Rivian CEO issues strong statement about people who purchase gas-powered cars: ‘Sort of like building a horse barn in 1910’

https://lemmy.world/post/4035140

Rivian CEO issues strong statement about people who purchase gas-powered cars: ‘Sort of like building a horse barn in 1910’ - Lemmy.world

Rivian CEO issues strong statement about people who purchase gas-powered cars: ‘Sort of like building a horse barn in 1910’::“I don’t think I would have believed it.”

Um…does the CEO know that horses are still a thing and that horse barns (aka stables) are still in use? Also, the invention of the automobile didn’t instantly displace the horse. It was well into the 1920s before they became a regular sight.

Also…there’s lots of reasons to buy gas-powered cars these days. For one, not everyone lives in a home where they can install the necessary charger, so you’d always be on the “hunt” for charging stations, and fuel cars are generally cheaper at this time. Once we see the market flooded with EV cars, the prices will come down and fuel cars will no longer be the norm, but we’re likely a decade or more away from that.

I get what the CEO is trying to say, but it’s still incredibly tone-deaf.

Also the recharge times are still a deal breaker for anyone who fancies a road trip every once in a while.
What, you don’t like spending a quarter of your road trip waiting for “fuel”?
I spent under an hour charging on a 8 hour drive. I barely had time to pee or eat before the car was ready. Have you road-tripped an EV?
No, I don’t have 80k to spend on a “maybe I won’t be too worse off”

My Chevy Bolt cost less than half that, and that was new with most of the bells and whistles. I drove over 200 miles on a single charge yesterday. Longer road trips are doable with a tiny bit of planning and multitasking. When you’re charging, do all the things you do on a road trip anyway: take a leak, grab a snack, give your mind a quick break.

My car is also the 2nd worst major EV for road trips (after the Nissan Leaf). The Volkswagen ID.4, for example, is a little more than half your $80K number and charges about 2-3x faster than the Bolt.

It’s also pretty awesome to not have to go to gas stations as part of your ~weekly routine because you charge at home and it costs next to nothing.