The Ford Motor company announced that starting in 2025 it will have the Tesla charging connector on its new EVs.
Current owners will be sent an adapter and the Ford app will support seamless charging on the vast Tesla network.

This change is Ford's recognition that the other charging services such as Electrify America have too few locations - and often simply do not work due to ongoing reliability issues.

Or it could be their EV is a ballooning cost nightmare and they’re dealing with price gouging dealers…..

General Motors said on Thursday that it would adopt Tesla technology to charge its electric vehicles, including selling models that use the plugs pioneered by Tesla.

Kinda screws VW (bummer). Kinda screws BMW (beamer bummer).



But here is who really deserve to be screwed:
Electrify America
Charge Point
EVGo

They had it coming....

Ford is doing the same. Electric cars are here to stay. Of course we need many, many more windmills to power them. Personally I think Biden will sign a presidential order forcing every American to pay for one windmill!

The base Model 3 is dirt cheap right now - $32,740 after the tax break.
You might want to get a look at one….

OMG! Twice as much!!!
So like two alternators worth???

Truly, the sky is falling.....

If you mean someone not scared of the future, then you’er finally on to something.


The point of the article seems to be that current production will not meet future needs - which is true of so many things. And this guy, who is in the business, is sounding the alarm that people should invest in the business….imagine that.

Did you think we are running out of copper to mine?

When they figured out how to smelt aluminum (you have use large amounts of electricity) this wonder metal was expensive and in short supply. Now they make beer cans out of it.
Today they make copper roofs, use it in plumbing. When it cost more they will make more - to make money.

Ebb and flow my friend.

We had a semi across the road getting work done on it Wednesday, so he unloaded his trailer. He was hauling a bunch of Lucid Motors cars. No I’d never heard of them, I could have sworn they were rebadged Kia Stingers……anyways I proceeded to fire up the Google machine, not the most favorable reviews, and the price hikes for the trim levels, HOLY GUACAMOLE Batman……I did feel better knowing that the upper models that have leather, have ethically sourced Napa leather. I was worried.

That’s how scientific advancements happen, the stroke of a pen.

I would point out, my Luddite friend, that I am impressed by your strong believes against something you admittedly know almost nothing about.

The number 1 selling car in the world is a full electric EV; the Model Y.
More proof of non viability?
The stock of the company that makes them has risen for $10 to $250 a share.
Oh, EV's will never catch on....

But we both know that this is about your unfortunate case of Madagascar syndrome. And apparent copper fetish.

Maybe if you started off small, like an electric toothbrush, you could ease your way into this whole twenty first century thing.

The claims are easy to verify, by the news and stock market- granted that might make them “absurd” to you.
However:



DMV, on this 4th of July holiday I would like to thank you for all the long grins and honest entertainment you have given here. While I smile at your ongoing conspiracy theories and assertions that opinions equal facts, I know that you truly believe them. Good for you. Keep those flags flying.

You are our social justice worrier, forever vigilant against the evil cabals that would have us put on a solar roof, drive EV’s, get inoculated, or (god help us) think that science has merit.

Thanks again, and happy 4th Doctor MaddVibe.

So….maybe don’t spring for the Napa package?

One year update on my “unviable” EV.

It’s a Model 3, got it 2022 in June. No service calls other than to have the garage door opener installed.

The wiper blades gave out after 3 months. Tesla wants $50 for a set. Crossed them to Bosch (OEM) for half that. Then found the inserts for $12….so it goes.

Dirt cheap to operate. 350 miles cost about $12 in “gas” charging at home. No oil changes or tune ups to be scheduled - ever.

Never gone more than 200 miles in a day so I have not yet needed to charge out on the road. Looking to plan a trip with the wife - kinda just to test out the charger network.

Autopilot is great going to the grocery store and work. Won’t buy the Full Self driving; cost too much for the mile I drive.

Fastest car I ever owned; 4.2 seconds 0-60, 12 second 1/4 mile. I stack that against my 88 corvette Z52 manual trans, 94 Mustang GT, etc, etc…Love the speed, does it all no drama, in the rain, cause it’s computer controlled AWD. Best car yet in the snow and ice.

The bad:
You loose a few miles of range in extreme heat and cold.
The door handles are hard to find at night (black on dark blue).
The ride could be smoother.
If you jump in an go when overnight cold, it can take a 1/2 mile before the mirrors unfold and the GPS goes live.

Oh, kids in BMW “M” 3 series keep pulling up and reving their fart cans - because they are kids.

Absurd? Worrying? Naw. Just able to apply critical thinking skills with the ability to think ahead. Moves ahead. I liken it to a survival skill that I learned while playing chess in elementary school, but some are never able to use these skills and apply them in Life. They would rather be told what to think, do and purchase. Oh well.

So, now that we're all bought in with Pedo Joe's Green New Deal and there won't be any ICE's on the road in 2030...he's put into place a huge backstop that government will have to fill. Have no fear, taxpayers will be paying that! It started with incentivizing purchases that weak minded claim as tax write-offs. Never thinking much further than they can piss now the Department of Defense has gone into "worry mode". Like some "Dr. Strangelove" plotline to usher in a new war, would you believe they don't have the minerals and metals locked down that are necessary for their "toys"? No? Think it's just me on some "conspiracy" bender? Nope. So, remember you heard it from me 1st when you want to claim something that you can't fathom. I'm still scratching my head as to why we had to bailout the auto manufacturers in the 1st place. Now as they lose billions of dollars and 10's of thousands of jobs they'll be pining for a Bailout 2.0.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/dod-invokes-defense-production-act-boost-metals-mining-after-china-export-controls

Every time you claim a conspiracy, I get proved right yet again. You need to try harder. Might want to lay off the boosters. They don't do anything but harm you.

You're a real idiot.

https://youtu.be/DSRWKxytW40

You have to admire someone who is so very consistently wrong…..

That was a Model 3 Performance (one of three versions sold “off the lot”). Because Tesla production is now in full swing, that car now retails for $53,240 and is eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. Factor in gas, maintenance and BMW “reliability” () and it stomps a mud hole in the M3.

But ymmv…

Teslas make fine Ubers. It’s the new Prius.

in other news, out of the blue, I received in the mail an issue of Car and Driver magazine from the ever generous DED. He exhibits the true collegiality that exists here in CBid. He noticed I had an interest in buying an EV for my next car so he sent this issue devoted to EVs, identifying some top picks. According to C and D, Hyundai and KIA seem to be turning out great EVs.

Of course I, the gas guzzler at heart, was drawn to the comparison test between the Vette Z06 vs the Porsche GT3.

Thanks Brew! very entertaining...subtle and not so subtle digs at Caddy and Beamers...and their "endearing" qualities...

yes...electric vehicles outperform gas burners...without a lot of the fuss and muss

my SIL borrowed his friends Model S a few months ago, put it in sport mode and stomped on the accelerator...almost gave me whiplash...

The future seems so yesterday.


TOLD YA this was going to happen!!!!



Proterra, an electric bus manufacturing company promoted by the Biden administration, had everything it needed to succeed - and failed anyway.

As the Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross reported:

Proterra cited "various market and macroeconomic headwinds" in a Chapter 11 filing on Monday, which came after the California-based firm cut hundreds of jobs earlier this year and restructured hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding debt.

Proterra stood to rake in millions from Biden's infrastructure and green energy initiatives, the former of which included at least $5 billion in spending on electric buses alone. Biden's flagship climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, also includes spending to help cities convert from diesel buses to electric buses, a major incentive for companies like Proterra.

JoAnn Covington, Proterra's chief legal officer, acknowledged last year that tax credits and federal grants under Biden's bills were a major incentive for the company. Grants to purchase electric buses and to create electric vehicle charging infrastructure would ​"open up opportunities to accelerate adoption of battery-electric and zero-emissions vehicles to all the other commercial segments on the cusp of being electrified," Covington said.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm held non-public shares of proterra, which she sold in mid 2021 to an undisclosed buyer, pocketing over a $1 million profit in the process. She pledged to disclose the buyer, but never did. Proterra's stock only crashed from there, and Granholm’s 240,000 shares would be worth roughly $60,000 total as of writing, had she still held them.

Earlier this year in February, Proterra’s CEO Gareth Joyce was appointed by Biden to his Export Council.

Joe Biden himself promoted Proterra. Last year, during a speech touting electric vehicles, Biden said “Since 2021, companies have announced investments totaling more than $200 billion in domestic manufacturing here in America, from iconic companies like GM and Ford building out new electric vehicle production; to Tesla, our nation’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer; to innovative younger companies like Rivian, building electric trucks, or Proterra, building electric buses, which I saw at a virtual tour last year when I met with the CEO virtually. And they really impressed me.” (Rivian hasn’t done great either, with its stock losing over 80% of its value since it’s public debut).

The year prior, Biden hosted a virtual White House event that spotlighted Proterra’s business, which included the president of the company giving a virtual tour of the company’s manufacturing facility.

Evidently, Bidenomics isn’t even working for those it’s supposed to be rigged in favor of.

https://bongino.com/electric-vehicle-company-heavily-promoted-by-biden-admin-goes-bankrupt

Anyone remember Solyndra? No? The Big Guy's bathhouse boss taught him the gift of the grift.

Welcome to the Desert of the Real.

Clean Energy Exploitations & The Death Spiral Of An Auto Industry

Biden is so wrong, even the liberal Guardian sees it. But it’s full speed ahead with massive subsidies for something counterproductive...

Ronald Stein at the Heartland institute says Unsold Electric Cars May Be Signaling a Death Spiral for the Auto Industry

As the future is fast approaching, virtually all the automobile manufacturers, through government mandates to reduce the emissions of their fleet of vehicles, are going all-in to only manufacture EV’s in the coming years. To meet low emissions for their fleet of vehicles, we’re most likely going to see fewer and fewer hybrids as the auto industry manufacturers need to eliminate the gasoline engines in hybrids to meet those lower emission targets.

The problem is that manufacturers are loading up the “supply chain” with EV’s on dealer lots, but they’re not seeing the “demand” for EV’s coming from the public.

Demand Flop Reasons

driving range,

vehicle reliability,

price,

the availability of electricity for the buildout of the charging infrastructure,

charging time,

the cost and lifespan of batteries and their environmental impact,

the actual impact EVs will have on reducing carbon emissions,

the growing statistics about uncontrollable fires of lithium batteries in EV’s,

problems with battery recycling and end-of-life management,

concerns that the EV free ride of usage of highways and not paying fuel taxes is about to end with the Vehicle Mileage Tax (VMT), i.e., more costs for the EV owners of the future,

concerns that home chargers are destined to follow the UK and be on separate meters so that EV charging will be at higher rates to help stabilize the electrical grid, again more costs for the EV owners of the future.

None of the above is new except perhaps that last bullet point. I have written about the above concern list many times, but it is an excellent synopsis.

Additional Problems

Another problem for the automobile industry is convincing the buyers that its ethical, moral, and socially responsible to buy an EV, especially since most of the exotic mineral and metal supplies to build the batteries are being mined in developing countries with limited environmental regulation nor labor regulations.

Interestingly, the 2021 Pulitzer Prize nominated book “Clean Energy Exploitations – Helping Citizens Understand the Environmental and Humanity Abuses That Support Clean Energy does an excellent job of discussing the lack of transparency to the world of the green movement’s impact upon humanity exploitations in the developing countries that are mining for the exotic minerals and metals required to create the batteries needed to store “green electricity”. Complimentary to the book is a 2-minute clip from Michael Moore’s 2020 documentary film, Planet of the Humans, that’s been viewed by more than 14 million, that illustrates how so-called green electricity is made

It’s not often I agree with Michael Moore on anything, but his video ought to be an eye opener for those who mistakenly believe EV will do anything for the environment.

https://youtu.be/rK_EpFeNlvY?si=wCbYt7YDVrnaaFav

The video start at the 36:44 mark, a good spot for the exploitation that goes into producing the minerals needed for EVs and how solar energy is destroying the desert.

California Leads the Way

Most states lack the year-round temperate climate that Californians enjoy, the distribution of EV ownership throughout the nation should be a concern to the auto industry. With 40 percent of the EV’s in America being in California, that leaves the other 60 percent being among the other 49 States, or approximately 1+ percent per State.

To support the State’s EV growth, California imports more electricity than any other US state, more than twice the amount of Virginia, the second largest importer of electricity. California typically receives between one-fifth and one-third of its electricity supply from outside of the state.

The other 49 states have virtually non-existent EV charging infrastructures, and a few of them may be exporting their electricity to California!

UK Madness

As of May 30, 2022, in the UK, new home and workplace chargers being installed must be “smart” chargers” connected to the internet and able to employ pre-sets limiting their ability to function from 8 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 10 pm.

In addition to the nine hours a day of downtime, authorities will be able to impose a “randomized delay” of 30 minutes on individual chargers in certain areas to prevent grid spikes at other times.

The UK Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 came into force on June 30, 2022. All home installed electric vehicle chargers are required to be separately metered and send information to the Smart meter data communications network. Potentially this legislation allows the electricity used for charging EVs to be charged and taxed at a higher rate than domestic electricity. The technology enacted also enables the rationing of electricity for EV charging because the government can decide when and if an EV can be charged, plus it also allows the EV battery to be drained into the grid if required.

Carnage of Child Labor and Ecological Destruction ‘Elsewhere’ acceptable to Wealthy Countries

Next, please consider Carnage of Child Labor and Ecological Destruction ‘Elsewhere’ acceptable to Wealthy Countries, also by Ronald Stein.

The Administration is laser-focused on ending the “climate crisis” by switching to “clean” electricity. It has few qualms about importing the critically needed materials from foreign countries, primarily China – regardless of economic, defense, national security, ecological or human rights implications. It just wants the dirty aspects of “clean” electricity far away and out of sight.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has been vocal about his commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state. However, some of his recent actions of “leaking” emissions to other countries violate many sections of the written legal framework of The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32).

The silence is deafening from billionaires like Bill Gates, John Kerry, Mark Zuckerberg, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, and President Biden.Through the encouragement of tax incentives and subsidies to go to EV’s and electricity from wind and solar, they are providing financial incentives to China, who already controls the supply chain for the minerals and metals to go green, furthering our total dependence on China to achieve the green goals of America.

“The wealthy country elites continue to demonstrate their lack of ethical, moral, and social responsibilities, by using subsidies that encourage the continued exploitations of people with yellow, brown, and black skin and the environmental degradation occurring elsewhere, out of view of those living in wealthy countries,” says Stein.

The destruction, however, is not just elsewhere.

How an Oasis Becomes a Dead Sea

The Guardian comments Solar Farms Took Over the California Desert: ‘An Oasis Has Become a Dead Sea’

Kevin Emmerich worked for the National Park Service for over 20 years before setting up Basin & Range Watch in 2008, a non-profit that campaigns to conserve desert life. He says solar plants create myriad environmental problems, including habitat destruction and “lethal death traps” for birds, which dive at the panels, mistaking them for water.

He says one project bulldozed 600 acres of designated critical habitat for the endangered desert tortoise, while populations of Mojave fringe-toed lizards and bighorn sheep have also been afflicted. “We’re trying to solve one environmental problem by creating so many others.”

Madness in Michigan

Last week a reader called me regarding use of solar panels in Michigan. Since he began fighting such projects a few years ago, he has been targeted by IRS audits.

The harassment continues despite him winning the battles.

Michigan is probably one of the worst places to place solar. I suggested to my reader to look up Michigan cloudiness. Check this out.

A 2013 study concluded that over a 31-year period, Michigan winters are filled with clouds more than 50% of the time. That means the months of December, January and February are quite cloudy. Places like Wisconsin, however, are less than 30% cloudy on average in the winter.

A 2023 update shows it’s even worse. PBS reports Michigan winters are super cloudy and getting worse.

For nearly two weeks, clouds blanketed large swaths of Michigan, occasionally accompanied by rainfall that transformed our winter wonderland into a muddy mess.

The bad news is gloomy, muddy winters could become increasingly normal in Michigan as climate change chips away at Great Lakes ice cover, strengthening the forces that drive lake effect clouds, rain and snow.

And how much of the time would those solar panels be covered in snow?

Even with subsidies, there is no way solar projects in Michigan can possibly work.

Solar Energy Is Not Cheaper

I am sick of all these lies about solar being cheaper. On a new facility, in sunny place, it might appear so on the surface. But that ignores the fact that existing plants are up an running and will need to be mothballed, if and when there is storage capacity to deal with the inconvenient issue that sun does not shine at night.

Destruction of productive facilities for something only marginally better makes little sense. And it makes no sense at all when one factors in required grid updates, child labor exploitation, and also the destruction of US deserts, the latter discussed in detail below.

What to Expect When Politicians Try to Pick Technology Winners

On May 25, with a spotlight on the EU, I commented on What to Expect When Politicians Try to Pick Technology Winners Part 1

Biden’s Solar Push Is Destroying the Desert and Releasing Stored Carbon

The Left ignored environment destruction, even in the US.

On May 28, 2023, I noted Biden’s Solar Push Is Destroying the Desert and Releasing Stored Carbon

Biden is so clearly wrong, even the extremely liberal Guardian sees it. But it’s full speed ahead with massive subsidies for something counterproductive for the goal.

Electric Vehicles for Everyone?

On July 19, I asked Electric Vehicles for Everyone? If the Dream Was Met, Would it Help the Environment?

My follow-up post was What Do MishTalk Readers Think About “Electric Vehicles for Everyone?”

Math Does Not Add Up

The EV math does not add up in the EU or here. But the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), better known as the Eurozone, has economic debt brakes and budget rules that make matters more painful for the 20 EMU countries.

In the US, deficits pile up as do the economic impacts of a massive wave of Bidenomic regulations and mandates.

We pretend that deficits don’t matter and mainstream media not only looks the other way, but is in on the act with countless fearmongering stories.

Inflationary Madness Marches On

On August 17, I commented Yet Another Biden Regulation Will Increase Costs and Promote More Inflation

It involves a new Biden regulation that will increase the price of all government projects. Click on the link for details.

Rooftop Solar Panel Madness

The one place where solar might makes sense is roof top solar panels. But even there, we have environmental madness, taxing the hell out of panels, making them too expensive to use.

For discussion, please see The Cost of Soup is About to Increase, Thank President Biden

The above article discusses soup and solar panels. Soup is the sideline.

US policy is so convoluted that we aim to put solar where it makes no sense at all, and kill the idea where it does.

Meanwhile, If you actually believe you are doing something positive for the environment by buying a Tesla, you are an environmental fool.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/clean-energy-exploitations-death-spiral-auto-industry

There is your future.

Under new state law, Texas will bill electric vehicle drivers an extra $200 a year

The new registration fee is meant to make up for the state’s lost revenue from gasoline taxes that are used to pay for road construction and maintenance.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 505, which requires electric vehicle owners to pay the fee when they register a vehicle or renew their registration. It’s being imposed because lawmakers said EV drivers weren’t paying their fair share into a fund that helps cover road construction and repairs across Texas.

Many environmental and consumer advocates agreed with lawmakers that EV drivers should pay into the highway fund but argued over how much.

Some thought the state should set the fee lower to cover only the lost state tax dollars, rather than both the state and federal money, because federal officials may devise their own scheme. Others argued the state should charge nothing because EVs help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.

“We urgently need to get more electric vehicles on the road,” said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas. “Any increased fee could create an additional barrier for Texans, and particularly more moderate- to low-income Texans, to make that transition.”

I've heard "The power to tax is the power to destroy".