Photo: Pixabay
In 2012, when Tesla launched the Model S, their first fully electric sedan, they changed the auto industry for good. With a range of 256 miles per charge and an acceleration of 0 to 60 miles in 3.9 seconds, the Model S immediately grabbed the attention of automakers from Detroit to Maranello! The stylish sports sedan was the talk of car enthusiasts and climate activists alike, so winning both the Motor Trend Car of the Year award and the World Green Car of the Year award in a row in 2013 came as no surprise. The same year, when Consumer Reports named the Model S the Best Car Ever Tested and gave it a score of 99 out of a possible 100, Tesla became a household name. Fast forward to 2020, Tesla continues to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market with a variety of fully electric offerings, including its best-selling Model 3 sedan. As if that wasn’t enough, last week Tesla became the Most Valuable US Auto Company in History when its market value reached $85 billion at Tuesday’s close.
Photo: Tesla
The federal government and a number of states offer financial incentives, including tax credits, for transitioning to EVs. The federal tax credit per new EV purchased is up to $7,500. These incentives, along with the buzz and benefits of EVs, have put more than a million electric vehicles from various automakers on the road. California has the highest percentage of EVs, as shown in the Registered Electric Vehicles map below. The higher rate of adoption in California is partly due to its popular clean vehicle programs like the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP) that offers up to $7,000 to purchase or lease a new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), battery electric vehicle (BEV), or a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) and the Clean Cars 4 All program that helps get lower-income consumers into cleaner technology vehicles by retiring their older, higher-polluting vehicle and upgrading to a cleaner vehicle.
Of course, electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions. Heck there is no tail pipe to start with! But, to claim that they are zero-emissions vehicles is a bit of a stretch, at least for now. To understand this, we need to understand how and from what electricity is generated. Electricity can be generated from non-renewable sources like nuclear and fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and petroleum) and renewable sources like solar, wind, water (hydro), biomass and geothermal. Generating electricity from fossil fuels involves burning carbon, causing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Unfortunately, a substantial amount of electricity is still generated from fossil fuels in the US, as shown in the Electricity from Fossil Fuels map below.
Considering the fact that the United States is the second largest emitter of CO2 in the world, as shown in the Carbon Dioxide Emissions map above, it is high time to not just replace the gas and diesel cars with electric cars, but also to replace the fossil fuel power plants with nuclear and renewable alternatives. This brings us back to our question. Are EVs truly zero-emissions vehicles? Well, they can be, and they should be - it is just a matter of time. All major utility companies in the US have made pledges this past year to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. While we anxiously await the next thirty years for this to happen, let’s take a minute to salute Tesla and its S3XY lineup of electric vehicles for showing us a glimpse of a Zero-Emissions Future!
Photo: Tesla
Mapystics Visualizations are interestingly interactive, information rich, live updating, aesthetically appealing and highly responsive. Embed or share one right away!
© Mapystics LLC All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Disclaimer
info@mapystics.com