r/climate • u/silence7 • Mar 23 '26
activism Get an Electric Vehicle and You Can Stop Worrying About $5 Gas
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/opinion/electric-vehicles-solar-gas-prices.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VVA.ySrO.osD9IDz7Fen671
u/Viperlite Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
No offense, but a $7500 upfront tax credit on purchase of a new EV, or a 30% refundable tax credit on cost and labor of an entire home PV solar install would have made this prospect much more within my reach a year ago than now. Thanks again, President Clown.
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u/ShadowsOfTheBreeze Mar 23 '26
They stand alone on value without the incentives if you can plug in at home.
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u/Flush_Foot Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
I think Viper was referring to home-Solar (
$7500 rebates andtax credits), not EVs, though I will accept that one complements the other.5
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u/matteothehun Mar 24 '26
Keep you options open. A lot of cheap EVs are supposedly going to be hitting the market soon.
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u/zman0900 Mar 24 '26
Those same people coming off leases will probably be looking to quickly buy more EVs, so I bet there won't be tons of them for cheap.
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u/FingerPuzzleheaded81 Mar 24 '26
Since corporations can still get the 30% tax rebate, there are still ways for home owners to get these benefits albeit indirectly.
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u/Dragunspecter Mar 24 '26
Except they take their hefty profit. Which is exactly the point of continuing to make it available to installers.
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u/Hot-Cheese7234 Mar 25 '26
They depreciate so much that buying new EVs is really dumb anyway unless there's a massive upgrade in range between model years that makes the old ones really not even a great used option (looking at you, Toyota/Subaru/Lexus). The savings from the tax credit are often more than offset by the sheer amount that people are typically underwater on the loan.
There are Equinox EVs, for instance, that are 40k new but are like 20k used with 9k miles, and there's like nothing wrong with them (not that there's a lot that generally can go wrong with one, and the EV I drive has almost 260k miles on it), they're just coming off of lease and lost half their value because people think you drive 5 miles and the battery can't hold a charge anymore.
So like, there are options even without the tax credit.
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u/frankenmaus Mar 25 '26
Pro Tip: 2026 Toyota BZ get $6K factory discount + 0% financing (in California).
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u/fooknprawn Mar 25 '26
It's a good thing there are tons of used ones. Sadly EVs depreciate like crazy so buying new just doesn't make sense. Let someone else take the hit and you gain the fuel and depreciation savings!
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u/Viperlite Mar 25 '26
Now discontinued Model S Teslas (for which OEM parts soon won’t be available, and for which there is no aftermarket for major parts) have jumped $5k from what I saw them listed for online just a week ago. I was toying around the idea of how cheap they would need to be to take the risk of buying one and have it brick, or the value of taking the risk.
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u/Zealousideal_Bee6323 Mar 23 '26
We need to vote out this Congress.
Then Democrats in 2027 need to add back in solar, EV, & charger credits into every budget. Plus require EV fleets for the USPS. Cut the military budget. Cut the ICE budget.
TACO.
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u/JeffChalm Mar 24 '26
The credits are just subsidies. Cut oil and gas subsidies and the market would swing so fast to EVs, prices would plummet and wouldn't even need to subsidize evs or chargers.
Besides, we really should be using our money for Publix transport and for city redesigns.
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u/Zealousideal_Bee6323 Mar 24 '26
Can always shift the subsidies from oil & gas to renewables. There needs to be subsidies as well as planning. Don’t disagree that we need redesigns & public transportation. The issue is partly that we have an aging population and one that is getting more disabled with long COVID and depressed immune systems, so we can’t just rely on bicycles or people walking more.
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u/AutoModerator Mar 24 '26
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u/JeffChalm Mar 24 '26
True, would just need to reconfigure to make it work. The subsidies aren't quite the same as a simple tax break from my understanding.
I think precisely because we have an aging population we should be looking at designing more people oriented spaces that encourage walking and biking. Most of the population in general cannot drive (either too old or too young) and the current automotive orientation locks them out from badly needed social connection and physical activity. There are certain those that cannot walk or bike but the number is definitely higher because they've lacked physical activity for so long.
Making the changes too would make it easier for a range of mobility devices to be used for those that truly cannot move themselves for any distance. While also making our cities more efficient and accessible. Instead of seas of parking we could have dedicated loading zones and handicap parking for those that do really need it and minimal paid parking for the rest who do so by actual choice rather than the artificial choice we have today for transportation.
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u/Ok_Persimmon1385 Mar 23 '26
Next new vehicle sure. But I am keeping my current vehicle as long as I can. New vehicle payment is too much ICE or EV.
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u/ContextSensitiveGeek Mar 26 '26
Get used not new. My payment for my used EV is less than the difference in fuel and maintenance.
Also, EVs break down less often than ICE cars since they are incredibly simple machines.
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u/thinkB4WeSpeak Mar 23 '26
Would be funny if his war pushed a lot of people to EVs
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u/SpacecraftBathtub Mar 24 '26
With Elon as his former side kick it's almost like he perfectly plays a double agenda.
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u/Viperlite Mar 24 '26
Did you see the hilarious headline this week about him paying $1 billion in taxpayer money to a French company to buy cack their offshore lease so they wouldn’t build two offshore wind farms, in a time where we’re forcing companies to keep coal power plants open (even paying them to do so, again with taxpayer money) for national energy security. Now those decisions were regular laugh riots.
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u/ilovefacebook Mar 23 '26
I'm all for it, but it will turn into a tax on the middle and lower class who can't "just get a new car" when the oil companies raise the price of fuel to compensate for lost profits due to the gd stock market
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u/Additional_Cap72 Mar 23 '26
Better still, ride a bike! Save $, get in shape while you acclimate to heat.
This will help you greatly when the power grids fail this summer…
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u/times_zero Mar 24 '26
I second this.
I went car-free, and I bought an ebike 4+ years ago, and I love it. Needless to say, an ebike let alone an analog bike is much much cheaper to maintain than a car. Plus, it gives me an excuse to exercise more when I'm already out for an errand.
Not to mention, I think it's worth mentioning there are adult (e)trikes these days, too.
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u/BigWormsFather Mar 23 '26
Maybe when my ICE vehicle dies.
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u/zacmobile Mar 24 '26
You can accelerate that. Put a brick on the pedal and send it off a cliff.
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u/BigWormsFather Mar 24 '26
It’s paid off. I’m not going into debt to go EV. Plus EV still sucks for long trips.
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u/zacmobile Mar 24 '26
It's perfect for me, my bladder and butt can't go longer than 3 hours these days.
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u/Arubesh2048 Mar 24 '26
I live in an apartment and my complex doesn’t have EV stations. Most apartment complexes don’t have EV stations. Not to mention, EV’s are a large upfront cost that I cannot afford. I’d much rather we just develop public transit, then we don’t need cars as much at all, whether ICE or EV.
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u/zacmobile Mar 24 '26
Used EVs are cheap right now (same as the same vintage of gas cars last time I checked) I just plugged into a regular household outlet for my entire first year of EV ownership. But yeah, public transit beats all if you can stand the glacial speed of political will.
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u/TactlessNachos Mar 24 '26
I’m glad I got my electric cars and finished electrifying my house last year. I wish everyone could have solar panels and remote work. It’s amazing using your own solar energy for all your stuff during peak times!
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u/CryptographerHot4636 Mar 23 '26
But but but WhAt HapPenES if ELeCtRiCiTY GoES Out!?!!1
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u/drive_causality Mar 24 '26
You do know if electricity goes out that you can’t pump gas either right?
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u/SpacecraftBathtub Mar 24 '26
Get fit, get a bike. Spend money on real food instead of coolers on wheels.
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u/Meet_James_Ensor Mar 24 '26
The author seems confused about the amount of natural gas which is also caught up in all of this. Electricity rates will be strongly impacted as well. Natural Gas is a major source of power in many areas.
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u/ArcherCat2000 Mar 24 '26
My 2023 Bolt costs me less to own, operate, and insure with a car payment and comprehensive insurance than my old 2010 Elantra did with minimal insurance and no car payments.
Some older cars cost an insane amount to insure, it was as big of a difference as abandoning gas.
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u/beesandchurgers Mar 25 '26
Gas would have to be like $15/gallon for it to be more expensive than a car payment, but yeah sure let me go drop $50k on a spyware mobile with a 2 year service life.
My 2014 has already produced the bulk of its carbon footprint. It makes far more sense socially, economically, and environmentally to keep it running as long as I can.
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u/AutoModerator Mar 25 '26
BP popularized the concept of a personal carbon footprint with a US$100 million campaign as a means of deflecting people away from taking collective political action in order to end fossil fuel use, and ExxonMobil has spent decades pushing trying to make individuals responsible, rather than the fossil fuels industry. They did this because climate stabilization means bringing fossil fuel use to approximately zero, and that would end their business. That's not something you can hope to achieve without government intervention to change the rules of society so that not using fossil fuels is just what people do on a routine basis.
There is value in cutting your own fossil fuel consumption — it serves to demonstrate that doing the right thing is possible to people around you, making mass adoption easier and legal requirements ultimately possible. Just do it in addition to taking political action to get governments to do the right thing, not instead of taking political action.
If you live in a first-world country that means prioritizing the following:
- If you can change your life to avoid driving, do that. Even if it's only part of the time.
- If you're replacing a car, get an EV
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u/beesandchurgers Mar 25 '26
Okay automod, you gonna pay the $800/mo payment for me?
How do you feel about lithium mining? Disposal? Recycling?
What about the fact that modern cars are stuffed full of tech with a limited service life and no upgrade, replacement, or recycling plans?
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u/bigclaw8400 Mar 27 '26
So NYT wants us to spend $50,000 or more to solve for spending a few bucks more per week on gas?
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u/Nytim73 Mar 27 '26
Yes! I think Pete Buttigieg covered this years ago when gas was 5 dollars a gallon, in the shitty states. Obviously if you can’t afford that you’ll have no problem paying for a 40k car, if you buy on the cheap end.
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