Electric Vehicles ... or Auto Unions?

by Simon 35 Replies latest social current

  • Simon
    Simon

    Apparently Biden had an Electric Vehicle Summit earlier this week.

    Tell me the first name that comes to mind when it comes to electric vehicles?

    Tesla ... right? They have practically defined the segment after all.

    But which company wasn't invited to Biden's Electric Vehicle Summit?

    Testa ... WTF, right?

    The companies that were invited all have union workers, Tesla does not. Representatives of the United Auto Workers union were also invited.

    So, is it about the climate, the environment, and a genuine desire to promote electric vehicles ... or is it really more about the unions and rewarding political support?

    https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/08/06/why-tesla-stock-slipped-today/

  • waton
    waton

    Musk likes to get things done, and unions like to get payed for the slowest possible wor pace.

    He is doing what wt would call a quickbuild in germany, near the polish border, mercedes, porsche, bmw, audi /vw and their unions dont like it.

    imho, he should concentrate on near space and let the boys build the cars.

  • Rocketman123
    Rocketman123

    There is no question that electric powered cars are coming in a big way.

    I'm surprised that Tesla doesn't have a established labor union at its manufacturing plants because these care are extremely expensive.

    Their top of the line Sedans/SUVs run for $120,000 to $140,000 each

  • Anony Mous
    Anony Mous

    @rocketman: look what happened to all the auto brands that have trade unions. Without the Obama intervention, they would’ve all gone out of business by now.

    Musk doesn’t like unions, because he likes to actually get his car built at reasonable prices.

    Electric cars are already insanely expensive because they take a lot of energy and resources (carbon emissions) to create, much more than any regular car. You can’t reduce those costs without cutting a ton of space, range and usability (compare a Tesla with VW eGolf, Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius and understand why nobody wants to buy the latter).

    Top of the line electric cars will always cost more than my house and their prices are going up, not down, mandating the electric car, like Biden is trying to pass by 2030, would mean that nobody that isn’t rich can afford to drive a car, just in time for the government to swoop in and provide Amtrak public transport paid for with your taxes, and just as in California, a waste of money for whatever high speed rail system they have been building for 30 years.

    Musk is also a conservative/libertarian, so Biden would never invite him just for that, but Musk isn’t shy of pointing out the hypocrisy and shady backroom deals they just made in the White House. How much do you want to bet a Biden family or staff member will be heading whatever development the big three auto makers are going to make in this arena?

  • road to nowhere
    road to nowhere

    I foresee a big fail in pushing electric and scrapping internal combustion. The grid, lithium, disposal, range, unicorns.

    Wait for a decline in the economy, standard of living, freedom. I get undercurrents of fewer short cool showers, dense housing, public transit, permission to travel.

  • Anony Mous
    Anony Mous

    @road to nowhere: that is Europe in a nutshell if you’re poor. That’s how I grew up. And there are people on here that don’t understand that if you’re rich or American (but I repeat myself) you can’t fathom the pure poverty that socialism has bestowed on Western Europe over the last 70 years.

  • Rocketman123
    Rocketman123

    Biden is trying to pass by 2030, would mean that nobody that isn’t rich can afford to drive a car

    Really so what about Auto companies like Toyota, Hyundai and Honda who already make affordable electric cars right now ?

  • LV101
    LV101

    Anony - you're 🎯perfect re/socialism and history confirms it. US was already a socialist country - not sure what you call free rent/checks and no one has to work.

    Newt Gingrich is convinced Biden is unleashing a "Replacement Plot" against "Classic Americans".

  • Anony Mous
    Anony Mous

    @rocketman: you missed the part where I said, all those manufacturers have one, but almost nobody buys them.

    You won’t fit a family with 2 or 3 kids in a Prius, you won’t haul anything with it, you won’t fit much cargo, they need special tires and they have a short range.

    The ones that are big enough and have a range to replace my $15k VW on gas (BMW, Toyota) are more expensive than Tesla’s offering ($50-60k).

    If you can afford a big electric car and you are single or have one child, you have nothing to worry about, but people rely on trucks and minivans sub-$20k for a reason.

  • Rocketman123
    Rocketman123

    Its not that its going to be illegal to drive gas fueled vehicles , its about care manufacturers will have to sell most of their vehicles as eclectic .

    Up here in Canada where gas is twice the cost of whats in the US, you see loads of all electric or Hybrid vehicles on the road already.

    Of course there is still going to be heavy hauling trucks which run on gas/diesel for while yet.

    Recently a neighbor just bought a new Chrysler Mini Van that is electric and another neighbor got a new Hyundai electric sedan .

    These guys just lowered their car gas bill to nothing, that saving is now going to the financial loan/lease for those vehicles. ......and they aren't polluting the air in the process.

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