SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Geoff Ralston has an interesting essay explaining why is likely that electric car penetration in the US will take off at an exponential rate over the next 5-10 years rendering laughable the paltry predictions of future electric car sales being made today. Present projections assume that electric car sales will slowly increase as the technology gets marginally better, and as more and more customers choose to forsake a better product (the gasoline car) for a worse, yet "greener" version. According to Ralston this view of the future is, simply, wrong. - electric cars will take over our roads because consumers will demand them. "Electric cars will be better than any alternative, including the loud, inconvenient, gas-powered jalopy," says Ralston. "The Tesla Model S has demonstrated that a well made, well designed electric car is far superior to anything else on the road. This has changed everything."
The Tesla Model S has sold so well because, compared to old-fashioned gasoline cars it is more fun to drive, quieter, always "full" every morning, more roomy, and it continuously gets better with automatic updates and software improvements. According to Ralston the tipping point will come when gas stations, not a massively profitable business, start to go out of business as many more electric cars are sold, making gasoline powered vehicles even more inconvenient. When that happens even more gasoline car owners will be convinced to switch. Rapidly a tipping point will be reached, at which point finding a convenient gas station will be nearly impossible and owning a gasoline powered car will positively suck. "Elon Musk has ushered in the age of the electric car, and whether or not it, too, was inevitable, it has certainly begun," concludes Ralston. "The future of automotive transportation is an electric one and you can expect that future to be here soon."
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday July 31 2015, @10:56AM
Thanks for the pithy post. I think you're right. One thing I would add is that this is a shift that car owners will want to get in on early while their gas cars still have trade-in value.
I'm actually the last one in my family to get an electric car (because my brother is an automotive engineer who wanted to try out the tech and my brother-in-law works at a high-end BMW dealership and got a sweetheart deal), so I've been able to experience the future. The driving experience beats any gas-powered car I've ever driven. The acceleration is instantly responsive and quiet. That's a wonderful thing for me because I have a lot of difficulty discerning conversation in noisy environments, so it means I can actually talk to my wife and kids when we're in the car. The braking is great. It's excellent to be done with changing the oil and all of that maintenance crap. It's incredibly convenient. You plug it in at night like you would your laptop or iPhone and the next morning you're good to go again, so it fits in with your daily routines for other things; no more waiting for a spot at the gas station or having to flip around because your gas cap is on the other side. Not having to deal with any of the nonsense that surrounds gas cars is quite liberating.
Washington DC delenda est.