Strangers policing reasons you bought your EV

[rayfound]

I think the annoying thing about all these arguments is that they're just in bad faith.

Examples: They parrot propaganda about "more resources to build that it will save", and "batteries are worse for the environment", and "the grid can't handle the power demand"...


Like, buddy: YOU DON'T CARE. You're just repeating arguments you heard from your disinformation outlet of choice: everything in your life and behavior demonstrates that you don't care about environmental concerns, public utilities, etc...

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[Leo]

Was un a conversation with a few colleagues in the Midwest out my choice to by an Rivian. My first response was because it's cool AF. A first class piece of tech and one of the most capable vehicles money can by. Then went into how this was my first American car in 20 years. Tesla, Rivian, Lucid and others will revitalise American auto manufacturing and if we don't wake up, we'll be left behind. A bit of awkward silence after that.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Was un a conversation with a few colleagues in the Midwest out my choice to by an Rivian. My first response was because it's cool AF. A first class piece of tech and one of the most capable vehicles money can by. Then went into how this was my first American car in 20 years. Tesla, Rivian, Lucid and others will revitalise American auto manufacturing and if we don't wake up, we'll be left behind. A bit of awkward silence after that.

This is more along the lines of what I've said to people as well. I also mention how advanced China's manufacturing of EV tech is and how important it is that we stay ahead of them.

 

[Thedude]

A lot of the EV driver saving the environment arguments just make me laugh. The amount of pollution saved by driving an EV is nothing in compared to the amount that could be saved if people chose to live reasonably and with a reduced impact on the world. Yes, an EV is a large reduction in atmospheric pollutants compared to most ICE vehicles but if the rest of your lifestyle is a mess than it’s not worth much.

The Rivian is a great choice for a high performance semi-luxury vehicle but it isn’t a golden ticket to saving the environment. A better choice is to continue driving the 1995 Honda Civic and not have used the resources to build the Rivian in the first place. We like nice things though and I can’t be a hypocrite and say I made that choice either.

 

[Throwdown]

Sounds like that guy just wanted to argue about it being good for the environment. I am not worried about convincing folks like this. If they ask I tell them the reasons why I bought it. While I do care about the environment that isn't the main reason I purchased.

There is yet another group that is irritated at the fact folks can get tax credits. They feel its taking money from them...etc. You can't win these arguments...I just try to stick with my facts...if they want to argue I give them 5 mins and then move on. The argumentative folks already have their minds made up anyway before you even open your mouth.

The government incentives turn things political unfortunately.

I get this one as well and my response is always the same, most evs are made here, the best evs are made here, I'd rather people get a tax credit for something that was likely built here than the money going to a foreign country for aid. That shuts them up pretty fast

 

[Throwdown]

I’ve noticed the Congo comes up a lot. Which is IMO a valid point.

Not to me, everyone who brings that up also has an iPhone and an iPad and a flat screen tv and news flash an ICE cars has PLENTY of precious metals in it still, so it's a non-starter to me.

 

[ThisIsMyHandle]

I'm to the point that I tell people I will talk about the vehicle specially, a few common charging questions, but not the 'You are stranded on an iceberg for a week you'd freeze to death stuff.

I still get a lot of negativity even in upstate new york -, blue county and state....

 

[Count Orlok]

The Count generally ignores people trying to initiate inane debates about EVs but on occasion has been known to blurt out "because I'm a fucking communist you numbnutz."

Just on occasion... and just to reinforce their confirmation bias.

 

[Dark-Fx]

The Count generally ignores people trying to initiate inane debates about EVs but on occasion has been known to blurt out "because I'm a fucking communist you numbnutz."

Just on occasion... and just to reinforce their confirmation bias.

I bought it as a personal favor to Al Gore.

 

[Ingo B]

As someone who has had an EV for several years, I have seen a lot of what is described - I don't think it is EV hate, per se.

Sure there are some that hate EVs, but I don't think it is the majority of these incidents. In the early days of EVs, there were a lot of EV owners that acted snobby and holier-than-thou. I witnessed plenty of that too. That could have rubbed some people the wrong way back in the days.

What I think most people are experiencing these days is simply falling along ideological lines. I even see that, today, from folks on this very forum - in this very thread. Most people have a misunderstanding that buying an EV makes one a "greenie" or "tree-hugger." They like to bring up the source of energy for EV charging because of said "holier-than-thou" attitude or perception thereof. And that source of energy can be a "gotcha" to bring one "down." I'm not a fan of that type of argument / debate strategy - to each their own.

When I do get questions related to environment, I simply say:
"I don't care."
"It's not the reason I buy EVs."
"Don't confuse polution with man-made climate change."
"If it turns out, one day, that buying an EV helped the environment then cool."

This usually puts them back for a moment and one can have a real conversation and often times they walk away with a better understanding of EVs in general. We can discuss the benefits and limitations of EVs.

The conversation always turns to:
"How are you going to charge it when the grid goes down?"

This is when I get to have a fun discussion with folks. That's when we talk about self-sufficiency and not relying on others. I usually mention things like the Colonial Pipeline hack or when there's a hurricane on the East Coast that is predicted to make landfall in our area, gas disappears very quickly.

I encourage you all to not take an adversarial approach to these questions. I have seen people go from staunch anti-EV to "hmmm, I think I might buy one." Another I often see with truck guy is: "that is pretty crazy, when it can do 'X' I think I will finally get one.

If you put off the wrong energy you will create anti-EV folks when they weren't to begin with. You can easily diffuse the questions about source of energy, if you live in an area that heavily uses coal or NG, simply by saying "I cannot change the source of energy for where I live, it is what it is, I wish they would build several Nuclear Power Plants and provide cleaner and cheaper energy to all."

If you truly see yourself as an "ambassador" for Rivian or EVs in general then you going to have to adjust your tactics a bit. Don't get me wrong it is glorious when you hit someone with a zinger and it shuts them up, it just usually isn't the best approach to shift another's perspective.

This is completely rational and makes a ton of sense. You must be new to the internet.

 

[lefkonj]

But the batteries are only good for 50-60lk
Charging is expensive
The waste for the battery when you are done
Gas cars aren't that bad for the environment
EVs go on fire

Just a few of the dumb things you hear from the 'cult' of anti-ev

 

[md2023]

This comes up from time to time with me as well, but more in general conversations with people than in specific reference to seeing my Rivian and starting up the convo.
I think at this point in time with the imbalance of EVs and ICEs in the world EVs make sense and are generally good for the environment (especially with solar in the equation). It doesn't mean that EV drivers are going to save the world or that owning an ICE vehicle is a morally irresponsible decision. I bought one because I like it, makes sense for my life (can charge at home, have solar, can afford it, etc.) and think it is marginally better for the environment than if I bought a new ICE. I don't know what the best ratio of ICE to EV is best for the environment is but am pretty sure it isn't as ICE heavy as the current state of ownership.
I do find it odd when people (on either side) enter these conversations with essentially strangers as if there is something to prove or win, good vs evil. But I do think the environment/climate is in pretty bad shape and getting worse and good faith conversations and efforts to address that are good.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

I just wanted to make sure you didn't buy it for environmental reasons

Seems like a silly question to ask someone who bought a 7500 pound vehicle that eats tires for lunch.

On the flip side I can see serious questions being pondered by family or close friends wanting to know if you justified your purchase using environmental reasons.

Did I justify my decision partly using environmental reasons? Sure did.

Did I really think there was any logic in the environmental reasons? Not really.

Environmentally speaking about the only good thing I've done is to not breed. I definitely used environmental reasons as an excuse. I can't really see anything more green than not breeding.

 

[Thedude]

Environmentally speaking about the only good thing I've done is to not breed. I definitely used environmental reasons as an excuse. I can't really see anything more green than not breeding.

Same here. I might drive a dirty 1-ton diesel but I haven’t assisted in the overpopulation of the planet and live in a 160sq/ft trailer powered almost solely by solar year round. Pretty sure my footprint on this Earth is much smaller than a guy with a couple environmentally friendly EVs.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Not to me, everyone who brings that up also has an iPhone and an iPad and a flat screen tv and news flash an ICE cars has PLENTY of precious metals in it still, so it's a non-starter to me.

On the internet I see EV hate coming mostly from people who deny human caused climate change or those who want to be negative about any solution. As an example we all know current battery tech isn't the solution, but they don't seem to understand that its a giant step in the right direction.

They'd rather we just did nothing. They're often irked about incentives and any regulation pushing us to EV's, and they deny that battery technology is getting better.

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