1. We've been down this road before
Paul: Electric cars are not new. When the 1901 Chicago Auto Show was staged, more than half of the fourteen vehicles that were shown at that show were electric vehicles. It's not a new idea at all. The problem is, is that there's this nasty little thing called practicality.
There are a lot of people who are saying, "I've seen all of this, I apparently should be doing it." And then they get hit with the harsh realities of what happens with an electric vehicle.
2. They're more expensive than you think
Lauren: If you're thinking about buying an electric car ... you have to look at the full costs. The first thing you're gonna do is [ask], "What's the payment? Oh, ok, I think I can afford that, especially with all these incentives."
[But these incentives] are now only for 12 cars, that's it. Because they kept changing their regulations and they're gonna make them even stricter. Right now we have 12 cars that qualify, and not all the Teslas even qualify, only the high-performance versions do.
And many of the states are out of the matching credits. ... [They] have either stopped or have no more money left in their funds to have matching credits to support this incentive.
The insurance is twice as much or close to twice as much [as] a regular gasoline-powered car.
The tires wear out quicker because these are heavier, they're low-rolling resistant and run-flat tires. They're not $100 a tire, they're $400 a tire, and they wear out about every 10,000 miles. Of course, no one talks about that ... but it's important that you look at all the true cost of owning a vehicle.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member