Out of Balance! Two weeks ago I had one of those experiences that I thought would never come. My belief is that everyone has a good understanding of electric vehicle. I believe that everyone has a good foundational knowledge of what an electric car is and can do. Turns out I live in a bubble.

I realized two weeks ago that this type of thinking is a misconception and that we need to do more. 

Let me explain. 

My friend

I have a friend who is currently doing it hard as a business owner. He had to shut up shop while quarantine was occurring. This had an impact, now that he is open again, he is trying to make up for lost time. 

I have not had as much trouble with this area as I have worked across all quarantine. So, when it came to having an optometrist look at my sight, my friend jumped straight to mind. 

He and his wife both have worked tirelessly to build this business and their reputation to make their Optometrist business successful.

We visited the store and had our eyes checked and purchased a number of glasses. We had not seen each other for a while so afterwards we went back to their place to catch up.

Electric benefits

During the conversation we ventured onto the subject of cars. They were thinking about buying a new car to replace their 12-year-old car. It was at this point I mentioned electric vehicles. 

Much to my surprise they really had little knowledge of what electric cars could do and what their features were.

So, I tapped into my knowledge and started to answer questions and drive discussion. It was not only gratifying to hear myself speak with confidence about the cars, but also see my friend grow increasingly interested in the benefits of these cars.  

We discussed the ins and outs of Tesla’s talking about the savings across the spectrum from petrol to solar to battery storage to upfront cost versus ongoing costs. 

When I mentioned that there is limited maintenance that needed to occur for the cars, they were both surprised. We then spent that next 20 minutes convincing him that electric cars have a lot fewer moving parts and they don’t require the same maintenance that an ICE car requires. 

I tried to put forward a balanced view, both the good and the bad. Advising them that if they truly wanted to understand how an electric car feels to drive then to test drive a Tesla or any other electric vehicle, they find appealing.  

Out of balance 

It was during this conversation that I realized that my knowledge was greater than I had previously thought but I did not truly appreciate the lack of information in the marketplace. This lack of clarity is part of the reason the electric car companies have had little chance of getting a foothold. 

Social Media

Social media is an important avenue to pass on information to people. However, it anything that is not front, and center seems to be lost in the noise.  The general public don’t seem to find it as they don’t know what they are looking for. 

Recently I mentioned a report put out by the Electric Vehicle Council.  The report advised that 45% of people would consider an electric vehicle as their next car. 

This number may very well be true, but I also wonder how many of that 45% actually understand what the differences are with an electric car from an ICE vehicle.  

I(nserrt image of percentages)

Furthermore, I wonder how we capture the remaining 55% of people’s attention to have a better understanding of the Electric vehicle market. 

Misinformation

I received a text message from my friend a couple of days later.  He told me that he had been considering the discussion about electric vehicles and had spoken to someone who said that Tesla’s need to have software updates and that Tesla charges fees to upgrade. 

I was surprised that anyone would sprout that kind of nonsense, so I sent my friend the links to the software update details that Tesla puts on its website. I also sent him the link to Andy Slye  that also outlines how the software works. 

This just reinforced the need to find new ways to get the message out that electric has greater benefits than most people think and that there is so much misinformation the waters are getting murky. 

Call to Arms

I call upon all my followers and friends, my fellow bloggers and Youtubers to combine forces, to create new and fresh ideas on how to get the right information in front of as many as you can. 

The opportunity is now! The information is out of balance! We have a responsibility as passionate aficionados of the information to share and spread it near and far and help to reduce the confusion and misunderstanding. 

My friend has not made any decisions as to whether he can afford to go electric. I hope I have helped to change the mind of one or two more people to the benefits of the electric vehicle. 

By sharing my knowledge with just one person who becomes interested I have helped to spread the information and hope it keeps going. I will continue to share my passion for the cars and hope that my turn to own a Tesla won’t be far away. 

Dave