|
|
|
|
|
|
by amb23
2061 days ago
|
|
|
Acceleration stats aside, SUVs are, statistically, much more likely to kill more people--pedestrians and riders alike--than other types of cars. The increasing popularity of SUVs is one of the main reasons behind the rise in pedestrian deaths in the past decade. Given their bulk, they also cause slower traffic in general. Their popularity is a lose-lose for drivers (and everyone else trying to get around) at the end of the day. I have mixed feelings about this car: on the one hand, it does give me hope that mainstream consumers who are attracted to trucks and SUVs will start to accept EVs as the standard, and the brand cache will accelerate EV adoption overall. It's also a pretty darn cool car; they did a great job with their initial marketing. On the other hand, it's going to suck to drive (or cycle, or walk) alongside people driving these vehicles. We're going to be complaining about selfish Hummer drivers when we see these on the roads again based purely on their behavior as drivers, EV or not. Personally, I'm hoping we start to see a more diverse mix of electric vehicles on the market, including new kinds of micromobility. The Biro (https://biro.nl) is apparently a very cool car to own among wealthier Europeans. I've heard of a couple electric motorcycle brands that are trying to copy Tesla's playbook as a high end, prestige brand. More efficient delivery vehicles are desperately needed, too. But unfortunately, when other people drive SUVs, it makes it harder for you to drive these other vehicles safely and incentivizes you to drive an SUV, too. |
|
|
Not really addressing anything in your post, but I saw this and wanted to provide some info for those curious.
There are a couple of motorcycle brands that technically produce or are planning to produce electric bikes, but so far there is only one that reliably produces them on scale, and they are definitely treated as Tesla of motorcycles in the community. The brand I am talking about is Zero Motorcycles, and it is pretty much Tesla down to a T when it comes to branding and the experience.
The pricing is notably more expensive than comparable ICE motorcycles, but not outrageously so (their premium models go for a bit above premium Kawasaki models and comparable to BMW ones). Everything is very clean and nice, but looks subtly more different than ICE bikes (similar to how it was with Tesla Model S). A lot of controls through the app and digital screens. Delivers on value great.
Unfortunately, that's the only realistic electric motorcycle option at the moment. Harley Davidson made Livewire, but it was a terrible EV bike that had issues with charging, and had to get recalled multiple times due to software bugs (yes, this is as ridiculous as it sounds). Not even mentioning the price (on both their EV and ICE) being in a whole other category compared to literally any other motorcycle manufacturer. Livewire started at $30k, while Zero premium street bike started at $20k (with even much cheaper models available).
The other one that looks promising is Lightning, but there weren't many sales and i haven't seen virtually a single one on the road (with plenty Zero bikes everywhere btw), so, I suspect, something is not right. Pricing is a bit cheaper, but comparable to Zero.
P.S. I promise I am not affiliated with Zero motorcycles in any way lol. I don't even own one, I have just been researching heavily into electric bikes since last year, because I am looking to upgrade from my trusty Honda cbr500r.