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by Steven Loveday, Inside EVs

Electric cars are becoming more and more popular, and that means some cities are racing to become more EV-friendly.

AutoInsuranceQuote.com has put together an extensive EV study to help determine which cities are the best---and worst---to own an electric car.

Aside from ranking U.S. cities related to the benefits of EV ownership, the study also provides opinions and experiences from current electric car owners, a long list of frequently asked questions and much more.

There’s also a detailed description of the 10 best cities explaining precisely why they’re the best. Finally, the site ranks a total of 50 cities from best to worst when it comes to EV ownership.

The cities are ranked based on three specific metrics: charging stations per capita, local government EV incentives and cost of electricity.

California is the only state with multiple cities on the list, which comes as no surprise. The study also notes the Midwest is the only region that doesn’t have a city in the top 10.

The 10 best cities offer an average of 27 government incentives, and charging stations per capita range from 25 to 110.

We should also probably mention a few of the worst cities to own an electric car, though you can visit the study to see the whole list and all of the details. At the No. 50 spot is Milwaukee, preceded by Jacksonville, FL, at 49, Detroit at 48, Houston at 47, and Cleveland at 46.

The study includes a wealth of other information worth checking out.

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Tesla Wanted $16,000 for a Simple $700 Model 3 Repair

by Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering

How much does one pay for minor repairs for a Tesla car?

As one Tesla owner found out, almost half of the vehicle price. After hitting some debris on the road that damaged his battery pack, the owner visited aTesla service center, where he was handed a repair estimate of $16,000.

Unable to foot that bill, the owner sought help from a non-authorized garage, which diagnosed and resolved the issue for $700.

The standard Model 3 Tesla is rear-wheel drive, with an option to make it all-wheel drive. For users who exercise this option, the company puts a drive unit in the front, next to the battery pack. The cooling system runs through the car and connects to the battery pack through a nipple.

For this Tesla owner, the debris resulted in the coolant leaking at the nipple of the battery pack. But since the nipple was molded outside the battery pack, which is not serviceable at a Tesla Service Center, they could only offer replacement of the entire battery pack. This resulted in the quote shooting up to $16,000.

Unfortunately for the owner, his insurance did not cover damages due to road debris, forcing him to look elsewhere.

He found help at Electrified Garage, which diagnosed the problem and found a simpler solution. They cut off the nipple and then threaded it back into the battery pack with a $15 brass fitting that can be found at any hardware store. They were able to fix the leak and charged the owner $700 for labor and their expertise.

The real question is whether this is safe.

Electrified Garages says, unlike internal combustion engines that generate a lot of heat, electric cars operate at temperatures well below 140 degrees. Most of the heat comes from the lithium-ion batteries, which they tested during the fix. Such instances reiterate the need to allow owners the Right to Repair, whether it be smartphones or smart cars. The increasing usage of technology has allowed companies to force subscriptions or channel after-sale services only through limited outlets, causing inconvenience and larger bills for device owners. This is set to change after President Biden is expected to allow Right to Repair in different sectors, beginning with agriculture.

Interesting Engineering reached out to Tesla for their comments but hadn’t received a reply yet.