The two do not compare in the least. Dependence on oil has direct costs in extraction, and high potential for environmental disaster associated with it. Then,

The two do not compare in the least. Dependence on oil has direct costs in extraction, and high potential for environmental disaster associated with it. Then, on top of that, there are ongoing costs for physical distribution of fuel, and then after all of that additional environmental consequences of using the fuel. Rare earth metals are a component that are extracted from the ground, manufactured into the structures we need for electric cars, and then put in the cars until the component wears out. So, sure, long as we need stuff, you're never going to get rid of dependence on everything. But lets have a reasonable sense of proportion here.