This is a conversation about _electric_ cars... I don't understand why you keep comparing automatic and manual transmissions... Obviously the manual is cheaper

This is a conversation about _electric_ cars... I don't understand why you keep comparing automatic and manual transmissions... Obviously the manual is cheaper in that comparison. That is completely irrelevant when talking about electric cars. The properties of an electric motor make a multi-speed transmission of any sort unnecessary for 'normal' use (for a _very_ wide range of 'normal'). Yes, a manual transmission is cheaper than an automatic, but both are more expensive than "no" transmission[1], which is why electric car manufacturers aren't bothering with them for mass-market vehicles. [1] Obviously there is still gearing transmitting power to the wheels from the motor, but in the case of electric cars, it can be a single fixed-ratio set of gears, rather than multiple sets of gears and one or more clutches...