Electric vehicles have been aggressively pushed by the Biden Administration since he took over in 2021. The leftist green agenda has assured Americans that if they overpay for an EV, they will be saving the environment. Accordingly, Joe Biden has done everything he can to take out American energy and raise gasoline prices so high as to force buyers into electric vehicles.
Turns out many Americans aren’t buying what Biden is selling. Sales have been sluggish at best, and technology has failed to prove reliable. The government has also failed to build the charging infrastructure necessary for a full-scale conversion to electricity. It hasn’t gone well, to say the least.
The apathy for EVs hasn’t been a uniquely American experience. In the United Kingdom, sales have lagged, and there have also been charging infrastructure issues. However, the U.K. has found a scapegoat for the issues behind the disinterest in the changeover. Mr. Bean. Specifically, legendary English comedian Rowan Atkinson.
Better known as Mr. Bean, Atkinson has been taking heat for “damaging” the reputation of EVS and contributing to their poor sales. During an environment and climate change committee meeting on Tuesday, the British House of Lords called the comedian out.
A British environmental group called Thinktank Green Alliance specifically blamed the “Love Actually” actor for damaging the reputation of the pricey vehicles. The group said this: “One of the most damaging articles was a comment piece written by Rowan Atkinson in The Guardian which has been roundly debunked.” Whether or not Atkinson’s comments were legitimately debunked is debatable, but Thinktank continued: “Unfortunately, fact checks never reach the same breadth of audience as the original false claim, emphasising the need to ensure high editorial standards around the net zero transition.”
The 69-year-old actor penned a piece titled, “I love electric vehicles – and was an early adopter. But increasingly, I feel duped.” The comedian suggested the EVS were”a bit soulless” and roundly criticized the use and production of lithium-ion batteries. This did not sit well with the British government. Atkinson offered suggestions such as synthetic fuel and said: “Increasingly, I’m feeling that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end, and that’s no bad thing.”
Mr. Bean, despite the government’s objections, pointed out: “They’re absurdly heavy, huge amounts of energy are required to make them, and they are estimated to last only upwards of 10 years. It seems a perverse choice of hardware with which to lead the automobile’s fight against the climate crisis.” These are all concerns raised by critics and customers in America as well. Just a quarter of the UK car sales last year were electric, and American sales weren’t much better.
The future of electric vehicles is tenuous at best. Consumers aren’t confident, sales are poor, and the government hasn’t held up their end of the deal. This holds true for America and the United Kingdom. Considering the mixed messages as to the actual environmental benefits, as well as technology that isn’t quite there yet in terms of reliability, electric vehicles may have seen their best day.
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