Elon Musk’s electric car firm is lobbying for stronger zero-emission vehicle mandates while backing higher taxes on fossil fuel vehicles.

The electric carmaker’s lobbying was revealed in documents obtained under freedom of information laws by the Fast Charge newsletter and shared with The Guardian.

In a letter to Lilian Greenwood, Britain’s Labour roads minister, Tesla pushed for stricter ZEV mandates for cars and equivalent regulations for heavy goods vehicles.

Despite Tesla CEO Musk’s public clashes with Labour, the company’s tone has been conciliatory.

A Tesla vice-president wrote in July: “We applaud the Labour party’s strong position to decarbonisation of the energy system by 2030, growth and net zero.”

Tesla’s stance contrasts with other carmakers such as Ford, Land Rover owner JLR, as well as Peugeot owner Stellantis – which have argued that stricter ZEV mandates threaten their British operations.

Responding to industry complaints, the UK government recently signalled plans to relax ZEV rules.

But Tesla maintained “continued progress and further strengthening of the zero-emission vehicle mandate is needed” to accelerate the development of the used electric vehicle market.

Tesla also pressed for immediate action on emissions from HGVs.

The company wrote: “Government should begin consulting on a ZEV mandate for HGVs as soon as possible:

“The UK is now falling behind the EU.”

The EU has set hugely ambitious emissions reduction targets for lorries.

A mandate for ZEV lorries could boost Tesla’s market for its Semi truck, slated for production in 2026.

Tesla argued taxing carbon emissions remains crucial.

The company stressed its support for revenue-neutral subsidies funded by higher taxes on fossil fuel cars to encourage electric vehicle adoption by saying: “Emissions represent an unpriced externality.”