In Brief: Five Reasons EVs Are a Boondoggle
Joe Biden touted electric vehicles as the solution to climate change again Tuesday night during his State of the Union address.
“We’re building 500,000 vehicle charging stations installed across the country by tens of thousands of IBEW workers,” Joe Biden said during his State of the Union Tuesday, “and helping families save more than $1,000 a year with tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances.” Sounds so wonderful, no? No. As we’ve written many times, electric vehicles are a boondoggle. Tristan Justice joins the fray by boiling that down to five reasons:
EVs Are a Green Illusion
The process to manufacture electric vehicles is so environmentally toxic between the mining and assembly that it takes years of driving before emissions are reduced. …
Even then, the American power grid used to charge the car still relies primarily on fossil fuels. In other words, the car runs on coal. …
EVs Aren’t Cheap
The average transaction price for an electric car in September was $65,291, according to Kelley Blue Book, just $1,000 shy of the average luxury car. …
EV Subsidies Are Gifts to the Rich
The dubiously named Inflation Reduction Act extended up to $7,500 in federal subsidies for the purchase of an electric car. That only brings the price down to $58,000. …
Researchers at UC-Berkeley found in 2016 that “clean” energy tax credits have historically benefitted the upper class, with 90 percent of all credits on electric vehicles enjoyed by those in the top income quintile. …
EVs Are Vulnerable to Global Supply Chains
More problems with electric vehicles pertain to problems with American mining. China holds the world hostage when it comes to mineral refinement and battery production. Beijing presides over half the global electric car battery market while the U.S. lags behind and continues to shut down major mining projects.
EVs Aren’t Reliable
… drivers will be at the mercy of state regulators to travel once residents are prohibited from buying whatever car they want.
If residents can still charge their vehicles produced by China, they had better hope their batteries last. Replacing an electric car battery can cost between $4,000 and $20,000. The weight of the batteries, meanwhile, wears out the tires 20 percent faster than gas-powered alternatives.
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