A Tesla Model Y vehicle.
A Tesla charging at a Tesla charging station at Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q on I45 Gulf Freeway in Webster in June 2023.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, listens to Gov. Greg Abbott speak to a crowd during a groundbreaking ceremony for the auto manufacturer's lithium refining facility in Robstown on May 8, 2023.
A sign for electric vehicle charging stations is seen in a parking structure at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Blink Charging stations for electric vehicles are seen in a parking garage at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, in Houston.
Electric vehicles are far from perfect, as a drive to Laredo recently reminded me.
Two weeks ago, I rented a Tesla Model Y, the best-selling EV in the United States, with an EPA estimated range of 330 miles. Driving south from San Antonio on I-35 into a headwind, the car delivered nowhere near that range.
Complicating matters, Tesla does not have a charging station between Natalia, just south of San Antonio, and Laredo. We barely made it. My 2017 Chevy Bolt would have needed a tow truck.
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The EV hype cycle is meeting reality, as my colleague James Osborne recently reported. But this is phase 2 of the electrify-everything revolution, not the ending.
Media organizations are flooding readers with tales of EV woes in classic build-them-up and tear-them-down fashion. None of them are new. EVs are wrapping up their awkward preteen years.
I wrote about a strong, cold wind draining my Chevy’s battery between Corpus Christi and San Antonio in 2020. A battery’s chemical reaction is 20% less efficient in the cold, just as gasoline engines lose 15% of their miles-per-gallon in the same weather, the Department of Energy explains.
The more difficult problem for EVs is finding a charging station.
If there had been one in Cotulla, halfway between Natalia and Laredo, I wouldn’t have worried. In the space of a bathroom break, a Tesla Supercharger would have provided more than enough power to complete the trip without the messages warning me to limit my speed to extend the vehicle’s range.
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Early adopters will grow EV sales to 10% of the U.S. new car market in 2024, Cox Automotive predicted. Texans have registered 250,000 EVs, with 50,000 added since June, according to DFW Clean Cities.
Improved technology and new charging stations will make them irresistible to average users from 2025 onward.
The most significant change in 2024 will come in charging infrastructure. The auto industry is universally adopting Tesla’s charging connector, and Elon Musk has promised to open the company’s Superchargers to all makes this year.
Musk understood the importance of charging stations from the beginning, and they have been a significant benefit of Tesla ownership. But once Musk opens his network to everyone, a simple adapter will make my Bolt more than a city car.
The Biden administration will grow other charging networks this year, with nearly $150 million to repair or replace 4,000 existing charging ports across 20 states. Then, the Federal Highways Administration will issue another $623 million in grants for new public chargers, including $30 million for Texas.
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Meanwhile, the Treasury Department has issued rules for how homes and businesses can collect tax credits for installing chargers. The tax credit will cover up to 30% of the equipment and installation costs.
The biggest improvements, though, will come with new battery technologies rolling out over the next five years. New chemistry and designs will offer batteries that hold more energy and recharge quicker.
Last year, the Energy Department gave $42 million to 23 projects that will boost the U.S. battery industry. In addition to Ford’s pioneering lithium iron phosphate batteries, other designs will lower costs, boost efficiency and eliminate dependence on materials primarily found in unstable nations.
Then, there is the brass ring of solid-state batteries that do not rely on a gel to separate the cathode and the anode. A solid electrolyte would make batteries smaller, lighter and safer. Volkswagen says it’s close, while German automotive supplier Schaeffler displayed one at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, says solid-state batteries may not be necessary at all. Chief Technology Officer Markus Schäfer told the United Kingdom’s Autocar magazine that lithium-ion technology is improving just as quickly.
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The gangly preteen with braces and thick glasses is growing up. Frankly, EVs are improving so quickly now that a consumer who can wait probably should so they can get the most for their money in a year or two.
Once the ranges are longer and the charging points closer together, the other benefits of EVs become more important. EV fuel costs are half as much as gasoline, and routine maintenance costs are $300 a year lower.
Then there is the environmental impact. No matter how you slice it, EVs are better for fighting climate change by every measure. Last year, EVs reduced oil demand by 1.8 million barrels a day, trade journal CleanTechnica calculated.
The hype cycle may be over, but EVs will only become more mainstream as consumers realize they are cheaper and much more fun to drive.
Award-winning opinion writer Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his “Tomlinson’s Take” newsletter at houstonhchronicle.com/tomlinsonnewsletter or expressnews.com/tomlinsonnewsletter.
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