Myths

This is one of the most common misconceptions! Even on a coal grid, EVs produce half the lifecycle emissions of a gas car. Combustion in a power plant is twice as efficient as combustion in a gas car. In other words, if we took the gas from 100 gas cars and generated electricity, it could power 200 electric cars.

Grid capacity is more of an economics problem than a physics problem. If demand for electricity goes up, utilities build more generation and transmission.

EVs can actually help the economics. If charging is timed to off-peak hours, EVs help demand stay consistent over the day and reduce the need for costly peak generation.

This was true historically, when EVs started out as premium cars, but less so now. There are new EVs for less than $30,000.

While registration and insurance are a little more expensive compared to gas cars, fuel and maintenance are both cheaper. Even if they have a slightly higher sticker price, EVs often end up being cheaper than comparable gas cars over their lifetime.

This concern was true historically. The early Nissan Leaf (2010-2015) had genuine thermal management problems that accelerated degradation. Modern EVs have sophisticated thermal management systems. Real-world data shows most modern batteries retain 80%+ capacity after 100,000 miles.

Cold weather does reduce range, but even in the coldest conditions EVs retain 75%+ of their range. The latest models are getting better.

I have taken my cars on ski trips without issue. I would only worry about this if you regularly travel 200+ miles in single-digit temperatures.

That was true 10 years ago. These days, L3 fast charging is ubiquitous. Every major interstate highway has chargers no more than 20 miles apart.

For daily driving, public L3 chargers are irrelevant most of the time. Most charging happens at home via a standard outlet. See Charging for what "home charging" actually requires (spoiler: less than you think). I only use public chargers once every few months on road trips.