No, Diesel Deletes Aren’t “Dead Forever.” Here’s What’s Really Going On.

The sun didn’t go down—clouds rolled in and the hot takes rolled out. A handful of pickup-tube “experts” skimmed a Federal Register entry, saw the EPA Administrator’s name, and started yelling that diesel deletes will “be illegal forever.” That’s not what was said, and it’s definitely not what’s happening with consumer trucks. Let me walk you through the facts the way I did in the video, without the spin—and with the receipts you can actually check.

What those other videos are claiming

You’ve probably seen the thumbnails: 🚨 “DELETES BANNED PERMANENTLY!” 🚨 “NO ROLLBACKS!” Big fonts, red arrows, maximum panic. The gist of their claim is:

The EPA just “re-affirmed” that emission system deletes will remain illegal in all cases, for all vehicles, forever.
The statement supposedly came straight from the Administrator, so that’s the final word.

Two problems: they’re conflating commercial/heavy-duty policy with consumer rules, and they didn’t read the whole thing. (One of them literally said he skimmed until he “found what he needed.” That’s… not research.)

What was actually said—and the context

A member of the press asked the Administrator about rollbacks. The on-record response wasn’t “we’re keeping everything in place forever,” it was effectively: we’re not “rolling back” a little here and there—we’re rewriting and removing entire stacks of the old regime (yes, that’s me paraphrasing, but that’s the meaning). Then some folks grabbed an unrelated Federal Register entry that covers commercial emissions and held it up as proof that consumer deletes are locked down for eternity.

Context matters. Federal rule making is a web of programs, timelines, and vehicle classes. If you don’t separate Class 8 tractors and commercial HD rules from light-duty/consumer pickup rules, you’ll get the wrong answer every time.

Consumer vs. commercial: where the line actually is

This is the part most people miss, so keep it tight:

Commercial/HD (semis, certain Class 3+ work trucks used commercially): Separate standards, separate compliance regimes, and often the focus of the Federal Register items getting passed around.
Light-duty/consumer (1500s, most 2500s used privately, SUVs, crossovers): Different certifications, different enforcement patterns, different pathways to compliance.

Those “forever illegal delete” clips are anchored in commercial provisions. That’s not the universe most of you live in when you’re talking about a Ram 2500 in the driveway or your diesel SUV.

“But can I legally delete anything right now?”

Here’s the real-world answer I laid out on camera:

There is—and always has been—a path where a vehicle can run without certain emissions hardware if its configuration is certified by the manufacturer.
Think military/agency packages, special-purpose builds, or configurations the OEM certifies as compliant without the consumer-market after-treatment stack. That’s not your neighborhood muffler shop slapping on a tune; that’s manufacturer certification.
If you’re dreaming of a weekend wrench-fest and a friendly inspection sticker afterward, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying the law already recognizes cases where a vehicle legitimately operates without the same emissions kit as the showroom version—because the manufacturer certifies that configuration.
And yes, the current rule rewrites are heavily focused on heavy/commercial fleets first. That’s why you saw Kenworth grinning ear-to-ear during that factory presser: less dead-weight complexity on trucks that work for a living is the point.

Bottom line: blanket “forever illegal” claims ignore the long-standing manufacturer-certification pathway and the separation between commercial and light-duty programs.

Where policy is heading (and what that means for you)

I’ve been consistent about this: the new leadership isn’t nibbling at the edges—they’re scrubbing, simplifying, and replacing. That’s going to show up first in commercial HD regulations (because that’s where the fastest wins are). Over time, consumer light-duty rules get re-cut, too, and the intent is fewer failure-prone band-aids and less “bolt-on spaghetti” just to pass a lab test.

Does that mean “anything goes” for the driveway? No. It means the architecture of compliance is changing. That’s good news if you hate fragile after-treatment stacks and limp-mode roulette; it’s not a hall pass to gut your truck and hope for the best.

How to separate fact from rage-bait

If you don’t want to get played by thumbnails, do this:

Check the vehicle class mentioned in any rule or memo. If it says “heavy-duty commercial,” don’t assume it covers your half-ton.
Look for the certification mechanism. If a configuration can be certified by an OEM (or built as a special-purpose variant), that’s a different legal animal than a DIY delete.
Watch for the endangerment/cross-reference pieces. When those are being revised or pulled, a cascade of downstream fixes follows—some rules disappear entirely; others get replaced.

And yes—read the whole thing before you tell hundreds of thousands of owners their trucks are doomed.

Why I’m pushing back (and where to get real updates)

I’m plugged in. I’ve got a White House press credential for a reason, we’re in daily contact with industry sources, and my track record on automotive leaks is months ahead of the press more often than not. I’m blunt because bad info costs you money—mod choices, warranty fights, inspections, resale, all of it.

If you want reliable reporting without the manufactured outrage, hit the new site we launched with Butter and OC: GoAfterSpeed.com. We’re posting the full docs, the timelines, and the context—so you can see exactly what’s changing and when.

Quick takeaways (for the skimmers who made it this far)

Those “deletes are illegal forever” clips are about commercial/HD, not your daily driver.
There’s always been a manufacturer-certification path for configurations without certain emissions hardware. That’s not the same as a backyard delete.
The new policy direction is fewer Rube Goldberg emissions band-aids, especially in commercial fleets, with consumer updates to follow.
Don’t base your build—or your blood pressure—on a screenshot someone barely read.

Drop your questions below, tell me what truck you’re in, and I’ll point you to the actual rules that apply to your use case. And if you see another “forever banned” thumbnail, do yourself a favor—watch it on mute, then come here for the facts.