Biden's EV Mandate: A Dictatorial Attack on American Drivers

Biden's proposed mandate of 67% EVs in the 2030s is a dictatorial attack on American drivers and the US grid that will

1. Force Americans to drive inferior cars.

2. Create huge new demand for reliable electricity on a grid that is declining in reliable electricity supply.
🧵👇

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Biden’s EPA is planning to dictate new emissions regulations for cars that will increase the EV market share of vehicles sold from currently 6% up to 67% by 2032. pic.twitter.com/jj2tFUK8ms

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

1. Biden's EV mandate will force Americans to drive more expensive, less capable cars

If EVs were actually as good as their advocates say, they wouldn't require lavish subsidies—let alone Biden's mandate *on top of lavish subsidies*. Forcing EVs = harming Americans

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Today's EVs, despite promises that they would already surpass gasoline vehicles, are not cost-effective for the vast majority of Americans. That's why despite huge government subsidies, only 6% of us buy EVs . Mandating EVs violates our rights and hurts the poor most of all.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

EVs may become even less cost-effective in the future due to rising electricity prices and growing shortages as reliable power plants are shut down in favor of unreliable solar/wind—and increasing raw material prices (due to artificial, government-created demand for batteries).

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Range issues and recharge times are a logistical nightmare, even if you can afford a home recharge station. This is why EV owners tend to use EVs *in addition to* gasoline cars.

67% EVs will be ruinous to the poor and middle class.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Currently the fossil fueled part of the transportation sector consumes about 1/4 of all US energy. This means that to handle a huge influx of, the already fragile electricity sector would have to rapidly add reliable electricity capacity—the opposite of what's happening. pic.twitter.com/myaYOB3Nrc

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

For most Americans, EVs are significantly inferior in utility at a higher price per vehicle.

And if electricity bottlenecks continue, the price disadvantage could worsen while a threat of electricity rationing/restricting for EVs could become real.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

2. Biden's EV mandate will cause electricity shortages

US power grids are already struggling from retirements of reliable power plant capacity in favor of unreliable solar/wind. Forced electrification of vehicles will exacerbate the problem and make electricity more expensive.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

A reliable grid is a foundation of our quality of life. Our lives depend on ultra-reliable electricity for the refrigerators that preserve our food, the water treatment plants that keep our water drinkable, the A/C that keeps us cool, the factories that produce our goods, etc.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

The root cause of our grid’s reliability problems is simple: America is shutting down too many reliable power plants—plants that can be controlled to produce electricity when needed in the exact quantity needed. And it is attempting to replace them with unreliable solar and wind.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Thanks to government mandates and subsidies, solar and wind—"unreliables"—provide about 13% of American electricity. This 13% has already caused big electricity price increases and huge reliability problems. Instead of admitting this failure, Biden is doubling down.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

The Admin is dictating two deadly policies at the same time:

- Drastically reducing the supply of reliable electricity by shutting down reliable power plants
- Drastically increasing demand for reliable electricity by mandating EVs

This is a recipe for national immobility.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Biden's EV mandate emulates CA's reckless policy, which combines outlawing new oil-fueled vehicles by 2035 and wrecking its grid by shutting down reliable power plants.

As The Babylon Bee put it, "State With No Electricity Orders Everyone To Drive Cars That Run on Electricity." pic.twitter.com/kXdNNWvDa8

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

CA is already having major problems with EV charging. On August 31, 2022, CAISO, the CA grid operator, sent out a press release urging consumers to cut electricity usage during a heatwave, including using less A/C (!) and refraining from “charging electric vehicles.” pic.twitter.com/lKLjH5XJX6

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Note that EV charging is a threat to the California grid while only a small share of CA’s over 30 million vehicles are electric and solar/wind are only a fraction of what they are supposed to become. With less reliable power and far more EVs the situation would be catastrophic.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Imagine if, during the CA blackouts of 2020 or the TX blackouts of 2021 these grids were both far more dependent on unreliable solar+wind and had a massive fleet of EVs that needed charging. Imagine the death toll and economic damage. That’s where our policies are taking us.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Plans to rely heavily on unreliable solar/wind electricity generation, a key feature of Biden’s plan to power America’s EVs, requires the high voltage transmission system to grow massively in the next few years.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

At the current pace it would take from many decades to centuries to build out our grid. New EV mandates add even more stress to the infrastructure, making everything in the supply chains more expensive while upgrades become more urgent. pic.twitter.com/isGjYfyXkA

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Biden's EV mandate will also make use dependent on foreign supply chains

A crash EV mandate means a rapid, artificial increase in mining, processing, and manufacturing. Since US regulations are hostile to development, this means more dependence on others, especially China.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

The "Inflation Reduction Act" promised additional subsidies for manufacturers who sourced their materials from inside the US, a protectionist policy to build up domestic supply chains. But Biden systematically blocked US mining opportunities. pic.twitter.com/wnDU7vqZBz

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

Because of the clear impossibility to source that many critical materials from the US, the Treasury Dept has already signaled flexibility in the rules on how the subsidies for domestic production will apply, i.e. we will keep being dependent on others. pic.twitter.com/Z3AZDkzakR

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

China dominates the supply chains of many critical minerals and given the environmental policies of the Biden administration, this will not change in favor of US mining anytime soon. pic.twitter.com/dMJ4xHz1zm

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

A free-market EV policy

In the future, EVs could benefit Americans and significantly reduce emissions if 1) competition makes them genuinely superior for most people 2) we dramatically increase electricity production using low-cost, reliable, scalable tech—most likely nuclear.

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023

If the Biden Administration wants to facilitate cost-effective EVs, the number one thing it needs to do is publicly reverse its attack on reliable power plants that would absolutely destroy our grid for existing electricity needs, let alone huge EV needs. https://t.co/CttXfCP3F8

— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) April 12, 2023