Staff Reports
The Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles (EVs) has faced criticism from the American people, who are not interested in the expensive and unreliable cars. Many find EVs inconvenient because they require planning trips around charging stations and waiting for the battery to recharge. Hertz, which had previously planned for EVs to make up a quarter of its rental fleet by 2025, changed its course and sold about 20,000 of them earlier this year to invest in more combustion engine vehicles.
When Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary, was questioned on CBS’s “Face the Nation” about the lack of charging stations despite significant taxpayer spending, he explained that it’s more challenging than it seems to install a charging station. Despite the $7.5 billion investment in 2021 specifically for charging stations, only seven or eight have been produced so far.
Town Hall: CBS Host Pushes Buttigieg on Why So Few EV Charging Stations Have Been Built With $7.5B Investment https://t.co/A1zgbsi6Bd
— Ian Hansen 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHansenFeed) May 28, 2024
Former President Trump criticized the Biden administration for prioritizing EVs over gas-powered vehicles, which he claims are more in demand. He emphasized the significant cost of subsidizing EVs when they are not desired by the majority of consumers. Buttigieg defended the administration’s goal of having half a million chargers by the end of the decade and highlighted the ongoing efforts to work with all 50 states to achieve this objective.
The discussion surrounding EVs and the challenges in establishing the necessary infrastructure continued, with Buttigieg and host Margaret Brennan providing differing perspectives. Despite the Biden administration’s ambitions for EVs, many Americans remain skeptical about their practicality and reliability compared to traditional gas-powered vehicles.
