EV - Present State

We love the idea, especially in connection to clean air, climate and environment. We dislike the producers. It seems like all new products, the sizzle sells, but the product is not fully developed. Anyone who has had one of their internet contraptions hacked, kwons what we mean. 

Telling it like it is...

The first and biggest complaint is the time to recharge a vehicle. My gas car takes less than five minutes. Not so with EVs. In addition, charging stations are few and far in between. The industry lacks a common portal. So, the charging station's plug gizmo may not fit your make and model. Then, what do you do?

In bad weather your EV performs poorly. To make matters worse, the vehicle is difficult to start in a cold season.

Not usually mentioned is the fact that battery packs need replacing more often than realized. And yes, they are expensive.

Limited driving range. I have driven across our great and large nation many times. I would not dare to venture a trip with an EV.

The price to charge an EV at the moment is more expensive than gasoline. This may change. There are too many varibles to see the future cost.

Cost! EVs are more expensive than combustion engines to purchase. This will even out as more electric vehicles are produced and sold. However, the transition is slow with many obstacles. 

Weight. The batteries that are presently utilized are way, way to heavy. Technology needs to improve the battery packs for EVs. By achieving this point, the range and pick-up response will dramatically be add to the performance of electric vehicles. Also, the development of a battery storage unit would give owners more faith in long road trips. 

Considering an EV? Reread all of the above.

Maybe An Investment?

If you missed the early event, you missed the boat. The P/Es of EV manufacturers offering stock was off the charts. They still are, but the market is catching up to a value and price level. 

The biggest brand is Tesla. The stock hit a record price at $300. It is now $193 and heading for $108. How about Buffett's investment, BYD Co. Ltd.? It reached $36. It is now $23 and heading for $18. One other big name was NIO Co. The stock hit $60. It is now $5.93 and falling. Ouch! The Chinese government will intercede to save it or maybe not with all its other worries in real estate? With all that revealed by the market a new EV is coming from Viet Nam (VFS). It is suppose to sell for $20 grand. India, as well as every gas consuming manufacturer is getting or is in the game. A shakeout will occur. A key to success or failure will be on battery development. Tesla is leading, but South Korea is making up ground. President Biden gave EVs a big push in his Inflation Reduction Act. It provided money for charging stations and gave EV buyers a tax credit of $7,500. We noted this and we also expect others to copy and other changes addressing EV vehicles.

Hyundai is offering a cash back on its EVs for??? If you guessed $7,500, go buy a lottery ticket. We predict that auto insureres will soon offer seperate pricing for combustion v. electric.

We mentioned Tesla as the leading brand, but China is the leading seller of EVs. One aspect to their success comes from Russia. When sanctions got put on Russia by the West, it had no choice but to buy  cars from China. 

Back to Tesla

Tesla is cutting production in its German plant due to the termoil in the Red Sea to shipping. If the tanker cannot bring the materials, you are out of luck. Old man Ford realized this aspect a 100 years ago. Ford produced everything that it needed. Another point with Tesla and tariffs. Tesla sold only one car in all of South Korea in January. There are other months where they had no sales at all. I made this point years ago with the greatest car ever made, the Ford Mustang. How many were sold in foreign nations? They don't buy American. The answer is to put quotas on imports and high, very high tariffs on all imports. Use the tax to lower our national deficit.

I will say one more thing about Tesla. They make a beautiful looking car. Just address the problems. Peace.