Strangers policing reasons you bought your EV

[MountainBikeDude]

I noticed something interesting after the third or fourth conversation with a total stranger about my T and I'm curious if it's just me or if this is common.

It always starts off harmlessly with s stranger asking "what made you decide to go electric?" Or something.

And I give my canned spiel about being in the middle of COVID shutdowns when I started to look for an F150 and found I'd have to wait for... Who knows how long and realized I could wait for a Rivian, instead, for the same price, yadda yadda yadda.

But then comes the thing.

"Oh ok so you bought it for (reasons). I just wanted to make sure you didn't buy it for environmental reasons like SOME people."

Like, who do you think you are, random stranger!? What do you care? You don't think for this amount of money and a paradigm shift I didn't do the logic? I'm well aware that it's not the most efficient EV and I plan on having it long enough to break even on carbon emissions for a comparable vehicle - on top of having a badass truck.

It's just so WEIRD to me that people JuSt WaNt To Be SuRe...

Maybe so they can somehow rationalize rolling coal out of their Ramrod 2500.

I'd say 85% are curiosity and genuine enthusiasm,

The other 15% make my choice somehow an opportunity for them to rant about how their 20+ year old, oil burning, beat down, hammered body panel Honda complete with mismatched tires is better for the environment

"Well actually, my truck should become carbon neutral around 50-60,000 kms because the majority of its power is drawn from hydroelectric dams"

EV's are just stupid, because you support child labor because of the lithium mining yadda yadda yadda...

"Actually do you know who produces the most lithium in the world?"

China!

"Australia actually"

Yeah but, there's not even enough lithium on the entire planet to make the batteries for all the vehicles, it's stupid!

"Actually, Lithium is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, you can extract Lithium from sea water"

Yeah but how much does it cost???????!!!!!

"It cost me just over 100k"

That's my point, who would ever buy a vehicle for that much.

"How much do you think that Tundra is right there?"

Well..... uhhh.... but that's different, you don't have to pay to charge it

"HUH???? How do you fill it up then?! Free Gasoline???"

Yeah, but the tundra can tow a trailer, bet that EV can't even tow!

"Actually it's rated for 11,000 lbs"

Yeah but....

"Ok.. have a nice day."

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[elektrode]

The guy who installed my wall charger wanted to let me know that EVs had no pickup at high speeds. I held my tongue.

 

[Cycliste]

I bought it as a personal favor to Al Gore.

I use 'Al Gore' whenever a shop asks for my name because Al only has two letters. Most young people have no idea who he is. Then I tell them I’m on the Board of Directors at Apple.

 

[Dark-Fx]

The guy who installed my wall charger wanted to let me know that EVs had no pickup at high speeds. I held my tongue.

He's not wrong. My Rivian has very little pickup at 109 mph.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

The guy who installed my wall charger wanted to let me know that EVs had no pickup at high speeds. I held my tongue.

I'm not so sure that's entirely incorrect though.

Usually the lack of top speed is what gives ICE cars a chance on a drag strip. At least historically speaking, but not true with things like the Tesla Model S Plaid or anything Rimac makes.

 

[Throwdown]

On the internet I see EV hate coming mostly from people who deny human caused climate change or those who want to be negative about any solution. As an example we all know current battery tech isn't the solution, but they don't seem to understand that its a giant step in the right direction.

They'd rather we just did nothing. They're often irked about incentives and any regulation pushing us to EV's, and they deny that battery technology is getting better.

Yep, you can't get something for nothing, gotta start somewhere

 

[Runamok]

Are you any better with the generalization that they just want to roll coal from their Ramrod 2500?

They released a new Ramrod 2500?! Can't wait!

 

[Amonte541]

Just found the video below and think it addresses a lot of great things. Consider giving it a watch…

 

[md2023]

Seems like a silly question to ask someone who bought a 7500 pound vehicle that eats tires for lunch.

On the flip side I can see serious questions being pondered by family or close friends wanting to know if you justified your purchase using environmental reasons.

Did I justify my decision partly using environmental reasons? Sure did.

Did I really think there was any logic in the environmental reasons? Not really.

Environmentally speaking about the only good thing I've done is to not breed. I definitely used environmental reasons as an excuse. I can't really see anything more green than not breeding.

I am not sure it's a silly question or the 'applicable' question. Of course purchasing a Rivian isn't good for the environment. That is mostly true of anything you buy. It's mostly true of simply being alive. Is it better for the environment than a comparable ICE vehicle? I'd say probably a bit better, all things considered.

 

[Thedude]

Yeah, but the tundra can tow a trailer, bet that EV can't even tow!

"Actually it's rated for 11,000 lbs"

Once EV trucks have a usable towing range and an efficient charge network/speed it is over for diesels. My trucks spend about 35% of their miles with a trailer hooked up and the only reason I went back to a diesel was that the Rivian simply lacked the range required and prevented me from doing things I otherwise would.

 

[iansriv]

Completely agree with Donald.

I live in Texas but have taken an EV all over the Midwest including small towns in Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska and in the South such as Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

I've had many people come up and talk to me and I've spoken with some very country people.

Every person who has ever made a comment was positive. Some wanted to know how they could use their land to build charging stations, some just wanted to ask the common questions about range and how I liked my cars.

When it came to the R1T specifically, unanimously it was that they loved how it looks, thought it was very cool, but wished it was less expensive.

On a similar note, Tesla puts everyone's name on a piece of paper when delivering vehicles. A major Republican political figure was picking up a Model S plaid last year. I feel like more and more EVs are just viewed as cars and not political statements.

I'm sure there are groups of people that hate EVs for a variety of reasons but EV hate is way overestimated imo. The majority of people I talk to about them are just afraid of the change because they are worried about charging infrastructure and adapting to all of that.

All I've had are positive comments. I always brag about how it's American made. Most love that. Got mobbed at Costco. "What is that?" "Who makes that?" I think the negative comments are jealous Tesla owners who bought their cars before the price drop.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Wait folks...don't forget the following very educated arguments against EVs:

1) "they are all made in china"
2) "they all run on coal"

I had someone say number 2 to me in front of several other parents at my daughters practice. The other parents both drove Teslas...they both got up and walked away. I pulled up the EIA website and showed him the generation mix...but before I did that I asked him if he was sure. I made beleive I was learning too. That was a few months ago...I took him for a ride in the Rivian this past weekend.

I get number 2 all the time...usually its either coal or fossil fuels. I will be the first to admit to any shortcomings EVs have but I can't stand some of the mis information that goes around. I do get a lot of positive feedback as well.

 

[COdogman]

The few people who have asked me about my truck were all positive interactions. They loved that it’s made in the US and were impressed with the look and performance.

If someone wanted to just lecture me I would have no problem telling them I could give a f*ck about what they think. If they don’t like it they don’t have to buy one.

 

[Placer Paul]

I've never had anyone come out and say that. To be fair I have encountered it on the other side with someone being obnoxiously preachy about their environmental concerns. I can understand being turned off by people like that, I am, but assuming everyone with an EV is one of those people is ignorant.

Especially considering the last figures I saw put actual EV ownership at 9% of people identifying as liberal having one and 8% of conservative identifying individuals having one. In the media it seems like the ideological divide is pretty great when it comes to electric vehicles but there are an extremely large number of Teslas here in Knoxville area. We even have a Tesla showroom here. There are a lot of other EVs too. Most of the comments I get are positive regarding my Rivian.

People, including those of us with EVs (or awaiting delivery in just a couple more weeks), need to think that we're doing it right, whatever "it" may be; that we're doing the smart thing. Then along comes change, and on some level we feel threatened; our way of doing "it" might not be right any longer.
EVs are change, and change is threatening.
Being an agent of any change means we're going to be challenged. Be nice, roll with the imaginary punches, smile at the old guy wearing the feed store Gimme Hat, and move on.

 

[Fmc]

I live in south Louisiana, I remind people how much natural gas and coal I use. That usually helps out

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