The (Somewhat) Green Fantasy of Electric Cars

The picture exposes the entire fantasy reality of very expensive all-electric cars, especially if that gen-set shown below is powered by natural gas. Presumably it's in some rural area or the outback of Australia? You see, some 65% of US power comes from fossil fuels and most of the rest comes mostly from hydroelectric and nuclear.  (Wind power is a surprising 5.7% these days, with Solar power is less than 1%--see chart below.)

The Approximate Reality of Electric Cars

I found a used 2018 Tesla Model 3 with long range batteries for sale in Houston with only 7,600 miles on it for $45,500.  Not bad.  With 60 month financing at 3.99% and 10% down payment, it costs $754 per month. If anything goes wrong, I'm not sure about warranty issues with this used car.

Then I went to GEICO, who insures my plebeian Toyota Camry, to price comprehensive car insurance for this Tesla.  The cost was $991 per 6 months or $165 per month.

So, to buy a used long-range Model 3, it will cost $919 per month to get it on the road (financed).  Yes, you might save $100 to $150 per month in gasoline costs assuming the electricity cost is nil, but is it worth it??

You're not really saving the planet either, since most electricity is generated from fossil fuels. Also, the cost of the vehicle itself reflects the embedded energy in the manufacture of the car which is at least twice as high as an internal combustion alternative up to 3 or 4 times that cost.  So, you're emitting at least twice the CO2 emissions in buying one of the cheapest all-electric cars.  The expensive ones caused 3 or 4 times the CO2 emissions of a similar conventional car --which is reflected in it's price.  (For example, the final cost reflects the energy in mining the various materials, the refining and transporting of the materials to factories, human energy and capital in the manufacturing-which requires energy, and transport to the end buyer.  The final price reflects all of the costs of: 1) human energy, 2) electric power energy and 3) fossil fuel energy to mine and refine the raw materials and assemble each unit -- the total manufacturing and delivery process.)

The planet is OK anyway since global warming is not a huge crisis it's made out to be.  See my recent post A Summary of Climate Lies.   Elitist and/or Leftist politicians and out-of-control Central Banks are the biggest risk to you and the world.

Electricity Generation, US, 2016