Free Republic

Electric car owners face soaring insurance and repair costs over fears the vehicles could explode after being in even minor collisions. Damaged EVs must be 'quarantined' 15 metres apart from other cars in repair shops due to the risk of battery fires under government guidelines – driving up the price for mechanics and insurers. A lack of suitable repair shops and EV trained mechanics risks increasing costs to the insurance industry by more than £600million, which could be passed on to drivers. As more battery-powered vehicles take to the road insurers will need to spend an additional £900million per year,...

The owner of a Rivian R1S electric SUV was overjoyed to have his dream electric vehicle after waiting for years. But after owning the car for just days, it got stuck in the snow and immobilized by a safety feature, leading to a $2,100 bill to transport it to a repair facility. Business Insider reports that a recent incident involving an owner of a Rivian R1S has forced the maker of the electric vehicles to examine its customer service more carefully and think about making changes to improve the user experience. The owner of an R1S truck, Chase Merrill, encountered...

Tesla now qualifies for federal subsidies after agreeing to universalize a portion of its nearly 17,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers to assist the Biden administration’s goal of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, according to Axios... Of the $25 billion for EVs, Tesla will receive a portion of the $7.5 billion in federal incentives set aside for EV charging stations, according to Politico.

Taking an electric car on a road trip can be a stressful experience - at least according to a couple who took their Kia EV6 on a cross-country trip from Michigan to Florida. Axios reporter Joann Muller said her husband took the electric car on a 1,500 mile road trip - she joined him part-way through - to see if the US is truly ready for mass EV adoption. While electric cars are becoming more prevalent, charging infrastructure isn't quite what it should be, Muller wrote. "We were constantly thinking about where to charge next," Muller wrote of her experience...

The owner of a Hummer electric truck was shocked to learn replacing his tail lights is a rather expensive venture. “Had a shocker today,” the owner wrote in a Hummer EV Facebook group. “A new passenger side rear light for the Hummer EV; $4,040 just to buy it.” Car review website the Drive confirmed General Motor’s list price for one tail light is $3,045. Without factoring in labor, the list price for a set of tail lights runs for nearly $6,100, a cost equaling more than 5% of the Hummer EV’s MSRP. “The taillights in the Hummer EV have small...

When it comes to EVs, Toyota has been dragging their feet, but now reality is hitting them smack in the face - they were wrong about EVs - and are beginning to look a bit like Kodak. Meanwhile, Tesla has been kicking butt and taking names and Toyota may soon be a relic of the past if they don’t pivot quickly. The trouble with Toyota is, they have been number 1 in the car business for so long, they find it hard to turn round and even contemplate reducing their dominant position in the ICE vehicles to commit seriously to...