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The flashy tech bells and whistles are there to compensate for the inherent problems with electric cars. They lag in range compared to gas cars, and get absolutely trounced when it comes to putting energy back in the car.

Concrete example: this week I had to drive some people between San Jose and Hollywood. Google maps says that's 5:40 hours over 340 miles. I looked at renting a model 3 for the trip but it simply could not justify itself when compared to the minivan I ultimately rented with 500+ miles range. Not only was I not forced to stop in BFE for 20-40 minutes, I didn't have to stop at all. Arrived with plenty of gas to get to any station in LA I might want (cheapest). And I wasn't even pressed for time, but if I'm slapping an extra half hour onto the trip I'd rather spend it (and actually did) on taking the more scenic US101 route for ~400 miles instead.



I only drive more than 150 mi in a day about two times a year.

The time saved up over the year of not having to go to a gas station every other week and just plugging in at home will dwarf the extra charging time on the very rare road trips (where I'd have to stop and let the kids have some fresh air anyway)


OK, let's game this out.

Say I have to go round trip to LA every 6 months. Adding up the 2 charging stops that's an hour:20 or so of downtime charging.

With a gas car, 5 minutes at a gas station every 2 weeks works out to only one hour every 6 months.

So your assertion, confidently presented, does not carry water.


That’s a fun niche use case but most people just drive to work and school and back every weekday. Having to stop for 20-40 minutes on the odd occasion that you need to drive 340 miles in a day is worth never having to stop for gas for your daily commute.


You are comparing EVs and ICEs like they are the same price.

They aren't, as a matter of fact you buy yourself a whole lot of ICE interior opulence with the price you'd pay for a spartan EV.


yeah 90% of the time range does not matter for me, 10% is slightly annoying… good enough for me


How much time does it take to plug and unplug the car every day, vs. the gas station fill time?


It takes about 4 seconds if the plug isn't right beside the car.

It takes me at least 3 minutes one way to get to a gas station, then another few minutes to fill up.


Literally less time than unlocking your front door. I've timed four people doing both actions out of curiosity.


You don’t need to do it every day, and it takes 15 seconds.




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