FAKE FINANCIAL NEWS
It’s Not Easy Going Green Copious torque and a clear environmental conscience can’t compensate for Tesla’s painfully high price, mediocre interior appointments and that uneasy feeling called range anxiety By Vonetta Logan
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He goes on to explain that it’s hard to gauge the demand for EVs because of ongoing supply chain issues. Elements like lithium, cobalt and nickel—all key components of EV batteries— remain in short supply. Searching the Tesla website shows an inventory of zero Model 3s available for immediate purchase within 200 miles of Chicago, and it indicates a five-month wait for delivery of the base model now listing for $48,490. A single Model S Plaid is available for Chicago delivery, but its list price is $155,990. Wow, I hope I still
have energy to drive my new Tesla after I sell most of my vital organs. All of the cost-saving arguments about EVs compared with ICE (internal combustion engines) seemingly go out the window when buyers have to pony up more than four times the annual median U.S. personal income of $35,997. The 2022 Nissan Leaf, the least-expensive point of entry to the U.S. EV market, lists for $27,400, or around $20,000 after the federal EV tax credit of $7,500. By 2040, EVs will account for 58% of
PHOTOGRAAPHS: REUTERS
“W
hen this sucker hits 88 mph, you’re gonna see some serious shit.” While Emmett “Doc” Brown in the movie Back to the Future was talking about a souped-up DeLorean time machine, his prophetic comment could also apply to electric cars. While this column has afforded me a multitude of opportunities, none has been greater than emailing my boss, Tom Sosnoff, and writing, “Hey, I need your Tesla for a few days, no questions asked.” As gas prices climb higher than views on a viral TikTok video, web searches for electric vehicles reached an all-time high in March, according to Google Trends, a site that analyzes searches. But are electric cars delivering kilowatts of salvation, or are they niche toys for the rich? As geopolitical risk, climate trends and the need to look like a character from Tron coalesce, EVs are caught in the brightest spotlight ever. What are their shining standout qualities, and what are EV proponents trying to keep hidden in the shadows? Even before rising prices at the pump got a Russia-fueled boost, global consumers were already EV curious. Sales of EVs doubled across the world in 2021 compared with 2020. “What we can say with certainty is that EVs mostly are selling as fast as automakers can make them,” Nick Nigro, founder of Atlas Public Policy, a firm that advises businesses on issues, said in a published report. “The signals from the market to the consumer, from high gas prices to volatility in the oil market, are only going to accelerate the interest in [the EV] transition.”
Luckbox | May 2022
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4/8/22 9:54 AM
