Many Americans still aren’t sold on going electric for their next car purchase. A poll shows high prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations are major sticking points.
Even if we made enough to buy them, the infrastructure is still not great to support the people who need them most. Live in an apartment? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have chargers nearby but for millions of Americans they can’t charge at home. If I have to go somewhere to charge that adds time to my commute either to work or on the way home. If I’m already spending an hour or more on the road each day just in commute time that 15 minute charge every other day or what have you adds up.
More people need to feel comfortable asking for chargers in their apartments’ meetings. As one lady was scared of being chewed out for supporting new technology.
I don’t disagree with that but I have never been to an apartment meeting in my life. I have lived in apartments for the last 15 or so years, and most of them have been owned by huge conglomerates who barely fix amenities when they break. I waited on a tap for my tub for about a week, a replacement garbage disposal for about 6 months. The drain for the pet grooming shed was flooded for about 2 months before they did anything about it at the most recent place. They let the gutters freeze and fall off the building during the winter and didn’t replace them til 8 months later. EV chargers are just not something I think the management would even care about unless it’s making them money. And even then they’d weigh that against the number of people living there who drive EV’s and probably decide against it.
I have a few friends with EVs who live in apartments. Some people can charge at work or while shopping. When nothing lines up, sitting at a supercharger once every few weeks isn’t terrible.
Depends on their lifestyle a whole lot. That’s the point. If you’re single with no kids? Doesn’t seem like spending 20 minutes a week to charge is a lot. If your commute is about 20 minutes each way? That may be fairly reasonable. My husband drives 71 miles each way per day 5 days a week. He can’t charge at work and there are no chargers in the area. Our apartment complex doesn’t have chargers. The closest ones are a 15-20 minute drive away and always packed. This is what I mean when I say it’s doable for some but not for all or even a majority.
You get used to it. I was the same before i became a field tech. Now, i could casually drive from Naples to Miami (100+ miles one way) and back without a second thought if i wanted something
Honestly, as a person who just bought an EV (used 2017 Model S, battery warranty expires Dec. 2026) it’s more comfortable in a million ways, and at times it is cheaper (level 2 charging, DCFC on superchargers are sometimes more expensive than gas, 0.39c per kwh versus $3.28/gal is pretty close according to tessie), but without hone or work charging, might as well get a plugin hybrid. I lose so much time waiting at superchargers. Nonetheless, i could never see myself returning to full gas.
Comfortable compared to what? That’s subjective. So unless you’ve got some kind of consumer data to back up what most people want and how they feel about it, I’m just gonna say that’s not super helpful. Especially when considering the other problems that I have with new cars altogether.
Naturally it’s subjective, but i compare it to driving my Uncle’s Cadillac, but if you’re so concerned, just watch a quick video on how to use the car and rent a Tesla or something for a day and see how it goes, make up your mind for itself. Im not here to be an evangelist. Im just speaking my mind.if you don’t like it, then that’s on you, choose what you want
I have driven almost every Tesla and literally every single Ford electric and hybrid vehicle they have made. My brother works for a dealership. There’s lots of things I don’t like about electric cars full stop but a fair few of those things aren’t unique to just the electric car market up to and including the amount of tech in all new cars which I am very much against. I have made up my mind for myself.
If you meant for the average consumer to make up their mind for themselves, I’m definitely with you on that. But I don’t understand why the “it works for me crowd” don’t want to admit that it may not work for everyone or even the majority. And that’s what I’m responding to. It’s not just you. There are a lot of people who don’t want to listen to anyone who says there are downsides that make it untenable for them.
Aren’t you just venting on me then? Because please reread my initial post beyond the word comfort, where I literally voice my complaints on my car and mention when one should choose a plug-in hybrid vehicle, but I still love my car. How i complained that electricity at superchargers is almost the same as my previous gas costs. So please calm down and drink some water or something sir. I literally just spoke my experiences, nothing more, and am genuinely uninterested in long arguments where the client has implicitly made up their mind already. Im a random dude in Florida who drives for a living. Not a car salesman.
You know, I think it’s not as bad as this anymore. While one of the best convenient features of EVs is waking up to them charges every day, not having that and having to use public charging isn’t necessarily different than having to get gas.
I do have EVs but I also have a motorcycle. I hate filling it up because where I live waiting in line for the pump is a 15 minute ordeal usually. The few times I’ve used public charging around here that’s about how long it took for me to get it done.
My work does have chargers, but they are expensive so I don’t use them.
Here’s my point:
You have to charge roughly as often as you need to get gas. If you don’t have access to a charger where you live it’s still worth it because it’s so much cheaper, even if it’s slightly inconvenient. If you don’t have fast chargers near you though I doubt this works.
I just went back and looked at my charging stats, and for two cars I’m averaging between $38-$42 / month since 2022.
Road trip supercharger costs are higher, averaging $14 per stop.
Even if we made enough to buy them, the infrastructure is still not great to support the people who need them most. Live in an apartment? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have chargers nearby but for millions of Americans they can’t charge at home. If I have to go somewhere to charge that adds time to my commute either to work or on the way home. If I’m already spending an hour or more on the road each day just in commute time that 15 minute charge every other day or what have you adds up.
More people need to feel comfortable asking for chargers in their apartments’ meetings. As one lady was scared of being chewed out for supporting new technology.
I don’t disagree with that but I have never been to an apartment meeting in my life. I have lived in apartments for the last 15 or so years, and most of them have been owned by huge conglomerates who barely fix amenities when they break. I waited on a tap for my tub for about a week, a replacement garbage disposal for about 6 months. The drain for the pet grooming shed was flooded for about 2 months before they did anything about it at the most recent place. They let the gutters freeze and fall off the building during the winter and didn’t replace them til 8 months later. EV chargers are just not something I think the management would even care about unless it’s making them money. And even then they’d weigh that against the number of people living there who drive EV’s and probably decide against it.
I’ve lived in many apartments and they barely meet their lease obligations let alone give a rat’s ass about my opinion on any matter.
I have a few friends with EVs who live in apartments. Some people can charge at work or while shopping. When nothing lines up, sitting at a supercharger once every few weeks isn’t terrible.
Depends on their lifestyle a whole lot. That’s the point. If you’re single with no kids? Doesn’t seem like spending 20 minutes a week to charge is a lot. If your commute is about 20 minutes each way? That may be fairly reasonable. My husband drives 71 miles each way per day 5 days a week. He can’t charge at work and there are no chargers in the area. Our apartment complex doesn’t have chargers. The closest ones are a 15-20 minute drive away and always packed. This is what I mean when I say it’s doable for some but not for all or even a majority.
That commute should be illegal.
I move every time I have more than a 15 minute commute. Spending that much time driving is seriously mind-boggling.
You get used to it. I was the same before i became a field tech. Now, i could casually drive from Naples to Miami (100+ miles one way) and back without a second thought if i wanted something
Same. I would love an electric vehicle, but I don’t see how that could possibly work out with my commute and no charger options at home or at work.
Honestly, as a person who just bought an EV (used 2017 Model S, battery warranty expires Dec. 2026) it’s more comfortable in a million ways, and at times it is cheaper (level 2 charging, DCFC on superchargers are sometimes more expensive than gas, 0.39c per kwh versus $3.28/gal is pretty close according to tessie), but without hone or work charging, might as well get a plugin hybrid. I lose so much time waiting at superchargers. Nonetheless, i could never see myself returning to full gas.
Comfortable compared to what? That’s subjective. So unless you’ve got some kind of consumer data to back up what most people want and how they feel about it, I’m just gonna say that’s not super helpful. Especially when considering the other problems that I have with new cars altogether.
Naturally it’s subjective, but i compare it to driving my Uncle’s Cadillac, but if you’re so concerned, just watch a quick video on how to use the car and rent a Tesla or something for a day and see how it goes, make up your mind for itself. Im not here to be an evangelist. Im just speaking my mind.if you don’t like it, then that’s on you, choose what you want
I have driven almost every Tesla and literally every single Ford electric and hybrid vehicle they have made. My brother works for a dealership. There’s lots of things I don’t like about electric cars full stop but a fair few of those things aren’t unique to just the electric car market up to and including the amount of tech in all new cars which I am very much against. I have made up my mind for myself.
If you meant for the average consumer to make up their mind for themselves, I’m definitely with you on that. But I don’t understand why the “it works for me crowd” don’t want to admit that it may not work for everyone or even the majority. And that’s what I’m responding to. It’s not just you. There are a lot of people who don’t want to listen to anyone who says there are downsides that make it untenable for them.
Aren’t you just venting on me then? Because please reread my initial post beyond the word comfort, where I literally voice my complaints on my car and mention when one should choose a plug-in hybrid vehicle, but I still love my car. How i complained that electricity at superchargers is almost the same as my previous gas costs. So please calm down and drink some water or something sir. I literally just spoke my experiences, nothing more, and am genuinely uninterested in long arguments where the client has implicitly made up their mind already. Im a random dude in Florida who drives for a living. Not a car salesman.
You know, I think it’s not as bad as this anymore. While one of the best convenient features of EVs is waking up to them charges every day, not having that and having to use public charging isn’t necessarily different than having to get gas.
I do have EVs but I also have a motorcycle. I hate filling it up because where I live waiting in line for the pump is a 15 minute ordeal usually. The few times I’ve used public charging around here that’s about how long it took for me to get it done.
My work does have chargers, but they are expensive so I don’t use them.
Here’s my point:
You have to charge roughly as often as you need to get gas. If you don’t have access to a charger where you live it’s still worth it because it’s so much cheaper, even if it’s slightly inconvenient. If you don’t have fast chargers near you though I doubt this works.
I just went back and looked at my charging stats, and for two cars I’m averaging between $38-$42 / month since 2022.
Road trip supercharger costs are higher, averaging $14 per stop.