I don’t want an EV. But I know which way the winds (money and policy) are blowing. We are going to see more and more of them on the road. My kids will own them (what good was it to teach them to change their own oil!?)
The issue for most people is not cost but charging.
So here’s my start to solving the problem. If I am playing the role of a government bureaucrat (heaven forbid) this is what I’m doing:
Get Congress to allocate funds. Wouldn’t need to be a ton. More like a rounding error in terms of some of the crazy spending that happens in DC.
Gather together heads of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. They’re investing in this. Because we will continue to need petroleum (plastics) and they employ a lot of Americans. This will long term help their bottom line.
Bring in a good convenience store operator. I’m partial to Sheetz. Privately held. Stores are fantastic. They get the business of how people use gas stations. We need their knowledge and investment.
This group - Inc federal government - are going to be a public/private partnership to figure out best practices with charging stations by actually building them.
The first is an electric only rest area on I95 in northeast corridor. Fast chargers. A lot of them. And we’re going to leverage Sheetz knowledge in what to have for families as they wait for their car to be charged to get back on the road.
Someone capable, smart and non-party affiliated is going to lead the government agency side. This isn’t about politics (I’m a conservative who isn’t big on spending but this market needs to be primed). The agency has to have the resources (read money) and power to eliminate red tape. We’re not going to be answering to congressional hearings about a ditch that someone calls a wetland.
Mistakes will be made. We will probably overbuild some things and under build others. What we will have though is a model that works and shows the path to future profitability.
Someone has to blaze the trail.
Once we get best practices, we build more. The more people see that they can efficiently travel distances In the EV, the more they will consider buying one.
The exit for the group’s investment is once we reach financial benchmarks, company will go public. Government gets out. Gas companies and Sheetz can stay or exit.
That’s the basic blueprint. Let’s get this done.