eli5 Why are electric vehicles becoming standard when they have low range?

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I’m asking this without bias. Just genuine curiosity. Cause I don’t understand (hence eli5 lol). Why are they being pushed right now when it’s known that almost all EVs have ranges that are quite low? Compared to the amount of miles one may get with a full tank of gas that is.

Surely they would focus more on increasing the amount of range per charge to match what you can get in terms of gas in a newer gas powered car (closer to 500). Instead of setting laws in place to phase gas out before electric is even fully developed.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

EV range being low is debatable. I mean the most popular car in the US is the Accord and the 2023 model have a fuel economy of 29miles per gallons in the city with a tank of 14.8 gallons so a range of 429 miles.

The Tesla Model S Long Range is 405miles. Chevrolet Bolt EV (about the same price as an Accord) have a range of 259miles. So yes the average EV model have a small range than the average ICE car, but not by much. The question is if the decrease in range is a significant negative.

The average commutes in the US is 41 miles per day (round trip to and from work), which is significantly less than the 259 miles of a Bolt EV. So for the average people the current range of an EV is doing the job. It’s only during long range trip or for people that work on the road regularly that the range could become an issues. For most people, just plugging your car everyday after work leave you with zero range issues.

We do focus on increase the amount of range per charge, but there is no reason for that amount to be exactly or similar to what ICE car are able to do. For some people the current range of EV are more than what they actually need so those people can make a decision if they want an EV or not. While other people are not satisfy by the range of EV because of their lifestyle or work and those people don’t buy EV.

People have a choice, there is no reason to make EV illegal to sell until the tech reach a very specific and arbitrary range. I also don’t know what you mean by fully developed. Technology is constantly developing, the ICE car is also currently being developed and improved. Usually what people mean when they say until fully developed, they mean ready to be sold have good enough that people are ready to buy it. This is clearly the case for current EV and have been for some time. It’s just that as the tech improve, EV are able to fill the need of more and more people.

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