Alternative title: electric cars will dominate by the time it’s too fucking late for it to matter.
Until a plethora of quality used EVs hit the secondary market, it absolutely won’t dominate. Most people can never afford a new car or won’t buy one new because of the instant depreciation. Currently if you’re car shopping, the EV market is sparse. I should know because I was looking for a used one last year and the options sucked.
I’m in Canada so our EV incentives and infrastructure is extremely poor. I was looking at a second vehicle since my wife and I have shared one but we live somewhere with zero public transit and I can’t ride my dirtbike comfortably in -20 to do groceries (I tried).
All I could find were some Konas and Mach Es. I wasn’t opposed to either in theory but their prices were equivalent to brand new gas cars and these were 4-5 years old with 60-150k km on them…
It’s still sparse but there are options now, I’ve finally switched to electric by getting a Peugeot e208 from 2020, didn’t cost me anything when trading in my ford focus estate from late 2018, once accounting for some special tax stuff I benefit from and the government rebate.
Does it have as much space and range as a new model Y? Of course not, but it was also 37% of the cost and I cannot tell you how fucking happy I am zipping around in my small-ish electric car, it’s perfect for the roads and cities I go in, never need to worry about range while doing normal living and I just did a multi-country trip in it with all my equipment and while I did wish for an extra 30min of highway speed before needing to plug, it was still totally fine. The Ford would start to fail when on the Belgian and French hilly highways, this one didn’t peep despite the full load.
That started to happen in just the last year. Used 2022 Teslas are going for under $25k. A big one is car rental outfits like Hertz. They cycle out their cars every few years and they bought a bunch of Teslas that are now hitting the used market.
I hope so, but I honestly doubt it.
The cheapest EV here in W-EUR is still 30ish K, and government subsidies are ending this year. I drive a 50K EV mercedes but it’s a company car. I could never afford one of my own. I assume 2/3rds of my compatrions to be in somewhat the same boat.
I might also just be fucking poor and underestimating by how much though.
The cheapest EV here in W-EUR is still 30ish K, and government subsidies are ending this year.
China has $5k EVs, it’s not a technical problem causing EVs to all be expensive.
Poor or rich, people on the whole will choose the more affordable option.
Ehhh, (at least in the US) considering the cost of living and insurmountable debt so many young people get into these days due to lack of financial education… even a $20k car loan can still be out of the question for a median salary, assuming a decent budget split recommended by most financial advisors because hardly anyone has adequate savings or emergency funds. But yet so so many people in their 20s and 30s with tens of thousands of debt end up getting loans for $50-$60k cars. It takes a lot to afford a $30k car and there’s like… 2??? EV options anywhere near that price here. And while the used market continues to improve, there’s still just not enough options that make financial sense, especially as subsidies die down in many areas.
Lol, news article in Toronto today, people being burned alive in a Tesla, as they couldn’t open doors. Careful what you wish for.
Not really representative of most electric cars
And the driver was reportedly doing over 120MPH when he slammed into the concrete pillar. Maybe the doors wouldn’t open because the car crumpled like a tin can at that speed. This is precisely why “the jaws of life” exist.
I do think Tesla has unsafe door latches whether that was the issue in this particular crash or not. But that design issue is unrelated to electric vehicle technology
My 17 year old truck when it was new cost half of what electric vehicles cost. I will switch to electric eventually but this’ll probably take around 25 years.
Are you accounting for inflation? 17 years ago is a while
Ignoring the math on inflation and maintenance and fuel …all make this seem like a disingenuous comment.
It cost me 10k when I bought it used and the cheapest electric truck is well past 100k. My point still stands. EVs are way out my price range.
While you’re absolutely right about the sticker prices, after 17 years of use, an EV truck (had they existed that long) would probably have been cheaper to own.
