Tesla sells their EVs as technical avantgarde and elitist sports cars. When EVs become commonplace, they’ll face serious competition. People won’t be content with their mediocre build quality and terrible ergonomics any longer. Musk countering EV subsidies is deeply based in reality.

Tbf, that was not only smoke from cigarettes. Combustion engines and furnaces used to add a lot of smoke, too, before the use of catalysators and filters became compulsory.