So, here's the conundrum. . . Electric car sales are still growing. They've been growing year-over-year, and the end is not in sight. So why is there so much Doom & Gloom coming out of the auto industry? Why are they cancelling models, walking back EV plans, lobbying for relief from EV requirements? Why are they now trying to hype up PHEVs? Why are they not eagerly jumping with both feet into the EV market and profiting from a growing automotive segment?

There are multiple reasons, but a big one is economies of scale. Scale is critically important in the auto business. If you're making a car, any mainstream category of car (not exotics), and only selling a few thousand of that model per year, then you are probably losing money. Going to the parts bin, building multiple models on a platform, badge engineering, these tactics can help somewhat, but one way or another you need to get scale. Now here in the USA the total share of the market for EVs is around 8%, and the Tesla Model 3 and Y are holding a pretty hefty chunk of that. That means only scraps are left to slice up between the roughly 70 other EV models that are sold here! Even the biggest selling models (again, outside of 3 & Y) are not getting the scale they need.

The situation in Europe is not as dire. I think they're at closer to 18% EVs, and Tesla is not as dominant within that fraction. The same principle is still at work, though. Economies of scale are still tipped in favor of combustion cars.

The hype for PHEVs, or "EREV" as the marketdroids are now trying to re-brand them, is particularly amusing. The Chevy Volt was introduced in 2010, and PHEVs have not exactly set the world on fire since then—for sure not the way Tesla did. Yet now the industry is talking up "EREV" as if it's a new invention that's going to come in and make everything better.

As for China, well They seem to be the EV juggernaut that will roll over everybody, but it's not that simple. Yes, the cars are a great value, but they've got something like 60 car makers locked into a bitter price war with maybe 2 of those companies eking out some profit. Their technology has advanced rapidly, thanks to enormous armies of engineers on the payroll and unsustainable spending on R&D. I love some R&D, but this is too much of a good thing. The shakeout is going to be ugly.

I believe my old diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee was rated for over 700 miles per tank, and I once drove it from Texas to Idaho and back. However, I'm finding that I cover just as much distance in a day of travel with my Model S, and it's more pleasant, less tiresome. I mean, I can't drive 12 hours without a break in any vehicle, no matter what the power plant. I have to stop sometimes anyhow, right? I drove the S from Texas to Minnesota and back, not a problem. (Incredibly boring route, but charging at least wasn't a problem.) I drove it from Texas through parts of New Mexico and a big loop through the mountains in Colorado, including Pikes Peak (fun!), and it wasn't a problem. I didn't have to wait for the next generation of wonder batteries to do any of this.

What is range anxiety? It used to mean you were afraid your EV was going to run out of charge and leave you stranded on the side of the road. That made sense when most of them had less than 100 miles range, there was no DC fast charging, and even slow AC chargers were hard to find. Ten years ago, sure. Five years ago, maybe. But today? What does range anxiety even look like in 2025?

I can understand that the EV scene is changing rapidly, and some folks don't follow it that closely, so they don't realize just how much it all has advanced or how quickly it's still advancing. They haven't got the memo. And to be fair, charging stations aren't visible like gas stations with a big forecourt and red-and-green LED price signs, etc. People will say, "I never see any charging stations," and they have no idea how many they routinely drive past. But the cars know where the stations are, they can route you right to them as needed.

I'm all in favor of improved battery technology, but Toyota have been promising solid state for many years now, and still nothing in showrooms. The rest of the world ain't waiting on that. I got my Tesla five years ago and been driving it everywhere. Maybe those solid state battery cars will be shipping by the time my EV is worn out and ready for the scrap yard, we'll see.

The promise was that batteries would get a lot cheaper, and they have got a lot cheaper, and the cost is still falling. So what's the complaint? Oh wait, did you think that *cars* would get a lot cheaper? That happened too in the world's biggest car market, in China. Here (where I am) in the good old US of A, we have shut out the Chinese, at least for now, and the car makers that are producing domestically are all dysfunctional in one way or another.

Tesla have been opening up their network to other cars. Meanwhile, all DCFC charging networks in the USA are building out rapidly now, not only Tesla. All the companies seem to be in empire building mode, grabbing turf and market share while the grabbing is good. It's like this is the only aspect of EV transition that we're not fumbling.

CCS Type 1 is being phased out, and NACS will be the standard in America. It's taking a while to get that sorted, but it's happening. And I should note, NACS is basically just CCS protocol with Tesla's plug. Over in Europe they have settled on CCS Type 2, and everyone seems just fine with that.

A minority (but not a very small minority, it's tens of millions of people) can't charge at home, and that's a problem we'll need to work on.

And yet somehow millions of those "unworkable" EVs have been sold, and the sales numbers are continuing to climb globally. Weird.

Keep in mind we're talking about two different companies here. The Karma was produced by Fisker Automotive, which was founded in 2007, whereas the Ocean was produced by Fisker Inc., which was in business from 2016 to 2024. Both were founded by Henrik Fisker, but the first company was sold to a Chinese group who (as far as I can tell) are still in business in some form.

This is the wrong complaint. I would suggest: "USB-C is here, it's been here for a while now. Put USB-C ports on your stuff dammit!"

I did read your other comments, but I'm still missing something. I fairly often drive 60 or 70 miles and then back home, and that doesn't seem "dramatically different" from the airport trip you describe. Yes, my S has the longest range, but in my experience it's way more than I need. Those trips burn through around 30% of my battery charge. Even if I had half the range it would be no problem, and I don't think Tesla have produced a 3 with less than 200 miles EPA range—have they? What is the spec of your car, I wonder? And how many actual miles is that 70 minute trip?

I once had a fun experience driving my Model S down to our old farm place, through the easement down a very washed-out, rutted and rocky road. I dialed the suspension up to maximum height and carefully eased it down the trail—with proximity alerts beeping at me the whole way, but made it without a scratch.

ICE vehicles do lose efficiency with wear-and-tear on their powertrain. And so far the statistics have shown EVs losing some modest range during their first year-or-so, then becoming very stable with minimal losses for a long time.

After 4½ years and 40,000+ miles my Model S goes further than it did when new. That's a combination of software updates, improved driving on my part (reined in the lead foot somewhat) and putting on more efficient tires.

Probably nowhere near as bad as you imagein. A lot of newer EVs can, in fact, drive over 300 miles without stopping anywhere to recharge—especially if they are mired in heavy evacuation traffic and forced to slow down. Meanwhile, gas can become scarce even before the hurricane hits. Power usually doesn't go out until later, so fully charging up the car is an easy preparation.

That seems to be an assertion with neither evidence nor any line of reasoning to back it up.

In 4½ years with my Model S, I've never yet had to wait for a space at a public charger. In fact, I can't recall encountering a Tesla Supercharger station that was more than half occupied. (I think the minimum size they build is 8 stalls.) Now, granted this is only my experience, and I don't live in California and haven't tried to take a road trip during Thanksgiving. I'm aware that congestion a problem in some places and times, and there are growing pains with the charging networks, but let's not make that sound more widespread than it is.

Charging time is usually either no problem or a minor inconvenience. I mean, I have to take some stops during a day of travel anyhow, and sometimes (particularly at lunch time) the car is ready to go before I am, while other times I have to wait a few extra minutes on it. It's of no real consequence; I end up traveling the same distance in a day that I did before in my old diesel Jeep.