Opinion

EVs are coming, ready or not! Three columnists on Biden’s mandate.

Charles Lane: I’ve been known as an electric-vehicle skeptic for a long time, and I’ve been watching them develop since 2010, when the Chevy Volt first rolled out. And every time that I guessed they wouldn’t meet their targets — whether it’s Detroit, Silicon Valley or Washington — I’ve been more or less right.

This is what happens when you try to meet a collective climate goal one consumer choice at a time. The deal that an electric vehicle offers in terms of money or overall functionality is still, for most use cases, not really even close to a gas-powered car. Which is why they’re now accumulating on the lots.

Megan McArdle: There is a lot to like about electric cars. They are not going to satisfy every gear-head who really gets into using a standard shift, but that’s actually a very small part of the market. And for everyone else, I think this technology has a lot to offer.

But going about it by attempting to kind of subsidize and bully your way into it really risks political backlash. And I think you already see this where, in the same way that people freaked out when talk started about taking away their incandescent lightbulbs, you’re seeing a freakout at the prospect of being forced to buy an electric car you don’t want. I think that’s ultimately incredibly counterproductive.

Catherine Rampell: My general view is the EV transition is going to happen. It’s a question of when, not if. In the long run, the economics are on the side of electrification — of lots of different things, including the vehicles that we use to get around. Because once you build the solar array or the wind turbine, sun and wind are free.

I think I disagree slightly on whether subsidies and the like can help. I do think that there is a role for politicians to incentivize faster development — of the infrastructure networks —as well as adoption of these technologies. I wouldn’t call it bullying. I think the most effective tool for accelerating adoption would be a carbon tax. But that’s not going to happen.

Listen to the full conversation here: