Should We Recharge or Refill?

A recent Pew Survey concluded that 38% of all Americans would seriously consider purchasing an electric vehicle (EV). A big reason? Save money on gas.

Let’s see if they are right.

Recharge or Refill?

For starters, we pay $4,600 more for an EV than a gasoline powered car.

Then, when, where, and with what you charge changes its cost. Varying from state to state, the price of electricity depends on whether you plug in at home or away, at peak or non-peak hours, and with a fast-or slow-charge. Correspondingly, state gas taxes, the vehicle you drive, and location affect the price of gasoline.

In Washington state, at $4.98 a gallon, a full tank or 483 miles of driving will cost $115. Meanwhile, $34 will get you a complete recharge of the equivalent vehicle. However, if you lived in Mississippi, cheaper gas and electricity diminish the gap between the two.

Adding it all up, The Washington Post concludes EVs save us money:

Our Bottom Line: The Fallacy of Composition

Called the fallacy of composition, sometimes what is good for an individual can be bad if everyone does the same thing.

One person can run from a burning movie theater, but the entire audience cannot exit at the same time. If one farmer has a bumper crop, she can take advantage of high prices. However, when everyone harvests more, the supply curve shifts to the right and price plunges. Similarly, when all of us give all Uber drivers five stars, the rating has less meaning.

The same is true for the decision to buy an EV. Remaining with a gasoline powered car can benefit an individual if the cost and convenience are more than for an EV. However, if everyone makes the same decision, we all suffer from the emissions.

So, returning to where we began, Pew cited 60 percent of the population that is avoiding EVs. Individually each person could benefit. Together though, they exacerbate the carbon emissions that generate wildfires, heat deaths, flooding, and crop failures.

My sources and more: Thoroughly, The Washington Post took readers on a gas/EV tradeoff tour. Then, Pew Research had the perfect complement that completed the picture.