Correct me I’m wrong, but I heard that some states are considering a road tax on EV’s since most states depend on part of the sales gas price that goes to upkeep of the roads. It would be imposed on how many miles the EV has driven and then taxed on that amount of miles. Also I read where most EV’s weigh considerably more due to the weight of the batteries and these cars eat tires like candy.
True and true, with caveats. States do depend on gas taxes for road maintenance, but taxing by weight vs. (guesstimated) road damage isn't equitable. Tractor-trailers weigh a lot more than cars (gas or electric) and do exponentially more damage to roads than cars, but are not taxed accordingly.
I am not in favor of raising road taxes for big trucks, even though they "cost" the infrastructure more. Always remember that taxes are like crack cocaine for governments - there is NEVER enough, even all the money in the world isn't enough for them. Part of the solution might be to build stronger roads, part of the solution might be to reduce the weight footprint of large trucks by using wider tires, part of the solution could be sending more trailers by rail instead of over the road trucking. This is already being done, get stuck at a railroad crossing and count the UPS and Amazon trailers on articulated (five-in-one) flatcars. This gets them off the road almost en-tirely (no pun intended), requiring a road tractor for only the last few miles from the railroad yard to the destination.
Electric cars do seem to use tires quickly. Part of it is the cars tend to be heavier than equivalent gas cars, part of it is the "Whee!" factor from the increased acceleration of electric cars compared to gas cars (although I can eat a lot of tires in a hurry on my CLK Mercedes if I crank it on!) and part of it is the tire companies haven't yet figured out how to make low rolling resistance tires that last a longer time. Weight alone doesn't kill tires, there are plenty of pickup trucks and vans that weigh as much as an electric car and they get decent tire life anyway.
Any new technology goes through several stages. First are the visionaries, the technology barely works, and the visionaries are often seen as nut cases. (Dip your toes into the pool.) Then you get to the early adopters. As the technology gets better, more people are willing to try it out. (Wade into the shallow end.) Then you get the start of market acceptance, the tech is better and doesn't turn heads any more - people see electric cars and don't even remark on them. I think this is where the electric car market is now, the start of general market acceptance. Finally, the tech becomes mass market, unexceptional, everyone has one, they work quite well, the automotive equivalent of a microwave or a toaster and about as interesting. Big yawn.
Now that I've caused enough trouble here ;-) I'd like to make one comment on electricity. If I fill my back yard with solar cells and make more electricity than I can use, it is ILLEGAL for me to sell my surplus to my neighbors, it has to be sold to the power company (FPL). I see no particular difference here between saying if I grow more tomatoes than I want to eat, I can't sell them at the farmer's market, I HAVE to sell them to Publix or some grocery store. (Although it is probably hard to get accidentally electrocuted by tomatoes, fortunately we have a government that is genuinely concerned with our well-being and will protect us from all such risks. Sarcasm/Off)
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
