Symposium, which has drawn audiences of up to 220 participants from industry, policy, and academia.[1]
Graduate programs
He is a faculty member in the Transportation Technology and Policy (TTP) Graduate Group and the Energy Graduate Group at UC Davis, and serves as Admission Advisor for the TTP program.[1]
Legal participation
Tal served as named counsel on three amicus curiae briefs before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2024–2025) and one before the Supreme Court of the United States (March 2025), jointly with the International Council on Clean Transportation and UC Davis ITS, in cases involving zero-emission vehicle regulations.[3]
Research
Tal's research examines the conditions under which consumers adopt electric vehicles and the policy and infrastructure environments that shape EV markets globally. Core areas include EV purchase behavior and incentive design, public charging infrastructure reliability, vehicle-grid integration, battery supply chain dynamics, and comparative EV policy across the US, China, Europe, and the Global South.[1][4][5]
Media coverage
Tal has been cited or interviewed in more than 110 documented media appearances across print, broadcast, radio, and digital outlets, spanning from 2018 through mid-2025. Coverage accelerated from 2022 onward, coinciding with California's Advanced Clean Cars II regulation and federal EV policy debates. Outlets include The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, CNN, Fox News, the BBC, MIT Technology Review, Wired, Politico, the Los Angeles Times, and Scientific American, among others.
The Washington Post
The Post has cited Tal across multiple major EV stories, including on the relative merits of plug-in hybrids versus battery EVs,[6] the greenest cars in America,[7] EV tax credit changes,[8] why Republicans resist EVs,[9] the Trump administration's suspension of the federal EV charging program,[10] and the fragility of the EV transition under new federal policy.[11]
The New York Times
The Times featured Tal in coverage of California's gas-car ban enforcement,[12] the economics of home EV chargers,[13] and Toyota's contested EV strategy.[14]
NPR
Tal has given repeated interviews across NPR platforms — Marketplace, AirTalk, KPBS, and CapRadio — on topics ranging from EV charger shortages and cold-weather battery performance to federal tax credit changes and California's response to Trump-era policy shifts.[15][16][17][18]
CNN and Fox News
He appeared on CNN in April 2023 in a segment on whether America would ever fully embrace electric vehicles,[19] and was interviewed by Fox News affiliate KTVU on the implications of potential federal EV tax credit elimination following the 2024 election.[20]
Other major outlets
MIT Technology Review drew on his analysis for its 2025 EV outlook;[21] Wired featured his research on battery oversizing[22] and extended-range EVs;[23] Scientific American cited him on EV policy and infrastructure;[24] the BBC interviewed him on EV fees and tax credits;[25] Politico cited him across multiple California EV policy stories;[26][27] and the Los Angeles Times featured him on the effects of Trump-era tariffs on California's EV ambitions.[28]
Policy engagement
Tal has testified before the California State Assembly Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy (February 2024) and delivered invited briefings to Congressional staff on Capitol Hill in January 2024 and January 2025. He has presented at the United Nations Environment Programme's Drive Electric Advisory Group (Costa Rica, 2023; Nairobi, 2025), the International Council on Clean Transportation's Transatlantic Decarbonization Summit (Canada, 2024; London, 2025), and the California Council on Science and Technology (2025). He has also delivered keynote addresses to OEM executives, electric utility managers, and government audiences in Australia, Mexico, and Germany.[1]
Background
Tal holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Technology and Policy from UC Davis and an M.A. in Environmental Policy and Planning from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Before joining UC Davis as a faculty member, he was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley.[1]