Electric cars and trucks are great... except when they aren't.
For starters, most are rated for about 350 miles per charge... however, it you can find a "quick charge" station... it takes anywhere from 75 minutes (for small cars) up to 2 hours to "quick charge" your battery. Also, using a quick charger, you can only power the battery to 80%... or about 270 miles. If you are on a long trip... you have to stop every 4 hours to charge the battery for at least 75 minutes (IF someone else isn't already using the quick charger first).
Charging the battery using quick charge sounds like fun... until you realize that it costs nearly twice what gasoline would cost to go the same distance.
If you use home charging, which can take 10 hours or so... the electricity usage costs roughly the same as gasoline to go the same distance.
The only way this makes sense for government vehicles is if they are only used locally (in a city or town) and driven less than 150 miles per day. Otherwise... stick with gasoline or diesel.
I only somewhat agree with this. I had the opportunity to go on a reasonably long trip in a Tesla. I had to stop for charging 3 times (trip was maybe 700-800mi). Charging took maybe 20-25 min each time, electricity was maybe 30% cheaper than gas. I'll also say it was a very fun drive, instant torque is amazing!
With that being said you are fully correct on home charging taking forever, this doesn't seem practical for government vehicles, there are concerns such as if the grid goes down you're fucked. The cars are too computerized for my liking, and there's nothing you can do yourself in terms of repairs.
I loved the car, it was a great experience, but I won't be buying one unless I'm ever in the situation where I have a spare $40k laying around with nothing better to do with it, and it's a second vehicle.
They take longer to charge than a combustion vehicle would take to fill the tank, for sure. At least for Tesla it's usually along the lines of 10-30 minutes for a charge. You can charge to 100% at a DC fast charger, but charging is fastest from 20-80% so most people try to keep it there between charges on a road trip.
For day-to-day local driving you just charge overnight when the vehicle isn't in use. Home charging can take up to 10 hours if you're charging from close to zero, depending on your vehicle and equipment. It's usually faster with a higher amperage EVSE. Neither situation costs more than gasoline in any market that I can think of.
EVs have plenty of disadvantages, but if you're going to highlight them, get it right. :) They require more planning than traditional vehicles. Cold weather can impact range a lot, especially without said planning. The initial purchase cost is higher.
They also have lower maintenance costs. That doesn't mean much to most people who are willing to pay the higher up front costs, but with lower maintenance cost comes lower maintenance effort. You just don't have to do much to them. The performance on many models is just insane. It's a pleasant driving experience.
THAT SAID, let the free market take care of it. We don't need to be regulated or incentivized into buying EVs or any of this green energy bullshit. Tesla keeps selling more and more and Elon became the richest person on earth, long after their tax incentives/subsidies ran out.
Electric cars and trucks are great... except when they aren't.
For starters, most are rated for about 350 miles per charge... however, it you can find a "quick charge" station... it takes anywhere from 75 minutes (for small cars) up to 2 hours to "quick charge" your battery. Also, using a quick charger, you can only power the battery to 80%... or about 270 miles. If you are on a long trip... you have to stop every 4 hours to charge the battery for at least 75 minutes (IF someone else isn't already using the quick charger first).
Charging the battery using quick charge sounds like fun... until you realize that it costs nearly twice what gasoline would cost to go the same distance.
If you use home charging, which can take 10 hours or so... the electricity usage costs roughly the same as gasoline to go the same distance.
The only way this makes sense for government vehicles is if they are only used locally (in a city or town) and driven less than 150 miles per day. Otherwise... stick with gasoline or diesel.
I only somewhat agree with this. I had the opportunity to go on a reasonably long trip in a Tesla. I had to stop for charging 3 times (trip was maybe 700-800mi). Charging took maybe 20-25 min each time, electricity was maybe 30% cheaper than gas. I'll also say it was a very fun drive, instant torque is amazing!
With that being said you are fully correct on home charging taking forever, this doesn't seem practical for government vehicles, there are concerns such as if the grid goes down you're fucked. The cars are too computerized for my liking, and there's nothing you can do yourself in terms of repairs.
I loved the car, it was a great experience, but I won't be buying one unless I'm ever in the situation where I have a spare $40k laying around with nothing better to do with it, and it's a second vehicle.
The solution for that is to make gasoline more expensive.
Checkmate
They take longer to charge than a combustion vehicle would take to fill the tank, for sure. At least for Tesla it's usually along the lines of 10-30 minutes for a charge. You can charge to 100% at a DC fast charger, but charging is fastest from 20-80% so most people try to keep it there between charges on a road trip.
For day-to-day local driving you just charge overnight when the vehicle isn't in use. Home charging can take up to 10 hours if you're charging from close to zero, depending on your vehicle and equipment. It's usually faster with a higher amperage EVSE. Neither situation costs more than gasoline in any market that I can think of.
EVs have plenty of disadvantages, but if you're going to highlight them, get it right. :) They require more planning than traditional vehicles. Cold weather can impact range a lot, especially without said planning. The initial purchase cost is higher.
They also have lower maintenance costs. That doesn't mean much to most people who are willing to pay the higher up front costs, but with lower maintenance cost comes lower maintenance effort. You just don't have to do much to them. The performance on many models is just insane. It's a pleasant driving experience.
THAT SAID, let the free market take care of it. We don't need to be regulated or incentivized into buying EVs or any of this green energy bullshit. Tesla keeps selling more and more and Elon became the richest person on earth, long after their tax incentives/subsidies ran out.