In theory, the problem shouldn’t be difficult for Congress to fix. One approach would be to lift the 200,000 vehicle cap and continue the credit indefinitely, a move that would most likely be welcomed by makers and consumers of electric vehicles and has the support of green energy lobbying groups. But the price tag for the government could become prohibitive if electric car sales surge.

Or Congress could phase out the incentives beginning at a target date that would apply to all manufacturers, or after total industry sales hit a level that suggests a move to electric vehicles is sustainable. Depending on the time or level of sales chosen, that could address concerns about the impact of the tax credit on the deficit.

Tesla and G.M. have not proposed a specific fix.

Many countries have far more robust subsidies for electric cars than the United States, including most of Europe. Norway has by far the highest percentage of electric car ownership in the world (about one-third of the vehicles sold there last year were electric or hybrid), along with the most lavish subsidies, which include sharply reduced sales taxes as well as free parking and use of uncongested bus lanes. The country has set a goal of zero auto emissions by 2025.

While no one expects the United States to go to such an extreme, revising the electric vehicle tax credit and bolstering other incentives for renewable energy could be a rare source of bipartisan agreement. When it comes to jobs, a top priority for both Congress and the Trump administration, the Department of Energy reported that in 2016, 3.38 million Americans were employed in the clean energy sector, 10 percent more than the 2.99 million employed in fossil fuels.

How the renewable energy subsidies managed to survive to be part of the tax law remains a subject of debate, but nearly every explanation points in part to Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the powerful Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a staunch supporter of renewable energy, especially wind. Iowa is a leader in wind power, which generates 36 percent of the state’s electricity. The wind power industry employs 9,000 people in the state, according to the Iowa Wind Energy Association. (Senator Grassley did not respond to requests for comment.)

Trying to tamper with the renewable energy subsidies and the electric vehicle credit, as the House version of the tax bill did, “was asking for trouble,” said Dean Zerbe, former tax counsel for the Senate Finance Committee and a national managing director at Alliantgroup, which specializes in tax credits and incentives. “Certain senators wouldn’t budge on that.”

With funding for the government scheduled to expire on Jan. 19, and with such a narrow Republican majority in the Senate, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have an incentive to find some common ground, which might include revising the electric vehicle credit.