The auto industry has hired lobbyists to push its interests within the halls of power in Washington, D.C. for decades. Now that battery electric vehicles are the next big thing, the automakers who build them, as well as other companies with EV-related financial interests, have joined forces to create their own lobbying group.

A total of 28 companies, including Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, Lordstown Motors, ChargePoint, and Uber, have established a lobbying organization called ZETA. This stands for Zero Emission Transportation Association. Its singular goal? To push for 100 percent electric vehicle sales by the end of the decade, something the UK has just adopted. This isn't just for passenger vehicles but also the medium- and heavy-duty segments.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, ZETA will formally launch in less than two months, around the same time President-elect Joe Biden takes office. ZETA has announced five key areas it intends to focus its government lobbying efforts: incentives for EV purchases; enacting stricter fuel economy regulations that will hopefully encourage automakers and consumers alike towards EVs; creating a greater charging infrastructure; greater government cooperation towards EV R&D and the related supply chain; and manufacturing.

As the US and world economy continues to take a hit because of the pandemic, ZETA sees a huge opportunity to promote new US manufacturing jobs for not only building EVs but also their components, including batteries.

No doubt these are all lofty goals but current circumstances, such as the pandemic, a new White House administration, and California's plan for all new vehicle sales to be EVs by 2035 (other states are expected to follow suit), have created an opportunity to act. The fact that Tesla happens to be the most valuable automaker in the world right now only makes ZETA's mission clearer.

The Tesla Model 3 sedan, the best-selling EV of all time, continues to be a huge success. Rivian has just announced pricing and spec details of the long-awaited R1T and R1S vehicles and Lucid is opening up exclusive showrooms. Business is already good for these companies and it's expected to get even better with increased lobbying power.