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Comment by tomcam | Hacker News Reader

Can you explain to me about the near outlaw of EVs?

I should also mention that a large percentage of the population is in love with ICE-mobiles. They transport the ever-shrinking middle class and lower classes that can't afford to completely replace their vehicles with EVs and, likely, never will be. Even the world's ugliest electric truck is beyond the reach of a large portion of the middle class. Removing gas stations and adding charging stations is not going to do anything except cause more panic.

NGL, I drive a gas-powered Jetta (I wish it was diesel, but oh well) and if I can't get gas, I can't drive. While I'm lucky enough to live where there's some sort of public transit, that's not a thing in a lot of cities. Without the political will or the budget to start adding public transportation RIGHT THE HELL NOW, if ICE goes away, our economy is screwed.

The new budget that passed the house has registration fees on EVs that will only match gas cars if you drive well over 25,000 miles a year. Maybe "outlaw" was hyperbolic, but you tax what you want less of. I would imagine that these taxes will only increase. Especially compared to the _incentives_ offered in every other country.

We don't "outlaw" cigarettes, for example, but I would call the current taxes on them a "near" outlaw.

You tax to finance government services. EV use roads but don't pay fuel taxes.

We can debate how much EVs should be taxed, but they're using the bloody roads, aren't they?

in VA we pay EV Tax (along with 87 other car taxes to keep driving on shitty roads…) - whatever your problem is when it comes to roads, more taxes ain’t gonna solve them

If you're gathering the resources and you still have bad roads, then that's a problem of Virginians inability to govern well.

Which, as an American largely being governed by Virginians, I cant say Im surprised.

My point is that there's no reason to tax them more than gas cars. Gas cars create FAR more negative externalities. I'm not saying they shouldn't be taxed at all; sorry if you got that impression.

Are they being taxed more? Or is it that with gas cars, most of the tax is paid outside of registration, when they're refueled, whereas EVs only pay the taxes at registration time, and thus end up paying their share up front instead of over time?

The new budget that passed the house has registration fees on EVs that will only match gas cars if you drive well over 25,000 miles a year.

Though it’s actually about 35,000 miles. I did the math wrong.

EVs tend to weigh more and cause a higher degree of microplastic emission and road wear.

HN is usually happy to remind everyone that the damage a vehicle causes to a road scales with the fourth power of its weight. A Tesla model 3 is about triple the wear on the road surface compared to a Toyota Camry.

The average gas car is an F150, and the average EV is a Model Y. EVs don’t tend to weigh more. And the tire microplastic thing is misinformation with zero evidence. The only evidence we have is the drastically reduced brake wear (and dust) on EVs.

Obviously the higher mass and torque of the EV causes more microplastics. This is basic materials science and the reason why EVs need tougher tires.

I dont get why we're comparing F150s to the Model Y. When Im looking to buy a truck, Im not considering the Model Y (although In peeved the Ranger isnt hybrid). I have never considered a Tesla (Im not in the market for another sedan) but if I were my comparison would be something like the Accord.

But sure let's compare the F150 to the model Y: back in 2021 - a base F150 weighed about 4000lb, less than a base Model Y and an F150 supercab V6 F150 was <4500 lb. [1] A long range model Y weighs about a little bit less, but the difference is less than 100 lb.

Sure, I can configure the F150 to weigh 5500, but few need to and few do. So the point stands:

The Model Y weighs as much as a half ton truck.

Meanwhile a Ford Maverick, a truck Ford can't make enough to meet demand, weighs 3700 lb

[1] https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America...

> This is basic materials science and the reason why EVs need tougher tires.

Exactly. Tires are formulated to the load they are designed to carry. It's why semis don't have to make a pit stop every 2 miles for new tires.

But, like I said, brake dust is _far_ worse, and nearly eliminated with EVs:

https://electrek.co/2025/05/27/another-way-electric-cars-cle...

> I dont get why we're comparing F150s to the Model Y.

Because one is the most popular gas car, the other the most popular EV. Removing an engine and adding batteries increases weight, sure, but that doesn't have anything to do with the average weight that's on the road. You have to tax things based on what's actually out there, not what _would_ be out there if you took the existing fleet and turned them EV. Batteries are expensive, so there's incentive not to use so much and make the car smaller and more efficient instead. That doesn't happen with gas cars.

> A long range model Y weighs about a little bit less, but the difference is less than 100 lb.

Yeah, I know. That's all I was saying. You said the average EV weighed more. In fact, it's less.

It is more stark than that, though. The most popular F150 in 2025 is the Lariat SuperCrew, which has a 5300 lb curb weight. The model Y has a curb weight of 4400 pounds.

The next most popular gas car is some Chevy pickup. The next more popular EV is the Model 3.

I can put EV tires on an ICE and get 100k miles out of the tires, but why would I? They suck.

The brake dust is a valid point but negated by hybrid drivetrains.

But it's all a wash. No one cares about externalities; neither the rich prog virtue signaling in an EV nor (obviously) the hick rolling coal. If they did there would be popular support for lowered speed limits and there isnt.

ICEs aren't taxed to punish their externalities, but to finance roads.

Suffice it to say that if all cars magically became EVs something in the tax code would have to change to pay for road maintence.

True. There would need to be a registration fee of about 100 bucks. The rest is paid for by everyone, driver or not. Gas taxes don’t even come close.

You're not covering for the loss of the gas tax with $100/year registration.

Nowhere close.

In my corner of America the gas tax comes out to be $0.96/gal, or $480/year if you only drive 15k miles and average 30 mpg.

That's because, I assume, you are adding in state gas tax, then comparing state registration to the proposed federal registration? Or some other combination. Somehow you are mixing and matching. We're all talking about federal taxes only. Obviously it's all different for every state.

Federal gas tax is $0.18. Gas registration is $0. New EV registration is $250. Or actually, it's looking like $500 now. That's like you driving your 30 mpg gas car 83,000 miles a year.

In short, the Republican Party is in bed with oil producers and many elected politicians are heavily invested in oil or oil-adjacent companies. The same party is anti-Science in a way that is nearly impossible to comprehend and, as such, scoffs at global warming and you can work the rest out from there. The Republicans have the majority in the House, the Senate and the Oval Office. The Supreme Court is conservative. Right now, we're probably the modern equivalent of Germany in 193x.

I think that about covers it. All of the above means an EV-hostile environment here.

Oh, and our biggest EV maker is a Neo-Nazi supporter.

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