Without Tesla & CA's policies, auto electrification would be at least a decade behind what it is today... Being at the forefront of environmental policy has real costs.
And California directly benefitted from the money they spent. That benefit is electric vehicles in the hands of its population, which improves the state's pollution levels long-term.
Electric cars & clean tech generally have made leaps and bounds because consumers want it. Climate agreements help somewhat, but they're a lagging indicator of the trend.
Most governments e.g EU, UK, China all looking to curtail/ban ICE cars within the next few decades. And of course this has resulted in car manufacturers rapidly pushing EV cars.
Tesla has helped but be would have EVs today even if the company had never existed.
EU regulations had approximately zero impact on Tesla's formative years -- and Tesla was the first auto manufacturer to meaningfully commit long-term (and not lip service) to EVs. VW and others are still today talking about how they're playing catch-up.
This sounds a bit like abusive spouse behavior.
"I'm leaving"
"You can't do that - what about all those nice things I gave you?"
You mean the budget that included tax abatement and subsidies for his factories and the people who buy his cars?