Its like the Soviet Union, but in reverse
People wanted their crappy, government-mandated car, but had to wait 8 years to get one due to lack of supply
In America, government is paying to over-produce crappy, government-mandated cars, but no one wants them.
They could have paid to improve the technology - smaller, safer, more efficient, etc. Instead they are pushing for mass manufacturing of a product not ripe for prime time. And it could get there...electric vehicles have been around awhile, and the ones we have now are obviously better than the ones around 20 years ago. They could have been viable if the government had either stayed out of it or instead invested in the R&D side only. Now they may never be.