The criteria for companies operating in the US to receive subsidies in the EV industry, whether batteries or autos is spelled out in the Inflation Reduction Act. So US federal subsidies can be claimed by any company which meets the criteria and definitions as laid down in the Act. In addition individual states can provide additional subsidies to get a company to locate a plant in that state. By contrast in Canada a specific agreement has been reached with VW and the benefits given to VW are not available to any other company. That is the opposite of transparency but is not surprising given the opaque nature of the operations of the present Government.
Also the strict definition of a subsidy is one that results in a reduction in the actual cost of production e.g. if oil is selling at $80/barrel and the Government provides a subsidy of $35/barrel, then the effective cost is reduced by that amount. But if oil is selling for $80/barrel and Governments at all levels are taxing gasoline such that the effective tax per 160 liter barrel is $80 and then the Government grants a reduction of $10/barrel in those taxes, then I would define that as a tax rebate, not a subsidy because the Government is still collecting $70/barrel in taxes. Defenders of EV and by definition those who attack the Oil and Gas Industry muddy the waters by conflating any tax rebate as a "subsidy", even though on a net basis the Government is collecting hundreds of billions of dollars from the industry. In contrast Governments are net providers of funds to the EV industry via subsidies.
