Posted on 09/12/2023 5:51:26 AM PDT by MtnClimber
“EV’s are prefect for lots and lots of folks.”
They are perfect for no one. They have zero advantages.
There is absolutely a market today for EVs, and companies like Tesla are not going away.
Mandating that ALL car companies switch to EVs, however, is insanity.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that states like Kalifornia that have mandated the switch by a date certain are going to change their minds anytime soon. As long as Congress continues to grant Kalifornia’s CARB the sweeping powers to regulate automobile sales, this will continue.
EVs are a niche market.
They are perfect for Virtue Grandstanding.
“companies like Tesla are not going away”
lol. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Where are all the car companies from your grandparents days??
To imagine the general US population converting from their reliable ICE vehicles they can actually use their heaters and air conditioners in, fill up in a few minutes, drive across country in a few days instead of 2 weeks due to slow and frequent charging, and having shops all over town (maybe just one or two in small towns) that can work on most ICE vehicles with none working on EV’s when they break, with a minor fender bender totaling EV’s, with needing to install a $10K system at home to charge their EV’s they can’t possibly afford anyway, to the fires EV’s cause that end up burning down homes and apartment buildings, that are an environmental nightmare to mine and produce the expensive short-lived batteries, that are impractical in rural areas, would require the environmental climate cultists and their willing well paid slave politicians to inject enough LSD to separate them from reality for life.
So I wonder when they did that because they are already there.
There’s an old saying the EV cult should learn and repeat. “If you wish in one hand and crap in the other, guess which one fills up first”. That’s all the EV fantasy is; a handful of crappy wishes devoid of reality. It can work to a small extent in the dense cities (if they can find a place to charge them overnight) but are not practical for anyone else. EV’s are throwaway cars with the exception of the upper end Tesla models. Once the batteries need replacing after 10 years, they are not worth the cost of replacing the batteries. Then what about the change in technology in 10 years. Will the new tech even work with the old tech?
great and true comment!
“They are perfect for Virtue Grandstanding.”
I stand corrected.
Guess the big three are maybe jumping the shark too early with their push to go all elec? But, subsidies.........
You don’t need market research when your goal is to not allow alternatives. If your only choice is an EV, no matter how crappy it is you’ll buy one. That’s the goal.
I have a customer/friend in Idaho who has a Tesla model S Plaid. He took me for a ride in it about a year ago. It is a beautiful vehicle on the inside. Black and White glove leather. It is the fastest vehicle I have ever ridden in. From a dead start we were going 135 MPH within a ten seconds. He said it is faster than his former Porsche 911.
It costs $130K.
He had the electrician from the company he owns install a 30 amp breaker for a home charger.
He lives in Idaho Falls, ID. So, the electricity in HIS local area comes from hydro electric dams on the Snake River. Therefore, his electric rate/KWH is pretty cheap. I believe it is around $.09/KWH. So, he claims it is cheaper to power his Tesla than it is to put DIESEL in his Dodge pick up truck.
So, there are exceptions to coal fired electricity.
The real problem to EVs is the infrastructure improvements required for them to become even 10-25% of the vehicles in the USA/WORLD. There is not enough COPPER, NICKEL, COBALT, LITHIUM mined in the world to expand the grid, generate the electricity and build enough batteries.
So, until we build another 100 nuclear power plants mainstreaming EVs is a pipe dream on the cover of Popular Science.
I rented a Hertz Tesla at the airport in White Plains NY. It was by FAR the least expensive vehicle to rent.
I was concerned about “range anxiety” so prior to my trip I visited the Tesla website and reviewed all the Tesla-specific supercharger stations along my route.
When I got to about 45%, I decided to go for a charge, and used the Tesla in-car nav system to show my nearby chargers. I selected a convenient location along my route and the car popped up a message “conditioning battery for fast charge.” huh. Who knew. I knew I had some time and pulled into the parking lot where the in-car nav system showed 5 chargers available. Sure enough there were 5 chargers available and working. About 5 others had cars charging. Obviously the Tesla charger network is ‘smart’ this way.
I charged my car from 45% to 80% in 7 minutes and was on my way. Tesla recommends NOT charging your battery above 80% on a regular basis, although you can override this easily.
Points to ponder: Chargers were in a ‘nice’ area. All working. Assured availability per the Tesla app. Fast enough charge. Do the math - IF I had been really low on power, my stop would have been about 25 minutes. NOT as quick as a refill at a gas station. BUT faster than stopping at a typical for-the-public level 2 charging station.
I think Tesla has done it right in that THEY invested in a charging network, AND apps to use it easily.
Would I have rented an EV for a drive into New York City from Winchester? No WAY. I was headed up kinda West Point direction.
Thank heavens I heat with wood.
They’re real Climate Scientologists.
It’s more like virtue-sniveling.
Ford, GM, and Chrysler survived from my grandparents day.
If I were Fisker, Lucid, or Rivian, I'd be very concerned.
Tesla has a good shot at also surviving for many years to come, thanks to their vertical integration strategy.
EVs aren't for everyone, and they're not for me. But they are for some and there is a market for them.
I personally would much rather have a plug-in hybrid with more than a 20 mile electric-only range, but and EV would be only if I were rich and it were my third or fourth car.
and they have to mine the lithium for the batteries which upsets the environment sissies.
I agree somewhat. I thought abought getting a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) instead of an EV (BEV). The two reasons I didn't are: 1) I have tons of solar and I'm trying to be more energy self-sufficient, and 2) since my wife and I need two cars anyway I want them dependent on two separate energy sources (oil or power) so not all my transportation eggs are in one basket (on trips even PHEV plugin-hybrids need gas).
Most people don't have #1. But #2 IMHO is a reason for everyone to consider not getting a hybrid unless it's their only car, or if they have 2 cars the other car is a BEV. Of course, that's from a free market perspective.
From a control-freak government perspective, alloysteel is right that hybrids are best at achieving the transition without putting a demand on the grid as long as they aren't PHEV's (plug-in hybrids). PHEV owners try to do all of their local driving on electric because it's cheaper. So they'd be as much of a demand on the grid as BEV owners (except that BEV owners need the grid for long trip driving too).
Yep, nuclear power would make EV vehicles a valid choice for around town driving.
” Therefore, his electric rate/KWH is pretty cheap. I believe it is around $.09/KWH. So, he claims it is cheaper to power his Tesla than it is to put DIESEL in his Dodge pick up truck.”
Here is the dynamics since some people cannot think in such terms: Electricity rates will skyrocket once they have everyone driving electrics. Monopolies tend to do that.
My EcoDiesel truck gets an honest 27mpg combined mileage. Our EcoDiesel Jeep gets 27mpg combined and 35mpg on highways. Many diesels cars, typically VW TDI cars, get 45-55mpg.
I am all for more diesel engines as they use less refined fuels and there is plenty of that globally.
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