EVs Cost You Money Each Year — Even If You Don’t Own One
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
T. Woods
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Perhaps your excitement over electric vehicles has waned. If so, you’re certainly not alone.
In fact, according to CNBC, major automakers like Ford and General Motors are either scaling back their EV plans or delaying them. It comes amid slowing demand and concerns about the future for EVs.
Yet, even if you don’t own one, EVs are costing you money each year.
Paying for Subsidies
Every EV sold puts about $50,000 in additional costs on us as taxpayers. According to The Hill, “That total cost was $21 billion in 2021 — money the taxpayers would certainly prefer to have back.”
So how does that amount break down? According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, one big reason is that the cost of producing EVs is much higher than the prices owners are paying to buy them. According to a report from the Foundation, “Nearly $22 billion in federal and state subsidies and regulatory credits suppressed the retail price of EVs in 2021 by an average of almost $50,000.” Further, according to the report, direct state and federal subsidies for these vehicles average nearly $9,000 per EV over a decade.
Paying Higher Electricity Bills
Here’s another reason EVs may be costing you, even if you don’t have one. It’s the strain on our electric grid.
According to the Foundation’s report, those home and public charging stations used by EV drivers result in an average of about $12,000 in socialized costs per vehicle over a decade. Taxpayers shoulder those costs through their electricity bills and rising utility costs.
“These are no mere nuisance; in some cases, they can be deadly,” according to the Foundation’s report. That’s because many Americans are already struggling to pay their energy bills – some are keeping their homes at unsafe temperatures or not getting the medications or groceries they need in order to pay those bills.
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