[waterheater]

>However, if they are no longer necessary, then everybody stands to benefit economically because it's an inefficiency that we can eliminate. We can be nostalgic about it and lament tangential benefits that would be lost, but ultimately that's the reality.

Agreed. Seventy years ago, typists were employed by the thousands, but society adjusted, for the better at that.

>This doesn't apply to the vast majority of car journeys, and the infrastructure we enjoy at low cost is propped up by those.

I, for one, enjoy low-cost infrastructure, and so does anyone struggling to pay their bills.

The main reason the EV industry is growing is due to governmental support, not pure customer demand. The cost of EV charging infrastructure will amortize, but the economics of the eventual dominance of EVs (in its current state, mind you) will mostly hurt the poor in the near term, not help them. Perhaps there may yet be a turning point in the future.