Why electric vehicles could speed your

demise in a disaster
 Mario Z. is a Tesla owner who paid $140,000 for his car in 2013.



But the battery on the electric vehicle died, and Tesla told Mario it would be $26,000 for a new battery.



The worst part was that Mario was locked out of the vehicle until the battery was replaced.



In a video posted to social media, Mario called his Tesla a "piece of trash." He also said, "$26K for a new battery. Locked out of the car. Recalls are needed."



Mario contacted other Tesla owners who also reported a similar issue.



Tesla models from 2013 and 2014 have reportedly had issues with the air conditioning system leaking onto the battery.



"Tesla's trying to sweep it under the rug," he said. "They won't give any explanation of why the battery died."



Tesla dominates the electric vehicle market. Many car buyers assume they need less maintenance.



Yet, when Tesla owners do get their vehicles serviced the battery is not checked.



According to Tesla, the company claims that the battery will lose 10% of its capacity after 200,000 miles.



Mario didn’t make that mark. Plus, he said the car was one year past the warranty period.



Instead of replacing the battery, Mario wanted to sell the vehicle.



But it was made more challenging based on the fact that he couldn’t get inside the vehicle to get the proper paperwork to sell the car.



"I'll never buy another Tesla again," he said. “They're brutal cars, brutal manufacturing, and even worse, they're a 10-year-old company."



Electric vehicles have their issues, but that hasn’t stopped car buyers.



In 2021, there were 6.6 million electric vehicles sold worldwide. This doubled from the previous year.



Almost 10% of car sales were electric vehicles.



It’s estimated that a record-breaking number of EVs will be sold in 2022 and car makers are pushing electric vehicles.



But, while this might be the future of cars there are some obstacles with EVs.

Specifically, you need to take into consideration how EVs would operate during a disaster.
--------------------------------Power outages:



We all know that U.S. infrastructure is old and power grids are becoming less reliable.



Going forward, power outages will likely occur more often. Think of all the places from Texas to California that have dealt with massive power outages.



Imagine if a hurricane hit Texas and knocked out power for days… there would be no way to charge an EV.



Evacuating:



From hurricanes to wildfires… no matter where you live you could be forced to evacuate your home.



The issue is that during an evacuation you don’t know how far you need to travel to get to a safe area.



You could be forced to drive hundreds of miles to find safety, but if you have an EV you might not be able to go that far without recharging.



As a storm chases you it wouldn’t be safe to stop and charge your vehicle for a few hours.



Additionally, since gas stations could run out of fuel, you should always stockpile enough fuel to get you to safety.



Fire:



Electric vehicles are supposedly safer than combustion engines when it comes to fire, but the concern with EVs is the battery.



You see, when a battery catches fire it is more difficult to extinguish than a gasoline engine. Also, lithium-ion batteries frequently reignite.



According to the National Transportation Safety Board, many EV manufacturers lack proper information about extinguishing battery fires.



In addition, car makers lack guidelines when it comes to information on dealing with a submerged vehicle, towing a damaged vehicle, and storing a damaged electric car.



When trying to escape a natural disaster I wouldn’t want a battery that could be affected by the heat from a wildfire or rising floodwaters.



You probably heard that California plans to ban the sale of new gasoline vehicles by 2035.



Yet, the state's power grid is so fragile that during the summer months there are rolling blackouts, and folks are forced to go without power for hours.



So, if a wildfire erupted during a blackout, I would take my gas truck over an EV any day for a survival situation.