Electric Car FUD — If The Facts Are Not In Your Favor, Try Lies

If the Inflation Reduction Act becomes law, look for the electric car market to accelerate dramatically. For some, that’s bad news. They are the folks who think driving a jacked up diesel pickup truck is proof of their masculinity. (Editor’s Note: we should ask straight people when they decided to be straight!) For them, an electric car is proof that the driver is a liberal and liberals are communists and communists are mass murderers like Pol Pot and so we hate all liberals and everything they stand for, especially if they drive an electric car. To these folks, EVs are a threat to their way of life.

Here are a couple of recent examples of the distorted thinking about charging an electric car that oozes from their addled brains.

Oh, one from the “Do YoUR oWn ReSEarCH” fraction. I like it. pic.twitter.com/YHJr6k1ZRC

— The Cyberpunk Caveman (@TechPreacher) July 25, 2022

First, a little background. In many states, EV charging companies are forbidden to charge customers for the amount of electricity used, they must bill on a per minute basis. The problem is, utility companies are the only ones allowed to sell electricity by the kWh. Charging companies are not utility companies, so they are forced to charge by the minute, not by how much electricity is actually purchased. At the present time, Electrify America charges $0.16 per minute if a charger is rated at less than 90 kW and $0.32 per minute for chargers rated more than 90 kW.

So the claim about charging costing $0.32 a minute is accurate. But from there, the tweet veers sharply into FUD territory. As Jalopnik points out (they actually know how to do basic arithmetic), there is no way in God’s green Earth that any electric vehicle available today would charge at higher than 90 kW for 8 hours. At most it would be more like one hour. And the number of EVs you can buy today that will travel 350 miles between charging events is minuscule.

What we have here is a classic case of using one true fact as a scaffold on which to hang a pack of lies, half truths, and distortions — the very definition of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. And of course, the whole argument totally ignores that most EV charging takes place at home, something that small minded people just don’t seem able to wrap their heads around.

The Truth About Anti-EV Lies

Here’s another recent example of a complete distortion that hangs on the thinnest of threads. Someone got a utility bill for over $1,000! Quick! Off with their heads! No? Well, at least let’s run and tell the King.

Hey EV owners! How far can you drive on $1,000 of electricity? https://t.co/pNf1D94xxa

— Mach-E VLOG (Patrick & Liv) (@MachE_VLOG) July 25, 2022

Anyone with the brain power of an amoeba should be able to unpack this one. The implication is that someone bought an electric car and their electric bill the very first month was through the roof. The reality? Who knows? Maybe this was back in 2021 in Texas when the cost of electricity really did soar into the stratosphere when a cold snap caused the utility grid to fail. Or last month, when Texas’ rates also shot up 70%. Of maybe they are growing marijuana in the basement. Once again, we have no way of knowing.

In any event, those of us who actually own an electric car know it would be physically impossible to use that much electricity to charge it in one month unless we drove 25,000 miles or more. The odds of that happening are infinitesimally small. At an average speed of 60 mph, you would need to be behind the wheel for 416 hours that month. Since there are only 720 hours in a month, you would need to be behind the wheel 58% of the the month driving — not sleeping, not eating, not watching reruns of Pigs In Space — just driving, driving, driving. Is that even remotely possible? You decide.

The Electric Car & Common Sense

There is real hostility out there in the world toward EV drivers and it is fueled by nonsense like these two tweets. People actually believe this drivel and pass it on to others. That’s why it is important to explode these myths and misinformation campaigns whenever possible.

In the world of litigation, there is a common expression that goes like this: “The strength of your argument is inversely proportional to the strength of your case.” The corollary to that is, “When the facts and the law are against you, dazzle ’em with bullshit.” This is the favorite tactic of FUDsters everywhere. So many people feel threatened by change and yet the only constant in life is change. Get over it. Get used to it. Move on.

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