Disgust at the CEO’s rightwing activism is casting a pall but conservatives are no more likely to buy EVs
US liberals have become so disgusted with Tesla since Elon Musk’s rightward turn that they are now not only far less likely to purchase the car brand but also less willing to buy any type of electric car, new research has found.
The popularity of Tesla among liberal-minded Americans has plummeted since Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and the world’s richest person, allied himself with Donald Trump and helped propel the president to election victory last year.
While liberals reported mostly positive intentions around buying an electric car in August 2023, their overall support for EVs eroded in the wake of a collapse in their opinion of Teslas, according to the new study, which polled Americans on an array of environmental actions.
Ill buy an EV when they can make one that has a decent range but also doesnt weigh 4 tons and cost $80k. As someone still driving what used to be a normal sized car 20 years ago, these monstrosities need to go.
Weve solved the issue of ICE pollution and created a million other problems. More pollution from tire wear, more pollution from battery waste, more pollution from producing giant battery sleds. More pollution from having to repave roads more often due to all these EVs weighing as much as two ICE cars… makes an efficient ICE engine in a small car seem like way less of a problem by comparison, at least to me
I just saw a post for a 2024 Honda Prologue EX EV with 1600 miles at a real car dealer for $25K.
It’s about harm reduction. Yes, heavy vehicles are hard on tires and suspension components. They also have no engine oil or power steering fluid, and much longer coolant change intervals. And, of course, no tailpipe emissions.
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
For me a PHEV is the sweet spot at current tech levels. I use zero gasoline for my daily commute, but I can go on a long trip anytime I want without worrying about charging station availability.
Yeah, we got a PHEV in 2022 and we love it. I do wish it had a bit more EV range, I end up with range anxiety driving to my in-laws’ in the next city over, but otherwise it’s fantastic.
Why would you have any range anxiety? A plug in hybrid eliminates that.
It’s not real range anxiety. It’s “can we make it without using gas” range anxiety. When we first got the car, and hadn’t yet taken it on any long trips, we were anal about trying to maximize our “lifetime” gas mileage for the vehicle. We had it up over 200mpg at one point! But that meant trying to find chargers everywhere.
(After a few long trips tanked that value down to something more reasonable, we don’t care as much. I still try to charge whenever I can though.)
Once something like slate trucks catches on it might make a difference. A vehicle shouldn’t cost more than your annual wages.
I don’t think Slate has a chance to hit that price point anymore. The Trump administration is cutting EV incentives and Slate has started changing their wording on the price. Now Slate lists it as “mid twenties”. That’s a lot to pay for a small vehicle with no features.
Their configurator with max spec is like $30k. If they can hit under $30k at release on a base model, I am interested. A base model Civic is $25k MSRP, a model 3 is $35k, and a Nissan Leaf is $30k.
I would be glad to be an early adopter in the hopes they can come out with an extended cab AWD with 400 miles of range that I can later swap to.
“Max spec” is closer to base specs on other vehicles. That 30k is likely an optimistic number. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not expecting much from Slate. Maybe they’ll drive enough buzz to get the market to realize there is a demand for smaller, more affordable vehicles.
If Tesla can hit $35k with all crap they put in them, I am feeling optimistic about slate.
The kei truck popularity is enough of a display that we want tiny trucks, and with states trying to ban Kei trucks it presents a nice opportunity for the slate to do well.
That’s the neat part, they can’t. That $35k they advertise is with the $7500 rebate already applied. Remove that and the price is $42,500.
There are used chevy bolts for about $20k, they have around 300 mile range, they weigh around 3,500lbs.
Virtually all road damage is from heavy trucks and plows. The weight of two ice cars is still practically nothing compared to those.
Tires are a problem that need to be solved, microrubbers are going to be the leaded gas of our generation.
EVs actually shed less tire and brake dust.
https://ev.com/news/study-reveals-evs-produce-less-brake-and-tire-pollution-with-fewer-non-exhaust-emissions
https://insideevs.com/news/767017/brake-dust-emissions-evs-better/
Have you actually looked at the EV market, or is this informed by vibes? Most EVs are sedan sized and reasonably priced, especially compared to all the $100,000 trucks Americans love to buy.
Hyundai makes excellent EVs.
I have a Chevy Bolt EUV, ~400km range, weighs 1.6 metric tons and cost 36K USD for a trim with most of the bells and whistles.
I don’t drive myself but my wife uses it for a 7 hr drive a couple times a year just fine.