They can be overhyped and also an important part of the future of transportation.
What an excellent take.
I can't imagine us adopting a technology with such flaws, it could never be made to work.
/s
2/ see above
3/ fast DC charging will give you 300+ KM of range for 30min of charging. 99% of the time you charge at home so over a year, you end up saving time with an EV.
4/ Batteries last 8-15 years.
5/ every house as at least 220v
4) I have two cars. One is 15 years old, the other is 25. They are cheap, they are reliable, and I get 30 mpg. An 8-15 year lifespan is again, kinda sad in comparison to ICE.
I'm looking forward to electric cars being generally feasible. But the battery tech needs a lot of help. Charging times and lifespan needs to match ICE cars.
The kicker for me was borrowing a friend’s EV for the day. The driving experience was so completely different to my cars it was mind-boggling. The only other time I’ve felt the same way was picking up the first iPhone.
We bought an EV a couple years after that (6 months ago, now) the first couple of weeks we struggled with range anxiety and suffered from inconvenience. Now we’re completely in love and wouldn’t ever buy another ICE. (Except maybe another old Saab…)
30min to add ~200mi of range is enough for 99% of people. Most people who take road trips need to stop every 3hrs for food/bathroom etc. By the time that's done, your car is charge. Remember that typically you charge while your car is parked, so the net time loss is usually less than that of an ICE.
8-15 years is to get to 80% battery degradation. Total loss of vehicle probably around the 500k to 1mil mile mark.
If you have a 15 and 25 year old ICE, you are far better off driving them into the ground than buying an EV. Don't try to dissuade people about the concept of EVs because of your personal circumstance. If you are in the market for a new car circa $40k USD, buying anything other than EV is financial insanity.
I’m guessing you don’t own an electric car, but you get your strong opinions from anti-ev sources.
As a Tesla owner, let me put most of these non-issues to bed:
1. Extremely hot - drove to Vegas last summer. 110-120 degree heat for most of the trip there. No issues.
2. Extremely cold — yes, this can be an issue if you need to drive long distances in the cold. Day-to-day local driving is completely fine, and distance is also not a problem if you are willing to stop at charging stations at shorter intervals. I don’t live in a cold area, so I don’t know what those intervals are.
3. New battery set every X years (you said 5). This might be a minimum, but practically speaking it seems to be 10+ for teslas. The original tesla model s cars are about 10 years old, and the ones that need battery replacements due to wear and tear seem to be few —- and the tech has improved a lot since then, and it’s getting even better.
4. 220v at your house — regular plug is fine for local driving. This is what I use. A buddy of mine lives in an apartment with no plug. He just goes to a charger every 2-3 weeks while he gets a haircut. This is very much a non-issue.
5. Charging station in traffic — well, sure, maybe. That’s no different than running out of gas in traffic. It can happen, but it’s usually the result of a series of bad decisions by the driver. I will add that EVs actually get better mileage in the city due to regeneration.
6. Don’t want to use coal and natural gas to power your car — This is a slightly odd argument. NG is relatively clean. Coal is definitely an issue, but the use of coal varies from state to state. In CA (where I live), it’s 0.15% coal, iirc. If your state creates dirty electricity, take that up with your elected officials and your utilities. If you have the means, circumvent this by getting solar (if possible).
I imagine that someone will comment that I am taking a privileged stance as a Tesla owner, and I slightly agree… right now. That said, lower cost EVs will happen in the near future, and lots of folks buy cars that have a purchase cost comparable to a standard range model 3 while having a much higher total cost of ownership than the model 3.
Regarding the article, EVs will definitely require new and different infrastructure both in the US and Japan, but any potential problems are all very solvable.
This is the 10% problem (which also has solutions, like the high-speed charger installed at your local gas station)
I'm sure there's an exceedingly small population of people who don't have 240v, but those people also don't have electric ovens, dryers, or stoves/cooktops.
But honestly there’s a lot of people that exclusively charge at superchargers.
GP's point stands, though. EVs aren't the right solution for every single situation, and may never be, but that doesn't mean they can't be an important part of the mix.
Most prewar homes don't have 220v either unless it was added later (commonly as part of an air conditioner installation, but even then, often the AC unit has the only 220v circuit).
It's not hard to add 220v to an existing home, but it is less common than you think. Before electric cars existed, the main reason a homeowner would add 220 was for air conditioning, large stationary power tools, or if they were one of those weirdos that preferred electric stoves to gas (before induction existed).