Americans are losing interest in electric cars, polling shows | The percent of Americans who own or are interested in owning an EV has dropped eight points since 2023.

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I blame Elon Musk, who has done incredible damage not only to his own brand, but to the idea of EVs.

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The planned charging infrastructure just not coming to fruition is probably a contributor. We bought an EV (not a Tesla) in 2021 and while we like it a lot, range anxiety is definitely a thing. There's some places where if we want to go there, we have to take 30+ minute detours to find a charging station.
- It's basically that and the stupid high prices of EVs and cars in general. People assume that EVs cost too much and don't even bother to look at the options.
  But when I researched gently-used EVs I found that the prices weren't so bad. I could have gotten a fairly new (1 to 3 yrs old) EV for the 20-30k ballpark but I did not because there's no chargers in my town. Instead we got a PHEV and charge at home, driving on gas for longer trips.
  
  Interesting. The place that matters for chargers is usually home, where people install their own — public chargers are basically for when you're on a road trip, and wouldn't have charged up the night before.
  
  20-30k is massively outside of the price range of many Americans, who rely on buying older used vehicles for sub $10k.
  
  When we need to get another car (which hopefully won't be for a while), we'll definitely go the PHEV route.
  The EV we bought was 42k new, but we were able to take advantage of 10k in government rebates (which were the only reason we went new instead of used - the rebates were not available on used ones; the end result was that it cost about the same as a used one would have in our area.) Those rebates obviously aren't available anymore, though, which makes them considerably less palatable.
  
  Not having public chargers where you live shouldn’t be a factor. You’d be charging at home. The real issue is where the public chargers are along your lengthy routes traveled.

I wonder: how much it is genuine loss of interest, and how much of it is the result of a president who’s sending mixed messages about EVs? Sure, he had that ridiculous ad for Tesla on the White House lawn, but he also ended plans for expanding the federal charging system. Mango Mussolini loves fossil fuels, thinks climate science is bullshit, and isn’t shy about saying so.
- Yeah I can't help but think this. I'm in the UK and 5 years-ish ago I bought an ICE, I couldn't really afford an EV at the rime, but a big part of my thinking was that I didn't expect the conservative government to do much to support the transition.
  EVs require new infrastructure, and people need to trust that's gonna be built.

Give me a 20k(CAD) EV that I can run around town in with 400km of range or so and I'll be happy as a Clam. Instead they want 45k for the cheapest EVs, no thanks.

You can only go so far with overpriced SUVs. Put out products across all price-points and use-cases and you'll see interest go up. Especially if gas prices spike.

I will never be able to afford an EV. The last used car I bought cost $2k, and the one before that was $500. Used EVs are ten times that.

Gimme 4 wheels, battery, motor(s), and no Internet connection for under $20k used and you'll have my attention. EVs are expensive and a privacy nightmare.

More about Elon being a nazi than anything else

I've lost interest in all cars made after 2014, what with the surveillance and all.

I was lucky to spend $5,000 as a down payment to get a $12,000 car for an $18,000 loan a couple of years ago. What makes anyone think I can afford an EV? I wouldn’t even have anywhere to charge it at my apartment complex.
Now, I did spend $1,700 on an e-bike as well. That lasted about as long as the job I lived five miles from did, and now the bike collects dust in a closet because I don’t have the time or energy to ride on my personal time.
Until our cities in the US are designed for alternative modes of transport, ICE vehicles will rule the day. I’m not holding my breath waiting for anything to change, especially with 47 ruining the country.

Too damned expensive. I got a used luxury car for 27K early COVID, just before used car prices went nuts, after getting into a job making about 50K. I recently paid it off. I cannot reasonably afford or justify a vehicle that costs damn near a years salary or more (minimum) that also limits where i am able to travel and live (charger infrastructure).
That's not even getting into the software and spyware nightmare new vehicles are today.

Jokes on you. I never had interest in EV.
Make charging accessible (it’s not) and maybe things will change. Until then fuck off.

EVs were always a way to save the auto Industry, not a way to solve the climate crisis. Add them to the list of greenwashing grifts (carbon footprint, plastic recycling, hydrogen fuel cell cars, etc) and move on to the real solution: bike infrastructure and mass transit, with cars as an absolute last resort until they can be eliminated.
EVs solve one of the numerous problems with cars, and make some of the others much worse. People should have seen EVs as a grift the whole time, it just took the biggest grifter to blow his cover to start making it obvious.
- False narrative.
  
  Not wanting something to be true doesn't make it false. Oh where have I heard people reject inconvenient truth before?

31 comments