It is hard to find a greater disconnect between propaganda and reality than in the example of electric vehicles.
The attraction of electric vehicles rests on a three-legged stool of supposedly cheaper operating costs, environmental feel-goodism, and government subsidies to make the initial vehicle purchase more palatable.
In a case of handout irony, college students whine that $10,000 in forgiven debt is nothing, but buyers of electric vehicles gladly grab onto the $7,500 tax credit.
But that three-legged stool of support for electric vehicles is having reality turn the whole operation into an unwieldy balancing act.
With skyrocketing electrical costs in Europe (coming soon to a plug near you?), the operating cost advantage is disappearing radically. When one adds in the inconvenience of finding recharge stations during any kind of lengthy trip, the attraction fades.
Also, the reality that battery packs need to replaced during the car’s life expectancy, with costs of $10,000 and up, it’s kind of like having to replace the engine in your filthy, gasoline-burning car every 5-10 years.
The Clueless Joe people have used the so-called inflation reduction nonsense legislation to shore up those $7,500 tax credits for EV purchases. But soon the rest of the population (read voters) will begin to clamor for fair treatment by our government overlords, and the tax credits just might be reduced substantially, if not disappear completely.
As far as owners of EVs being able to strut around and brag about saving the environment, they might want to do some research. The various minerals and materials used to build an EV require a considerable carbon footprint to mine or manufacture.
There also are some ugly images of mining operations such as for lithium – vital to the batteries – leaving huge scars on the land. One post I saw compared this to an oil sands operation, which was much smaller and less intrusive.
Even the patron saint of the EV crowd, Tesla’s Elon Musk, has gone on record recently noting the need for fossil fuels for energy production and automobiles will continue well into the foreseeable future.
Contrast that reality, from a guy who should know, to the delusional California and other states looking to mandate the end to sales of new cars with traditional internal combustion engines in the near future.
This is happening even as power grids groan under existing load and blackouts are threatened. Imagine what it would be like if 100 percent of the car-driving populace needed to plug in their vehicles each night for a recharge.
Reality is a female dog and the EV crowd is beginning to feel its bite.
Sam Ross Jr's site 