Logic and the Path to Electrification

April 2022, Using Tesla Public Supercharger Pilot Programme in France

Something I’ve realised over the years is that people do not actually apply logic in their daily lives. We are typically too busy to consider the full ramifications of each habit and it becomes simpler just to accept that the way we’ve grown accustomed to doing things as individuals or any other level such as society as a whole must just be normal.

Periodically, someone will come and challenge the status quo and offer a different view. This will usually trigger a whole bunch of hand flailing and complaints that the world is being ruined. Conversely, another group may realise our habits and therefore our inaction may be ruining the continued existence of our world.

What usually then happens is that people fall into tribal factions, where the concept of using logic is short-circuited by the efficiency of just confirming what the peers in their group also think, which is often set by vested interests, rather than based an actual net benefit to the community.

In order to further prevent change, conspiracy theories then begin to proliferate. Disinformation campaigns, even completely astroturfing campaigns arise, where paid imaginary people influence laws and public consciousness, either in town halls and legislative arenas or simply on your personal social media, such as Facebook or twitter.

Some issues are understandably difficult to determine where the facts lie, when the concepts underlying them cannot be broken down and misleading information is propagated. For example: it’s difficult to convince people as to how the climate is changing and assuming it is, whether or not any human activity could change that.

What to me is less difficult to understand is the direct impact on the air and water that we breathe from pollution. Additionally, the costs we pay for things like fuel can actually be calculated. These are not up for debate, but most people actually have zero idea how much anything costs until they see a monolithic bill come in the mail.

Right now, I believe we are at a golden moment of opportunity for moving away from fossil fuels, something consumers and investors both stand to benefit from. The only downsides are if you’ve invested heavily in fossil fuel industries.

My decade-old EV charging in Belgium, driven from London

I’ll be discussing my love of electric vehicles here in more detail later, I’ll explain what it’s like to own an EV, what it’s like to own an EV that’s even over 10 years old. If you’ve only read things in tabloids or seen a bunch of worrisome items, where you think, ‘that sounds right, did anyone think of x’, don’t worry—there’s probably an answer for it.

There are some people who will not benefit financially from an EV for now, but I would argue that’s an increasingly smaller minority of people, when you start objectively looking at the data for the air we breathe and the wallet in your pocket. 

You don’t even need to care whether or not the ocean might rise, everyone can understand getting asthma or seeing the Gulf of Mexico covered in crude oil are bad things. Saving hundreds or thousands a year in your bank account is also something that most people would objectively like as well. And if you’ve seen recent articles suggesting you won’t save money? Don’t worry, we’ll discuss that too!