January 27, 2023

Electric Vehicles Are an Ideologically Driven Economic Misadventure

By Jerome Corsi

As more motorists own electric vehicles (EVs) and experience problems operating them, evidence shows that the movement to abandon gas-powered vehicles is ideologically motivated and unsupported by rational economic calculation.

In January 2023, four Wyoming state senators and two representatives introduced Senate Joint Resolution No. SJ004 to ban the sale of EVs in Wyoming by 2035. The proposed legislation stressed that “Wyoming’s vast stretches of highway, coupled with a lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, make the widespread use of electric vehicles impracticable for the state.” The proposed legislation also noted that “the batteries used in electric vehicles contain critical minerals whose domestic supply is limited and at risk of disruption.”

Moreover, the Senate Joint Resolution explained that “the critical minerals used in electric batteries are not easily recyclable or disposable, meaning that landfills in Wyoming and elsewhere will be required to develop practices to dispose of these minerals in a safe and responsible manner.” Finally, the legislation was premised on the reality that “the expansion of electric vehicle charging stations in Wyoming and throughout the country necessary to support more electric vehicles will require massive amounts of new power generation to sustain the misadventure of electric vehicles.”

Over 2 million EVs have been sold in the United States, although EVs remain less than 1 percent of all vehicles on the road. On average, EVs cost $10,108 more than a standard vehicle. At the end of 2022, entry-level EVs cost customers between $20,000 and $40,000. In 2023, ongoing inflationary price increases, supply chain constraints, deteriorating labor conditions in major manufacturing regions, and component shortages will drive up EV prices. Statistica.com predicts EV prices will jump by another 37 percent in 2023, driving the average cost of an EV up to more than $69,000 by the second half of the year.