Except big oil is still lobbying incredibly hard against them, enough to make people worry that the US will fall behind the curve on this tech and being a key explanation of why China has taken a lead on this tech.
Just because they do it openly and often very stupidly doesn't stop it being a conspiracy.
This very article details this in relation to California regulations pushing for an EV:
>They didn't like it. So all 3 American car makers, including GM, rallied together, spent a lot of money lobbying, also did this in partnership with the oil companies, I'm sorry to say. The oil companies spent far more than the car companies. And the result was that they got this mandate ordered down, delayed, pushed aside last December. And at that point Ford and Chrysler and the other carmakers no doubt heaved huge sighs of relief and thought great, now we don't have to worry about electrics for at least another 5 years. And that was when GM startled them by saying that it had secretly revived the EV-1, and would be coming out with it this fall. So Ford and Chrysler are if anything angrier at GM, because now that this car's going to be a reality, if it succeeds they've got to compete with it.
Similarly we see German automakers pushing against European regulations, even as China produces better cars cheaper that are zero emissions…
It's a general problem across all sectors. Incumbent interests trying (and often succeeding) to block competition. The housing and healthcare markets are prime examples.
Edit: that's not to say incumbents are always big companies. They might be homeowners, or taxi drivers.
> worry that the US will fall behind the curve
Man it's already over. It's hard to imagine the US autos EVER catching up at this point, even with state support.