#RBPI (#RESIST-by-Plugging-in) diaries expand awareness that:
Plug-in vehicles (a.k.a. electric cars or EVs) are a viable and attractive option in many segments of the US new and used auto market. When the government is dominated by oil interests and global-warming deniers, switching to an EV is a direct, effective act of #Resistance.If you are serious about resisting, have a car, and haven’t plugged in yet, I hope to convince you to move from “when will the EV that fits my endless wishlist be available?”, to —
“How soon can we get an EV and hit Big Oil where it hurts?”
I waited 6 months between #RBPI vol. 1 (ok, it was really 1a/b) and 2. But 2017 is playing out as a transformational year for EVs in the US, so I’m upping the frequency to monthly, as long as I can keep up.
Of course, this month one EV news item rules them all. Unless you've been under a rock, you probably know that Tesla just launched deliveries of its potentially earth-shattering Model 3, in its usual Silicon Valley pomp and fanfare.
My hat is off to Tesla, the main driving force that pushes EVs into mainstream American consciousness. The action plans Tesla has set in motion are way more revolutionary, and the tipping point is far closer, than most people realize despite the extensive media coverage. This tipping point is intimately related to the Model 3, of course, so the media at least got this part of the story right.
However.
The marketing, delivery and pricing policies revealed over the last few days, demonstrate why one must never worship any tech company — or any corporation — nor put blind faith in them.
Below the fold, first explanation of Model 3’s revolutionary potential, followed by Tesla’s fine-print trickery — and then, updates from elsewhere in EV world.