I would like to point out that it wasn't until recently that EV charging stations opened up in my town. I checked last year and there were none nearby. Now there's a couple. The infrastructure isn't there yet for middle America.
this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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My last car was an EV. I loved how it drove, I loved charging at home and never having to stop at the gas station, and I told everyone around me, "If you can afford it, you have an ethical obligation to buy a hybrid or an EV." Since Trump 2.0 I've been concerned about some form of collapse that would make me flee my home - natural disaster, violent military occupation, etc. I started to wonder, "What's stopping Elon from limiting access to all these superchargers?" Public chargers are much slower than gas, and they're easily vandalized. The whole thing just seems like a liability at this point. At least in a Mad Max scenario I could barter for a can of guzzoline.
I hate that I'm even considering any of this.
If you have to flee your home like that, odds are millions of others are doing the same and you're not going to be able to find gas anyway.
I feel like having an EV and solar panels is about as prepared as you can get.
In a mad Max scenario you have 6 weeks of fuel. Even if there's still some left after that point, it'll start to degrade. You might be able to keep a car running for up to a year if you managed to get hundreds of gallons of gas, and keep it stabilized.
Realistically speaking in a total societal collapse scenario, your best bet is staying close to people you know. If you're thinking you could drive off in to the woods somewhere, A: you and everybody else, B: can you run off in to the woods right now? Today, drop everything and just go live off grid? If so, why haven't you, and if not, what makes you think you'll be able to because the power is out?
Oh, I fully believe community is the most important resource. I wouldn't be driving off somewhere to fend for myself, I would just want my car to be functional.
Just shoot someone and take their car running on gas, problem solved ez pz.
But seriously if you're in a situation where our power grid has collapsed I don't think the gas pumps are gonna work either. Besides you could still create a mobile charging solution using solar, I don't think it'd be fast or anything but it might even be more viable than trying to get gasoline in a real shit hits the fan world.
Yeah, solar crates way more independence than combustion fuel. Definitely have to pay a price though, since the upfront cost on a sizeable solar array will set most people back a bit.
No, busses and trains.
Sorry best I can do is 30% apr on an 84 month loan for a 125,000 dollar car that will lose 90% of it's resale value in 3 years.
That might cover those living in very densely populated areas - and I welcome improving all of it. But those won't really cover people living far from metro areas, or even in the suburbs/exurbs of most metro areas.
Yeah, why not all 3?
I've been wanting an EV since the day I got my license at 27ish. Up to then I had been cycling everywhere, and didn't really need long distance or cargo capacity beyond what I could carry in a pack and saddlebags.
Ideally I wouldn't need a car, and public transit would provide the majority of non-bike travel, but that's not the country I live in. We'd rather elect officials that dump money into fossil fuels.
Currently I need a small form electric truck with at least 2ft of ground clearance and preferably no giant nose on the front that small children can hide behind, with at least 100mi of travel on one charge and the ability to go 300mi in one day with full size charging stations.
Of course like many people, my biggest hurdle isn't finding one that I like, it's finding one that is even remotely affordable. And assuring me the used market of shitty half-dead cars that will require many thousands more in mechanic costs due to the simple fact that if something breaks on it, I can't fix it as simply as a gasoline engine vehicle.
That’s the fun part about electric cars. The batteries are warrantied for 10 years and the data and real life examples show they go much longer than that.
Only repairs are coolant, brakes, and tires. Don’t hit/damage any of the sensors/electronics… they’re the expensive part of an EV. Self driving is amazing though.
The used market is a great place to get a EV AT 3-50% off.
rivian or Tesla is the only one with a truck bed though. I dunno where you’d find 2 feet of clearance in any vehicle without modification.
My mache can pull a trailer pretty easily at the weights you’re describing.
Currently I need a small form electric truck with at least 2ft of ground clearance and preferably no giant nose on the front that small children can hide behind, with at least 100mi of travel on one charge and the ability to go 300mi in one day with full size charging stations.
You want to go back in time and get the Chevy S-10 Electric from the late 90s.
Hell yeah. I've actually used the S10 as an example of the max size I want a truck to be. Stretch the cab forward to the unnecessary engine bay and make it a crew cab with no nose.
At this point I'd take a modern truck if it was offered, but I'd be looking to trade for something smaller immediately. Modern trucks are just too grossly oversized, and I, as an adult, often can barely see over the hood of modern trucks. And tons of trucks around here have lift kits installed, making them even less safe for pedestrians
Sounds like you might be interested in this: https://www.slate.auto/en
I don't know much about the company. I just know they're working on releasing an electric SUV/truck (it could be either depending on what you want) and it's supposedly going to be priced around $25k. They might be full of shit for all I know but that's the marketing buzz at least.
Id manage your expectations here. A lot of ex Amazon executives are in decision making roles. @SARGE@startrek.website
I heard about them a few weeks back, messed around on their site building a couple different trucks, from the one I would actually buy, to the one I'd get if I had all the money and time to go out to the middle of nowhere for a week long camping trip.
It's neat!
Put Slate on the long list of US EV vaporware and grifts.
It's amazing again how limited the US is with choices. In the rest of the world including soon Canada, there is a much greater choice of EV's. Take Australia for example: besides Tesla there is BYD, Seekr, Geely, MG, KIA, Polestar, Cherry, Hyundai, Skoda and WV. But because of the unsubstantiated hatred of anything Chinese, the US has only a couple of choices. Funnily enough, the CEO of Ford drives a Xiaomi SU7 and does not want to hand it in. Look up his interview after he visited China. The same applies to mobile phones. There are amazing phone brands in the rest of the world but again the US is limited. Land of the free but as long at it is beneficial to the US corporations. Competition is frowned upon.
I can't justify a new car because I barely drive mine, but I still need it for a few edge cases, but I hate it because I bought it new just before some big features like back-up cameras became popular, but selling it would be a fool’s move because it’s in great shape since I take such good care of it and never drive it but it’s so old they would only offer a pittance.
Eternally torn between selling everything and becoming a hermit who lives in the woods and ramping up my consumerist whore game to get the best new thing.
Being happy with what you have is the zen state here.
Meanwhile, dumbass donnie doesn't want any more solar installations, wind installations and took away offsets for EVs and solar.
He's such a visionary.
This same asshole just sat in front of cameras and rattled off a bunch of bullshit about how prescient he was about 9/11. Dude is so full of shit - he cannot even predict what his own actions are going to negatively impact. Or worse, he does and just doesn't give a fuck because he wants to ruin this country.
I want an EV. I also unfortunately drive longer distances than most people on average and also let my car sit for days with no access to a charge. Some EV systems use 1-2% battery per day for BMS, conditioning and telemetry, and that would make it difficult to use an EV in my case and only charge to the 80% mark to ensure battery longevity.
Nobody really makes a car that can do that for an affordable price. Yeah, I guess I’m probably a special use case, but nonetheless the cost and range limitations are prohibitive.
EVs are the ultimate enshitification.
They get to sell all your in car conversations and sexual habits. And you have to buy a new one every 10-20 years.
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