General Motors will be hit with charges of about $6 billion as sales of electric vehicles sputter after the U.S. cut tax incentives to buy them and also eased auto emissions standards.

Shares slid almost 3% Friday.

The charges that will be recorded in the fourth quarter follow an announcement in October that the Detroit automaker would take a $1.6 billion charge for the same reason in the previous quarter, with automakers forced to reconsider ambitious plans to convert their fleets to electric power.

The EV tax credit ended in September. The clean vehicle tax credit was worth $7,500 for new EVs and up to $4,000 for used ones.

EVs have been considered to be the future of the US automotive industry. GM announced in 2020 that it was going to invest $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles over the next five years, a 35% increase over plans made before the pandemic.

Lyft and Uber drivers protest Waymo robotaxis

Drivers for Lyft and Uber protested self-driving Waymo taxis in San Francisco on Friday, urging state regulators to exercise greater oversight of autonomous vehicles, given recent events in which the cars killed pets and blocked traffic.

About two dozen drivers and supporters spoke or held up signs calling for safer streets and greater accountability outside the offices of the California Public Utilities Commission, which met Friday to consider further regulations on autonomous vehicles.

A steady stream of Waymo cars drove past the protest, a testament to the growing ubiquity of the white cars in San Francisco.