There have noticeably been more and more electric cars in. In fact, electric cars accounted for 13% of new vehicle registrations in California in 2018. The majority have been Tesla’s Model 3, which made up 39% of Bay Area’s new electric vehicles, making us question the good and the bad behind the increase of electric vehicles.
CO2 emission from vehicles has been a huge issue, which has caused the government to create more initiatives to increase the development of electric vehicles. The government has given some $7500 federal tax credit and a $2,500 rebate from California. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has additionally given EV owners an $800 rebate. Clean air vehicles also get the privilege of using the car-pool lane in California, creating an easier commute for many.
Electric car’s range has increased to more than 200 or even 300 miles. Tesla has created a new long-range Model S, which can travel up to 390 miles per charge. With so many miles on a single charge, drivers have been more incentivized to buy a new electric vehicle. While the number of electric vehicles has increased, the number of charging stations has also increased. Chargers have been at a low cost or even free in some cases. Many of these charging stations are near restaurants or malls, so drivers can relax before hitting the road again.
However, while the increase in electric vehicles has been allowing a new hopeful change in commuting, there are also some negative effects. Although electric vehicles have no emission, car batteries release harmful fumes. There has currently been no solution to recycling car batteries, so it has also been contributing to pollution in a different way. In addition, electric vehicles are generally very expensive, with the average cost being at around $55k, compared to the average cost of a car running on gas at around $33k.
Overall, the increase in options from the car industry has created an increase in electrical vehicles. Although the increase can lessen the amount of CO2 emissions, there are also many problems associated with these vehicles.
Sources:
https://www.moneyunder30.com/true-cost-of-owning-a-car
https://electrek.co/2020/02/19/tesla-110-kwh-battery-pack-400-miles-range/
https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/electric-vehicle-market-209371461.html
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Driven-by-Tesla-s-Model-3-electric-car-sales-14001829.php
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-08-31/electric-vehicles-in-california-their-day-will-come-suddenly
You brought up an interesting point about the increase in charging stations. I wonder what the charging situation is in other places - outside of Silicon Valley. As the demand for electric vehicles goes up, so does the supply of chargers; it is inelastic because if one has an electric vehicle, they need a charger. While people in Silicon Valley can afford electric, luxury vehicles (like the Tesla), that is not the case in many other places. It would be interesting to see the difference in electric vehicles in other places as well as charging stations/ price to charge.
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