Musk was adamant that low cost EVs were a waste of time. But high quality low cost EVs have a chance to change the world for the better.
Musk was adamant that low cost EVs were a waste of time. But high quality low cost EVs have a chance to change the world for the better.
I think low cost EVs are the perfect vehicles for the electric transitions. You needed some flagship model like the Tesla Roadsters at first to make EVs cool, but a cheap EV means you can have it as second vehicle for a family and don’t have to worry about range anxiety, because you still have your monster gas guzzler available.
Then, over time, you realize you never use the monster gas guzzler anymore because 99% of your trips are well withing EV range. The main problem, then, is that nobody will want your monster gas guzzler any longer.
This is my exact use-case. I want a sub-compact EV SUV (because of ground clearance due to shitty roads) as a daily driver, but I also want to keep my gas car for my occasional 3-hour drives to neighboring cities to watch concerts. Not having to stop to charge so I can get home by 1AM on a weekday is convenient.
And if the charging network improves and you’re able to charge while grabbing dinner or parked at the concert, bada bing bada boom
Might a PHEV suit your requirements?
I was considering that, but a friend of mine gave a good argument that a PHEV also gives you double the issues, that of a gas car and an EV. So it might be better to just go for either a full gas or full EV car so you only have problems for one type of vehicle. But if you could only afford one, for sure a PHEV is a very interesting option.
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I would argue that plug in hybrids are the better transition vehicle since they eliminate range anxiety while showing the public just how cheap driving an EV can be, since 80-90% of trips could be electric only.
Unfortunately, PHEVs are actually way more expensive than EVs in some cases. We were looking at some Toyotas recently, then fully EV kias. Probably due to the ICE and EV drivetrains.
I got myself a plug-in hybrid for that very reason - but I am single. I would think a couple with kids would probably prefer a dual vehicle setup where one is long range (hybrid potentially counts) and the other one a cheap EV for running daily errands.
Right now, batteries are so expensive that they eclipse the weirdness of having two separate engines in a car. I would think we’ll soon see much cheaper batteries, and then the cheap EV will potentially end up being a lot cheaper than a hybrid.