this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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Futurology
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The Chinese automaker BYD reminds me of the famous phrase attributed to the sci-fi writer William Gibson - "The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed."
Future EV cars will be cheap to own and run. Self-driving tech will lower insurance costs. You can charge them with your home solar setup if you want. They'll last far longer with lower maintenance costs thanks to simple electric engines with few moving parts. As their construction gets more roboticized it will lower their costs further. The batteries that make up a huge chunk of their current costs are falling in price too. CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, is set to cut costs in half by mid 2024.
Some people still think gasoline and ICE cars have a long life ahead of them, and don't realize the industries behind both are dead men walking.
If future means public subsidies, I'm all for it.
Chinese EVs are cheaper because they are prepaid by Chinese tax payers. That also includes taxes levied from our internet purchases for products made in China.
In a funny way this sounds like prescription drugs, cheaper for the world due to US tax payers.