ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE A HOAX

“Electric vehicles are the future”. This sheep behavior is a result of over-optimism and lack of practicality and insight. I am no planet hater. I believe that EVs won’t be the first choice of customers for the foreseeable future. Saying the word car and everyone thinks of a car that runs on gasoline, not an outlandish Tesla with falcon doors.

This hiccup is driven and fueled by a lack of charging infrastructure, the high purchase price of the vehicle and unawareness about the product. However, the biggest hurdle is the battery itself. Like our phones, it starts degrading their battery the moment we take off their plastic covers.

Lithium-ion is the main component of a battery, with a tendency to degrade sharply after the first 5 years of its use. With people holding onto their cars for longer than ever, this is not a promising prospect. Companies have tried to eliminate these problems by offering warranties but that isn’t enough. Technology takes its own sweet time to develop.

The rat race to electrify the entire line-up of cars is purely based on falsehood and market sentiment. By using electric cars as a marketing stunt to show people how “eco-friendly” they are, we are ultimately looking like buffoons. Volvo recently revealed that it emits roughly 70% more carbon to produce an XC40 Recharge than the fuel-guzzling counterpart. The very fact beats the very point of having EVs in the first place. The problem of environmental pollution is bone deep yet electric cars only augment it. If Mr. Musk really cared for the environment, then his Boring Company would not be digging up the Earth’s crust. Metals such as Lithium-ion would not be able to meet the demand even for the next 10 years simply because it is rare to find.

EVs miss the whole point if the electricity in their battery is produced from burning fossil fuels and coal. This means that the transition to EVs will cease even before it begins at a mass scale.

Claims by manufacturers are scarcely met. You can’t extract the claimed range out of an electric car just like you can’t have a mileage of 30 km/l. Electric vehicles currently being sold in India should be considered only for city commutes. We are yet to reach a level where we can make Delhi-Mumbai trips with only 2 stops. (aren’t you crazy excited for the new expressway though?) Charging stations are being developed at a swift pace but the car’s unsophisticated and mediocre charging speeds do not allow them to fill up quickly. And let’s be honest you can’t be taking 30-minute coffee breaks after every 200kms. It also robs away a sense of calmness and pleasure that one associates with driving, with eyes glued to the digital instrument cluster and air conditioning to preserve the battery. Frankly, with so much range anxiety we would be better off using public transport. The thought of being stranded on the side of the road with your battery depleted is the worst thought an EV owner can conjure.

We are lured by manufacturers into giving credence to the acceleration figures. Ask yourself - “When was the last time I launched my mass-market car from 0-100?” Yes the Tesla Model S Plaid can make you pee your pants every single time but is it worth 100,000 $? In places like India where taxes are space(X) high, it would cost 200,000$ or more. When you compare 100,000$ Tesla to a 100,000$ 7 Series, it resonates even more that you don’t get any kind of luxury inside a Tesla. I would refrain from making the 2nd biggest investment of my life on an electric car for now.

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