3 votes

Austin Vernon on electric vehicles > hybrids

1 comment

  1. skybrian
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    Here's an argument for electric vehicles from someone who is technically knowledgeable but also pretty libertarian about it.

    Here's an argument for electric vehicles from someone who is technically knowledgeable but also pretty libertarian about it.

    I don’t agree with electric vehicle mandates or subsidies, but the recent push against pure battery electric vehicles from free market commentators is bizarre. The arguments against them because of mineral shortages, battery shortages, or manufacturing emissions completely abandon free market principles. These arguments will lead to failure because they are obviously wrong after minimal investigation.

    A more effective argument would be that electric cars are so popular and production is growing so fast that there is no need for mandates. The market will provide the goods through better technology, increased output, and substitution. A company like GM will have no chance of paying its debt if it doesn’t make compelling electric cars. Then hammer home use cases that make no sense for batteries, like a farmer that needs a semi-truck for harvest. It will run nearly 24/7 for a week or two and then sit idle for the rest of the year. An electric truck would impose a significant economic penalty while barely saving emissions.

    2 votes