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> Gas stations...provide many, many jobs to society However, if they are no longer necessary, then everybody stands to benefit economically because it's an ine

by rlpb 3y ago

> Gas stations...provide many, many jobs to society However, if they are no longer necessary, then everybody stands to benefit economically because it's an inefficiency that we can eliminate. We can be nostalgic about it and lament tangential benefits that would be lost, but ultimately that's the reality. > My understanding of EV pricing when you're traveling is that it's significantly more expensive than home charging. If you have a lot of money, paying for that electricity doesn't matter as much. However, lots of people (especially those with kids) take a road trip, paying time to save money. It seems a bit odd to assume that people with EVs will take a road trip to save money, when it's probably worth their time to just fly most/all of the way and get a rental car. This doesn't apply to the vast majority of car journeys, and the infrastructure we enjoy at low cost is propped up by those. When they disappear, I don't think the economics will work any more to favour ICE journeys. The infrastructure for electricity distribution will continue to exist since it's used for much more, but the gas distribution network will wither, and gas-based road trips will therefore get more expensive.

waterheater 3y ago
>However, if they are no longer necessary, then everybody stands to benefit economically because it's an inefficiency that we can eliminate. We can be nostalgic about it and lament tangential benefits that would be lost, but ultimately that's the reality. Agreed. Seventy years ago, typists were employed by the thousands, but society adjusted, for the better at that. >This doesn't apply to the vast majority of car journeys, and the infrastructure we enjoy at low cost is propped up by those. I, for one, enjoy low-cost infrastructure, and so does anyone struggling to pay their bills. The main reason the EV industry is growing is due to governmental support, not pure customer demand. The cost of EV charging infrastructure will amortize, but the economics of the eventual dominance of EVs (in its current state, mind you) will mostly hurt the poor in the near term, not help them. Perhaps there may yet be a turning point in the future.

by rlpb 3y ago

waterheater 3y ago

>However, if they are no longer necessary, then everybody stands to benefit economically because it's an inefficiency that we can eliminate. We can be nostalgic about it and lament tangential benefits that would be lost, but ultimately that's the reality. Agreed. Seventy years ago, typists were employed by the thousands, but society adjusted, for the better at that. >This doesn't apply to the vast majority of car journeys, and the infrastructure we enjoy at low cost is propped up by those. I, for one, enjoy low-cost infrastructure, and so does anyone struggling to pay their bills. The main reason the EV industry is growing is due to governmental support, not pure customer demand. The cost of EV charging infrastructure will amortize, but the economics of the eventual dominance of EVs (in its current state, mind you) will mostly hurt the poor in the near term, not help them. Perhaps there may yet be a turning point in the future.