“Utilities haven’t thought through it.” One third of US power is generated by coal “How you incentivize them to charge could really matter,” Zivin says about electric vehicle owners. Graff Zivin is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of California, San Diego. “I couldn’t bear to hear them say the words ‘zero emissions vehicle’ one more time,” says Joshua Graff Zivin, who advised one of California’s three main utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric, on electric cars. The power plants providing that energy aren’t emission-free even in California, 60% of electricity came from burning fossil fuels in 2015, while solar and wind together made up less than 14%. Yet the “zero emissions” claim grates on some experts, who have continued to argue over whether electric cars are really more environmentally friendly than gas guzzlers, once the manufacturing process for the vehicles and their batteries are taken into account.Įlectric cars rely on regular charging from the local electricity network. Tesla’s focus on luxury, high-performance vehicles has also broadened their appeal electric cars are no longer purely an environmental statement, but a tech status symbol too. Electric cars have never been closer to the mainstream, the market pushed ahead by California subsidies for electric car buyers, and a wide array of new models from established car firms such as Toyota and Chevy.
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