Elon Musk has announced the rollout of the Tesla Model 3, which he claims is the car for the masses. But what he really means is that it is a car paid for by the masses. Tesla prominently features the various incentives and credits available to prospective buyers. Purchasers of the $35,000 Model 3 get a $7,500 tax credit—21 percent. In addition, some states provide tax credits or rebates that can range from $1,000 to $5,000, with Colorado at the high end. Plus, owners of electric vehicles (EVs) often get to use HOV lanes without charge, free parking, and rebates on home chargers.A recent study from management consultant firm Arthur D. Little (ADL) concluded that the 20-year total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle is substantially higher than that of a gasoline vehicle, excluding these government subsidies and incentives. This is due primarily to differences in manufacturing costs and the cost of alternative transportation for trips beyond the EV charging range.
Rebates and credits are incentives intended to stimulate the use of zero emission vehicles. However, while EVs don’t produce emissions, the production of them and their batteries do. The ADL study concluded that electric vehicles are not as green as the marketing suggests. The battery pack needs to be charged using charging stations that are on the electrical grid, which is primarily powered by coal and natural gas. In addition, the battery manufacture requires energy to produce. ADL concludes that these emissions are higher than emissions from manufacturing a similar sized conventional vehicle—“12 thousand to 17 thousand pounds more CO2 emissions” than for a compact and mid-sized gasoline car. For mid-size cars, EVs have higher total emissions through year 3 due to these higher manufacturing emissions.
The list of things that are not what they appear to be does not stop there. The Model 3 is advertised to go 215 miles between charges. That range is under optimum driving conditions. Professor Jeremy Michalek, a mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon, conducted a study of climate factors that affect EV efficiency.
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