[RussianCow]

Does this factor in the emissions cost of producing a new car? Because a common counter-argument to switching to EVs is that the environmental cost of the new car far outweighs any gains from increased efficiency, at least for many years.

[Weebs]

If they're in an area with a higher number of renewables, then possibly yes. I live in an area that gets about half of its power from nuclear, and the other half from hydrocarbons. When I did my research I estimated over a lifespan of some ~150k miles, a Model 3's carbon production would be roughly equivalent to a 43mpg vehicle assuming the grid stays the same. As the grid introduces more renewables, that number continues to climb.

I haven't checked on this in a while, but the most energy intensive portion of overall production seemed to be the treatment of batteries during their production. Development for an alternative to the current treatment process to use significantly less energy seemed promising

[npsimons]

Emissions from production are miniscule compared to emissions from use: https://youtu.be/K9m9WDxmSN8