Today, would you buy an EV vehicle.

[CH4Ohio]

I work for a fire department as a mechanic, another local department is building two new fire stations and wanted to prewire them for charging electric fire trucks (all of the large manufacturers are now offering them). They showed the specs for the charger to the building engineer and the color drained from his face, they don't have enough power supply to the building to run one charger. There would need to be two or three heavy truck chargers plus several light duty chargers.

A little quick math on even just an electric car, let's say the battery is 82 kwh (newer Tesla), most families have multiple cars but they're not typically going to need to recharge fully every night so let's just say 60kwh total for two or three cars every night. That's double (2x) the current average household energy consumption per day.

They're already saying most of the country will have rolling blackouts this year. I may not be an electrical engineer but I don't think we can multiply our current energy consumption by three (3x) and just expect that to be fine...

If the goal is for everyone to drive electric cars then we needed to start building power plants and distribution lines 10 years ago. Some solar panels and wind ain't going to cut it.

Can you imagine calling on a "busy" night and the fire department can't respond because all the engines or ambulances are "charging" . . .

 

[LibraryMark]

When they come down in price (and they will) then absolutely I would buy one. Most of my travel is to the nearest town, about 10 miles away. I am also considering a solar installation. Being immune to gas price hikes has great appeal to me.

 

[Pleease]

I've liked the idea since the first time a Tesla silently rolled past me in a parking lot - the quietness was beautiful - but I'm not giving up the range of my IC vehicle. I might consider one as a commuter car, but I don't commute (been remote for 25 years).

On the environment subject - and I realize some probably have addressed this - at this point like 60% of electric is produced by burning coal or natural gas, 20% is from nukes and 20% is from water and wind (and I would guess, but don't know, that's mostly water), so I'm not so sure EVs represent a giant reduction in carbon emissions.

Also, of course, the price of electric can rise to high levels just like the cost of gas & diesel fuel can.

Tractor-wise I just have a little Kubota with MMM and FEL that I use at a lake cabin, mostly because of 4wd on the steep hills, and because the 18hp diesel has enough torque, and I think/hope it'll last a really long time. I love it, but guessing there could be an EV that'd work for my purposes too.

Overall though, I'm not blowing a bunch of cash on an EV to be current/cool.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Interestingly, Elon Musk pointed out a few months ago that the government didn't build gas stations and the current infrastructure. The free market did that and stimulated the economy in the process.

The government didn't finance Henry Ford and heavily subsidize a transition to cars. The free market did that and stimulated the economy in the process.

Every dollar that flows through the government loses much of its value due to waste and corruption and is stolen from a taxpayer that would have spent it much more efficiently. The government has been subsidizing (heavily) wind and solar renewables for 30 years and they're still only a blip on our total energy spectrum because they aren't reliable.

Until the government backs out and stops trying to drive us toward a "solution" that simply doesn't fit, we'll continue to waste our resources and tax dollars. There's no way that America can bring industry and manufacturing back when the government is doing everything it can to inflate wages and the cost of energy that underpins everything.

 

[Hamlin6]

I absolutely would. I think they have a fairly specific application currently due to range and time to recharge mostly. But as people who fit in that application continue to use them the technology will advance for more use cases. Do I think EV will totally replace internal combustion engines, not in my lifetime. Am i an oil hater? Nope, I have a hemi sitting out in my driveway. But I do think there's a future for vehicles that have powerplants other than petroleum.

 

[MtHam]

After a considerable wait, I took delivery of a Tesla Model S Long Range (408 miles) last September. It is fantastic! No regrets. The most fun to drive car I haver ever driven! I have a CyberTruck on order and look forward to it's replacing my Chevy Silverado 2500 Diesel. I only wish I had it now!

With today's fuel prices, I love not having to buy fuel. My solar array allows me to charge overnight at home without any additional cost.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

RX

 

[oldpilot]

Yeah, I'm impressed by the Ford Lightning, but alas I'm not really in the market for a truck. We run two cars, one tractor, and a lawn mower. Also a propane Kohler generator.

I would consider a $30K EV car with 300 mile range. 200 miles doesn't cut it for me. I'm a hundred miles from a ski area, and the combo of lowered battery power and the need for cabin heat would make a round trip impossible in winter. The Appalachian Mountain Club has a charging station in Crawford Notch, but I don't want to sit there for an hour or even thirty minutes, and that's assuming there's a charging slot free at the time!

Spending the night would be an option, but Fabyan's has no private rooms, and I'm past the age when I'd consider a dormitory.

 

[Mholdeman]

Well in CA and now throughout the country they are telling us we will have rolling brown/blackouts this summer. Why the heck would we want to buy something else we can’t get fuel for. This is nothing more than trying to control and transfer our wealth away!

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I pre-ordered the Tesla Cybertruck 2 years ago. Not sure if it will ever come out but if it does and the price hasnt gone thru the roof, I will farm truck the heck out of it.