Do you really think Trump will be alive when the polar ice caps melt though?
In China, new electric vehicles are making up almost half of all new vehicles sold.
In China, NEVs include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel cell vehicles.
China, like the US has a very large geography but a lot of the people live in clumps of urban and suburban areas.
If he works hard enough at it, sure. We’re already making fracking great again; it won’t take much more to supercharge our ability to melt Greenland.
They also have an extensive passenger rail system and more in-town transportation options, so a car isn’t the only way to go across the country or get around town.
The US has this artificial constraint where most households can only afford one or at most two cars, so at least one of them has to be able to do the long distance stuff (or so the thinking goes, at least).
The “just rent an ICE” line won’t work on a lot of people who are used to their car being not just a do-all transportation method but also an extension of their independence.
As much as people really love to hate on Tesla (and believe me, I too detest Musk), they have had this stuff figured out for 10+ years. If I want to go on a road trip in my Tesla, I put the destination into the car, or the phone app, or the website, and see what it says. There’s a good chance that is the total extent of planning required.
Just because of my personality I’d do planning around which chargers have the best lunch spots nearby and stuff, but realistically, I could get in the car and start driving on I-70, I-80, or I-25 and not worry about it, regardless of temperature.
It makes me detest Musk even more when I know my 7.5 year old car from some upstart Silicon Valley automaker outperforms newer cars from the largest auto makers in the world on convenience and usability. Tesla could have continued showing everyone what was possible, but instead degenerated into a company based on impressing 13 year olds with stupid jokes.
And as long as I’m talking about Tesla, and to make this post even longer… For many years Tesla dominated EV sales in the US. Tesla’s sales decline is going to cause a decline in US EV sales. I’m not suggesting people buy from Tesla (I really don’t think I will again), just because they still make a great EV, rather I’m saying I’m sad because Tesla has devote years of engineering towards stupid things, and the politics of its head rightly makes people avoid what might still be the best choice in cars.
As noted upthread, there was a spike in EV sales in Q3 2025, as buyers and dealers scrambled to complete purchases before the incentives expired on October 1st. Q4 sales were down dramatically – both versus Q3 2025, and Q4 2024 – but it’s likely that at least some of that was due to purchases which might otherwise have happened in Q4 being completed earlier to take advantage of the subsidies.
This quarter and next will tell the tale of whether buyers are still willing to buy EVs at the full price.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It does outline a case when EVs might not be ready for prime time.
I remember being in my sister’s Tesla Model S several years ago driving to Yosemite from LA, and even then we had concerns because of the rural charging stations showing potentially disabled (turns out they were doing some curb work near one of the outlets). I had range anxiety and I was just a passenger!
We’ve also been eyeing the 2026 Subaru Uncharted, which hasn’t come out yet. Most trims have AWD (typical for a Subaru) but the FWD trim has better range, naturally. And for the 2026 Leaf that we’re looking at, most reviewers looked at the top trim but that sacrificed nearly 30 miles of range over the next lower trim, probably due to larger tires. I love a loaded car, but not for that many miles of range lost!
Husband and I had fun driving from Woodland Hills to Pismo Beach years ago in his eGolf, which has maybe 85 miles of range! It was just a proof of concept. We take my 2017 Volt on road trips and after the first 50ish miles, it’s an efficient gas car rather than an EV, though it runs quiet. It’s been driven from LA to Wisconsin, from LA to Whistler, and from LA to El Paso and back. Great car.
But in those situations why can’t they use an EREV, which has a gasoline engine to charge the battery when it runs out?
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-an-erev
Exactly. It’s a tragic situation. When I was younger, I craved a Tesla way more than a Lotus or a Ferrari or Bugatti or whatever… it was the car to want. I swore I’d buy one as soon as I hit my midlife crisis. Even the Cybertruck was to me beautiful.
And then Musk decided to go off the deep end… so much for that dream.
It’s weird to me that he hasn’t already “faked” an exit from Tesla, like handing over the reins on paper in some public spectacle with Hollywood stars, promising a better future for all Americans or some such nonsense. As long as he’s still materially attached to it, it’s a toxic brand now for both sides of the political divide (how the hell did he manage that). I don’t know whether it’s ego or something keeping him personally attached to the brand… but what do I know, I’m not an ultrabillionnaire.
I just hope that Rivian, Slate, or Lucid can pick up the Tesla slack.
Yesbut- that is the average. SCE and PGE use a tiered rate- .30 for first 345KWH, .40 after that. So, charging your EV during the summer will be at the .40 rate.
So more like $11 for your 100 miles.
About $24000 in SoCal. And then there’s the $5000 extra you pay for the EV to start.
And of course, CA is the land of long drives.
Mind you- everyone I know that has an EV already had solar, which is not uncommon out here.
I like the concept of EVs, and if some rich person installed solar for us, we’d certainly consider one. But hybrids seem the compromise solution.
So I am not arguing against EVs. Great idea, more people should own one. But they are not for everyone.
Right. It is the way to go for many.
Due to massive subsidies that can make them the same price as a gas car. About 18-20% of the price is subsidized. That usually gets rid of the price difference.
They may not even realize that such a creature exists. It would not surprise me if they believe that all EVs are purely electric, and that the only way to charge the battery in an EV is by plugging it in.
My understanding is that there aren’t a lot of EREVs currently offered here; this article only mentions a couple, along with a larger number which will be on the market in the next year or two.
https://insideevs.com/features/786506/every-erev-extended-range-ev-america-2026/
I’m on the waiting list too for an Uncharted too — I keep bugging my dealer about it — but if you haven’t had a chance yet, you should read some of the existing Solterra owner experiences (both good and bad) on https://www.solterraforum.com/. I love our Solterra as a car, but as an EV, it’s not a particularly good one (one of the worst on the market, actually).
The 2026 models have some significant improvements in hardware, which I hope will help remedy some of the shortcomings.
But there also some areas that I’m skeptical will be improved, especially in software where Toyota/Subaru are way, way, WAY behind Tesla or even other automakers. Their app is completely broken, for example, digital keys don’t work, Android Auto is pretty unreliable, the UI is janky and slow… anyway. I’m probably going to still get one because I love the way they handle (more like a heavy, bottom-heavy Subaru than a light EV), but there are a lot of shortcomings you should be aware of before getting one.
Especially if you don’t need AWD, there are many much longer-range and faster-charging EVs (the Kias and Hyundais are whooping Toyota on that front… to say nothing of BYD).
Personally, I’d still choose the Subaru because of some misplaced sense of brand loyalty, but I’d probably only lease it for a few years (mostly to see if solid state batteries actually do reach the US).
They can! Which is part of the reason why manufacturers are moving towards those instead of BEVs.
Sorry, this thread kinda blew up overnight and there’s a lot of rapid cross-posting, so I’m slowly working through them and there might be some messages getting crossed.
My original OP didn’t distinguish between BEVs and PHEVs and EREVs.
I think all types of EVs are at some risk, but it is specifically BEVs whose viability I worry about the most. I am not betting on their continued survival here 
I do think PHEVs and EREVs etc. will continue to be sold here, but not significantly displace ICE either.
It doesn’t mean that electric motor tech or hybrid drivetrains are dead. It does mean, IMHO, that a mostly-electrified future and the climate goals that required it is impossible now. From a driving perspective PHEVs and EREVs are good enough, but from an air pollution or climate standpoint they’re not really the same thing.
Yes, I was hoping the Uncharted and other newer models would be an improvement in technology over the rebranded Toyota that is the Solterra (too big for us anyway). Toyota never seemed to be too into EVs and was dragged kicking and screaming to the market. Husband (whose car we’re replacing) does have a bit of brand loyalty to Subaru and maybe Toyota from his Australia days. I like the look of the Uncharted.
However, I think our next car will be a Leaf. It’s ticking some boxes for me. We have a bit of time to decide. His eGolf is now 10 years old and showing some signs of battery degradation. He’s outsourcing most of the research to me as it’s really “our” car now that we’re retired.
What about Edison’s Time of Use rates?
They’re still just rebranded Toyotas, FYI. The Uncharted is just the Toyota C-HR+ (why do their cars all sound like synthetic chemicals). The Subaru Trailblazer is just the Toyota bZ Woodland. The as-yet-unnamed upcoming Subaru 3-row BEV SUV is just the Toyota Highlander.
Toyota partially owns Subaru and they collaborated on their EV platform. Subaru was just starting development on their own in-house EV platform, but Trump killed that. Subaru is actually facing a huge writeoff because of that, and it may impact their ability to stay afloat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef2BQe6IW1w
As with many automakers, their bets on BEV during the Biden era totally backfired once Trump took power. At least Toyota still has their extensive hybrid expertise to fall back on. The Subaru hybrids kinda suck.
I keep hearing conflicting reports about whether Nissan is in financial trouble, which makes me worried about the future of the Leaf. Any thoughts on that?
Bills may be higher during the summer but overall annual energy costs can be lower.
Not many people I know like that rate. Because around here, often it gets cooler at night, so with windows and fans you can often turn the AC off, but during the day, you have to use it.
But I guess if you only charge your EV at night, it could be better.
I dunno, there are still a lot of Nissans. I’m driving a car that was discontinued after MY2019, but I guess that’s different (they’re still doing warranty service on my sister’s Volt). And, EVs aren’t as technically complex as ICE cars.
Nissan did make a bit effort to promote the 2026 Leaf to the media. Still, they have inventory so it’s not the hottest car out there, for sure. I still haven’t seen one in the wild but we saw some parked in a big lot when we were on Amtrak last weekend.
The TOU rates can sometimes be a trap, too. They’re not always favorable to homeowners. You can be grandfathered into an older plan, but if you (say) install solar, that may force you to become metered under a TOU plan, and sometimes that can significantly increase your rates — especially if you don’t change your usage habits, but sometimes even if you do.
The utilities (especially in CA) are fighting home solar very, VERY hard because it’s causing major grid instability, and the payback rates are getting worse every year while electricity prices are skyrocketing. The California electricity regulator just kinda shrugged and bent over, and after the PG&E wildfires, electricity got a whoooole lot more expensive in some parts of the state. It’s kinda nuts.
CA used to be the best state to have an EV in, but now it’s one of the worst (in terms of prices, at least… they still have a massive advantage in charging networks).
We are in the hottest part of Los Angeles, so AC is absolutely necessary in the summer. And when we were commuting, we programmed both of our cars to charge overnight only. Not difficult.
Our electric bill didn’t go up that much when we got our EVs. And I had a 60 mile round trip weekday commute.
YMMV - we’re on LADWP’s TOU rates, not Edison (which is used a mile away from here).
The PUC is almost a rubber stamp for the utilities. I often laugh and cry over the routine of “PGE is fined megabucks for being the cause of a fire, then they run crying to the PUC, which gives them a rate increase”. So the people who pay that fine are the consumers, not the shareholders or executives.
That seems counterintuitive to me. Home solar should reduce demand from the grid and along the transmission infrastructure exactly when reducing such is most beneficial, at peak daytime usage hours.
Okay I get that when the sun sets there may be a spike up in demand straining a system in the evening, absent local battery storage built in to homes to buffer it. But at worst that peak is what the system would been needing to produce in that time period if no home solar had existed.
)I’ve been long awaiting a roll out of consumers leaving their EVs plugged in and available, for a fee, as a distributed battery bank for brief grid balancing needs, buffering in both directions.)