From Garage Dreams to Global Phenomenon: The Rise of Electric Vehicles and the Backlash That Follows

Jack Rickard and I built our first lithium ion-powered electric vehicle in 2008. We began producing videos in 2009 to provide the permission structure for 100,000 guys to go into their garages and build the EV of their dreams. Along the way we educated, cajoled and harassed a suprising number to actually do it.

We were awestruck in 2010 when there were approximately 12,500 plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the world, a significant increase from the 1,700 all-electric cars (BEVs) in 2005 and the 6,000 in 2009. In 2020, the number of electric vehicles sold worldwide had increased to over 3.1 million, representing about 4.2% of all new passenger vehicles. In 2023, there were over 3.3 million electric vehicles registered in the United States!

So why do we still have EV haters? Smart phones? Mindless entertainment? Public education? Bad parenting? Liquid Death? I don’t know but let me give you some examples of EV hate that has been making its way through blogs, social media, mainstream media and just about anyone with an internet connection trying to type themselves smart (#7 on Jack Rickard’s 11 Incontrovertible Rules):

• Nation’s Guardrail System Can't Handle Heavy Electric Vehicles (NBC News)
• Why America’s Car Buyers Are Rethinking EVs (Bloomberg)
• EVs Were Supposed to be the Answer... Now They're the Problem (Barron’s)
• The Inconvenient Truth About Electric Vehicles (The Atlantic)
• Top 10 Reasons All-Electric Is a Bad Idea  (National Propane Gas Association)
• 8 Reasons Why Electric Car Owners Regret Their Purchase (MSN.com)
• 20 Reasons Not To Buy An Electric Car - The Dark Side of Electric Cars
• 15 Disadvantages Of Electric Cars (Top Speed)
• 4 Reasons You Should Not Buy an Electric Car in 2023 (yahoo Finance)
• Revealed: How US transition to Electric Cars Threatens Environmental Havoc (Guardian)
• Smaller EV Brands Outperform Big Players in November Registrations (Automotive News)
• Ten Reasons Electric Cars Still Suck: We Unplug the EV hype (Cnet)
• 10 Reasons Why Electric Cars Still Suck (carBuzz)
• The Journey Toward Electric Vehicles Has Hit a Rough Patch. Sales are Cooling Off (NPR)

Alrighty then! Apparently, even the best and brightest among us are susceptible to manipulation by the deep state and its witting accomplices in the mediasphere.

So now it makes sense that my religion by birth has produced numbskulled authors who have weighed in on the “dark underbelly of the EV industry” and the “unholy alliance” between government and business:

• Electric Vehicles Still fuel a Throwaway Culture (uscatholic.org)
• The Dark Secret Behind the Drive for Electric Vehicles (catholic.org)

The most illuminating, and hilarious, outcome of this last situation is that of a nun, whose name I will keep confidential so as to not force her into hiding. She responded to one of these articles with a “What the Fudge?” rant asking why the authors took a detour from the teachings of Jesus and stepped into the cesspool of politics and commerce without a clue as to what they are speaking?

In the face of this cynicism, I remain hopeful and committed to the vision Jack Rickard and I shared when we embarked on this journey. Our mission was never about converting everyone to electric vehicles; it was about empowering passionate individuals who understand what’s at stake, who feel inspired to share with others – and the world – the benefits of electrifying the transportation system and in moving the power-grid forward… To “FREE themselves of the tyranny of the entrenched … money structure”, as Jack eloquently put it.