re: #143 Rightwingconspirator

Facepalm.

jalopnik.com

The answer is pretty clear:

In Arizona, for example, gas averaged $5.69 per gallon during the period surveyed, while electricity averaged $0.23 per kwh. At those prices, filling up a Honda Civic would cost $70.55 while charging a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range would cost just $12.54, equivalent to $0.17 per mile for the Honda and $0.05 per mile for the Tesla, according to the analysis.

In Georgia and Florida, the cost-per-mile gap shrinks slightly, but still remains a significant $0.13 per mile for the Civic and $0.03 for the Model 3.

When electric cars were generally lead-acid or nickel-hydride powered shoeboxes that took 8+ hours to recharge for less than 300 miles per full charge, the critics carried the day by declaring that “cheap” petrol meant suffering no more than a few minutes per fill-up. Plus the poor efficiency of early electric cars meant you either couldn’t include accessories or you ate into the already poor range whenever you were stuck in traffic. And such batteries were finicky, needing low and steady charging to avoid damaging the cells or reducing the overall life of the units, which would mean expensive replacement in a few years while petrol-powered cars were going tens or hundreds of thousands of miles without major parts failing.

Problem is that that reality is slowly dissolving. “Cheap” petrol is going away, while lithium-ion and other emerging battery technologies are allowing cars with longer ranges, faster charging times, and better battery life. The biggest argument against adopting them was “convenience,” the quick fill-up with petrol versus the hours-long charging cycle. But fast-chargers, while detrimental to the life span of Li-ion batteries in the long run, allowing charging dead batteries in less than an hour and topping-off batteries taken down to less than that. Plus the disappearance of “cheap” petrol means people are reevaluating just how much driving they do regularly and realizing electric cars fill most of their needs. Petrol is in danger of becoming a niche product in our lifetimes, limited to rural areas until such time that battery/charger tech cracks that barrier.

The Church of Oil is facing a serious crisis of faith and responding in the only fashion they know how: Trying to kill off that which threatens them.