Electric Cars? Media Haven’t A Clue! 

It's worth pointing out that, depending on the publisher, journalists may have another mission - to promote the line the owner wants. There are an awful lot of fossil fuel interests mixed up with newspaper owners, and they all want the fossil fuel gravy train to carry on as long as possible.

@@ajward137 I agree. Also, Tesla doesn’t spend money on advertising, while legacy auto spends a lot. So publishers need to be careful about who they offend.

Spot on Andy, Journalists throughout the Nationals down to Local rags deliberately write articles to provoke conflict and division, regardless of the truth or facts. This is not just limited to EV's. I've just made a similar criticism of a local article about cycling infrastructure in my city. Speed to get the headline, goes ahead of the facts. And if it stirs up some 💩 they are happy 🤬

Phil wise beyond your years😂However the problem is not opinions but the concept that anyone who has one and reveals it on internet based platforms in some way is contributing anything to humanity.....good or bad. Sadly education and upbringing (one or the other but usually both) was meant to correct the mistaken impression that the world needed to know opinions from those who know little to nothing and can't think independently. My late mother told me from infancy if you don't know anything about a subject listen don't speak as you will just look silly. Good advice don't you think?

@@ajward137 You so correct that journalists promote the line the owner, Just look at the Murdoch media outlets. Lies that almost ended democracy in the USA global climate denying etc. "Truth", "accuracy", and "objectivity" are cornerstones of journalism ethics. Unfortunately most journalists lack ethics.

Honestly, even the BBC got things woefully incorrect.

Poor quality or lazy journalism and the constant rush to put something out there. So many utter mistruths out there.

@@royking1 Do remember who the journalist were in High School? Not every journalist is clueless, but at age 66 I have come to the conclusion that only about 10% in any profession are competent.

@jdmather5755 I didn't say clueless, but did say poor quality or lazy. The true investigative journalists is unfortunately a rare breed nowadays. The incessant pressure to produce headline grabbing articles is driving down the time available to write well researched stories. It's easy to say its the advent of online news and the one upmanship between news outlets, which is more than likely as clicks equal ad revenue for the organisation in many cases. but its the most likely cause.

Years ago I used to call this the Von Danikan effect. He published books about how the ancients were actually aliens who came here millennia ago by spacecraft. So they asked a bunch of scientists to review it. The Chemist basically said, “well his Chemistry is bollocks, but I found the physics and engineering really fascinating. The Physicist said, “no, his physics is bollocks, but I found the biology and chemistry interesting…”. And so it went. It was all semi-plausible sounding garbage You can fool all of the people some of the time, and if in the process they click on your ads, and make you some money, then that’s all some people really care about

100% they knew it wasn't an electric car but with a play on words it probably gets 10x the views and with a few days later edit and get a few more views on it.

I disagree with you. I find tons of very intelligent journalism on this site. The trick I use is if i see clickbait used on a channel I click on don't show this channel again button which bans it from my screen. The AI does not take long to see the pattern and selects for me all those who are honest. By the way I'm an experienced computer programmer. It's all about understanding machines and how they work.

I think it varies so to say all they care about is "clicks" is just as clickbaity as what we are trying to get rid of. My grandson is paid by a media company to get football news. After 400,000 clicks on his stories (per month), he then earns a bonus. Sure some will just go all in to get as many clicks as possible but most have a standard that let's face it the gutter press does not. (also his site is more real news than gossip). Any link that says those newspapers are just ignored by me as usually just propaganda. But saying that I would also not believe the BBC when it comes to reporting as they seem to have a bias as well.

Yet presumably Maureen is happy enough to drive an ICE car, even when the oil companies are the World's largest users of mined minerals, and have mined cobalt for generations, because they can't refine oil without it...... Ignorance is indeed bliss..... Remember Maureen, you'll never get to heaven on a Jumbo Jet, because the Lord hasn't built any runways yet.......

Cos children never die to make our freaking clothes or regular old ICE vehicles.

Children don't mine for lithium. The people who mistakenly make such comments have never cared about children in Africa until now and are all happy using devices that contain 'cobalt' which a proportion of is mined by children in the DRC. It's an appalling practice caused by the abject poverty in that country. People have a right to be concerned but they don't have the right to be such hypocrits.

That's been going on for some time.....

​@@Brian-om2hhsince the 1970s...

Or we could just cancel the bbc and stop reading so called "news" papers. All of which are reporting propaganda and wouldn't recognise a fact it appeared with red line under it on their screen. The dumbing down of Society continues.

Well said 👍👍

With a couple of solar arrays and cheap overnight electricity it cost us approximately £50.00 to power our EV last year and like chrisbell5248 we also receive our FIT payment . We received a government grant towards the cost of the car, have paid no road fund tax and have cheaper servicing. We are fortunate to be able to charge the car at home. I'm just amazed that the option of running an EV with zero emissions is not taken up by others with home charging facilities (options) preferring to spend more money running ICE cars. We have been so impressed with EVs that we have just swapped it for an Ioniq 5 - lovely car. Can't think that we would ever buy another ICE car.

Problem is you are currently getting a free ride paid for by all the drivers that are paying fuel duty and road tax. That is not sustainable which is why they are introducing road tax for EVs and talking about per mile charging. Huge amount of the cost in running an ICE vehicle is all the taxes and duties to pay for infrastructure etc.

@@schrodingerscat1863 roads are paid for out of general taxation, there is no such thing as road tax. Yes, there is fuel duty and vehicle excise duty - these go into general taxation.

And if you have to charge in a public charger it will cost you more than petrol per mile - plenty of videos done on that, and the average EV is 6-8 grand more than the ICE counterpart and then most EV's do not actually break even on the carbon footprint for 50,000 to 70,000 miles so if you take your car on a three year lease with a max of 30,000 miles then get a new one you are increasing your carbon footprint not decreasing it.... SO yes if you can always charge at home do very little mileage and are going to keep the car for 10-15 years you may save money and offset the carbon footprint - otherwise. No.

We just bought a Tesla and my wife’s coworker went off about how electric cars are worse for the earth than a regular car. Right… Especially considering about 90% of the electricity in my area comes from Hydro power, the carbon break even should be right around 20k miles, or about 1.5 years of ownership for us, but manny news articles are void of scientific or engineering facts.

Don't forget Bjørn Nyland, aka. Teslabjørn Maybe you didn't, but quite a few do. There are quite a few other channels, that give an honest review of EVs,

That's my neighbour's go to argument too I said to him that I'd get a Hyundai Kona if it cost say £5K I don't need to drive that often however equally I go to my parent's house every two weeks. That means most of the time, I need just 15 miles to go to the tram and back (Realistically it's 4 miles each way) However I'd need at least 180 miles to go to my parent's house and back. They don't have a driveway, and therefore don't have a charger there. Otherwise a VW e up would be perfect for me I only drive to the tram typically two times a week too. He thinks I somehow agree with him because I don't have an EV myself, and it's like "No, my Yaris is worth £3K, the insurance is £700/year and I don't drive that much, so I'm not gonna buy a Kona that costs £16K and costs more on the insurance" He was a bit surprised when I didn't agree with him on EVs albeit not massively so given I'm doubling up my solar array soon enough.

Just reply by saying it exploded 2 years ago, and you died in hospital. Then see how many actually believe you....

Daily Mail are always printing photos of the "Spitfire Jet Fighter". It's not even funny anymore.

No doubt *all* based on *zero* actual experience of owning or using an electric car....... The US is extremely oil centric. There is a lot of money tied up in oil there, and many wealthy people with their fingers in the oil pie......

@@Brian-om2hh Mmmm... oil pie. But seriously, just follow the money. That's the underlying motivation behind nearly any major movement in the world. People that are billionaires off of fossil fuels certainly don't want to say "Great idea -- stop buying/relying on our product!"

@@Brian-om2hh Also they do tbf have their own oil, so people in the oil industry are somewhat concerned about it too but unfortunately that's the way of the world with minerals.

I agree and get your point regarding the negativity in general, but the one and only thing that puts me off going electric is the one you brush off as if it is inconsequential. That is the charging infrastructure. I, and millions like me, live in a mid terrace house. There is absolutely no way I could ever have a home charger on the property. There isn`t really a lack of public charging points near me, but they range in cost per kwh from the cheapest 14p - 21p at one station, depending on time of day, up to 79p at the costliest. Most are in the region of 45 to 65p. I assume, rightly or wrongly, that none of them are selling at a loss. On that basis I assume home charging (if possible) would cost 14p or less per kwh. Bearing in mind my kind of terraced property, high rises etc., where home charging would be near impossible are also predominantly less affluent areas, I am sure you can spot the problem. If it were not for this, coupled with the fact the government is far less enthusiastic about addressing it than they are about implementing the all electric roll out, I would go electric at the earliest opportunity.

@@georgerubypoppy1063 For many in your situation (and, if I recall, it is about 30-40% of the UK population that have no access to off-street parking at home), there are other places they visit where they could charge, but. as you say, the price certainly varies, normally based on the rate of charge provided. If you drive to work, or to a station every day, then being able to plug in there might be an option. Or plugging in while shopping, at the gym, watching a movie etc. There is a mindset change here which is not easy - much of the time you don't need to find a specific time to charge the way you go to a petrol station. Instead, whenever you park somewhere you get a little charge from a cheap AC charger. It took a little while for me to get used to the idea of just plugging in whenever I can rather than thinking about going to charge the car. Then there are all the options being put in place for those with on-street parking. The UK seems to be ahead of the curve on this, providing everything from lamp post chargers, to having channels in/under the pavement to safely pass cables from your home to the car. We have rented an EV over there two summers in a row now, and while we had off street parking where we stayed, there was no charging option there (not even a three pin plug option because there was no outlet close enough). The nearest DC charger was 6+ miles away. We charged when we were out doing things though. We often found AC chargers at venues we visited (sometimes even free ones), and in one case a DC charger in a town where we went for some shopping. The supermarket we stopped at there had PodPoint chargers in the car park as well - I assume not free since most were available, and if there's one thing I've learned over here in California, if there are free AC chargers anywhere they'll be occupied almost 24/7!

One thing that is common is the advertisers are the ones who get the good press, and as the likes of Tesla, don’t advertise, they only ever get bad press. Most of the auto industry would love to see the back of electric cars because they are so cheap for the hapless customer and a poor revenue option for dealerships.

Four years with my Model 3, still absolutely fabulous. Would I buy another Tesla? In a heartbeat. Would I buy another ICE car? Snowball’s chance in hell.

The only thing left I am worried about with Tesla is the service, but that seems to be getting better every year. The problems with range anxiety, fit and finish, initial cost seem to be resolved, how is your experience with service when needed? Is it quick enough and the cost low enough in your experience. ? @@FutureSystem738

8 years with EV here. First 4 with eGolf. Then switched to Model 3 as soon as they got the trailer hitch. Wouldn't mind Model Y, but keeping my Model 3 makes more sense economically, and the difference is more like nice to have than anything I need. I so much enjoy driving EV. Even if the cost of ownership were higher, I would still prefer an EV (unless it's significantly higher). I want to replace my 2009 Polaris ATV with an electric, but the cost of replacement is putting a hold on it. I only use it occasionally, for work around the property, and the cost of ownership has to be divided over many years. New electric models I know I could use cost way over budget. There are no older second hand yet. Some models that are closer to budget, and I could possibly use, but they lack required legal documents. Other models have the legal documents but are too light to get the job done.

I've only owned my Tesla for a bit over a year, but I can tell you that the few times I drive my ICE car I couldn't wait to get back in my Tesla. And the fuel/maintenance savings are huge.

I also think it's kind of a societal problem as we don't pay for news outlets anymore and their business model has shifted to clicks and ad revenue. At some point in the future, I think our online lives will have to be supported with personal investment. It's kind of hard to critique an industry that has had so much financial pressure exerted on it and has lost a lot of leverage with advertisers.

You forgot that they create lots of brake dust because they need big brakes due to the weight. ;)

Isn’t it obvious, some day soon, riot police will dawn raid them, seize their keys to their diesel, load it on a flatbed to get crushed, then frogmarch them at gunpoint to sign papers to purchase an EV.!! /s

@@djtaylorutube Honestly that's the worst kind of strawman argument that they have Freaking brake dust. Like they've completely ran out of arguments that they've resorted to that

@@waqasahmed939 Oh I dunno, then there's the "EVs are unsuitable for anything other than going to the local shops". I agree with that one, except that the trip to the shop I wanted happened to be in Switzerland and i'm in the UK. It was quite an expensive trip but still less than the item that I bought from the shop. Apparently i'm only supposed to buy groceries in my electric car. Nobody told me! Silly me. :)

@@djtaylorutube And they forgot about regenerative braking which means that the actual brakes aren't used as much as ICE cars.

You really don't believe they can be that stupid?

Spot on!

I did chuckle however when I saw someone who migrated to Australia saying "most immigrants are criminals, paedophiles and cowards" He decided that it's somehow an issue that I live here even though I was born here but it's somehow not an issue for him to be an actual immigrant. Let's park the fact that saying someone is a paedophile and a criminal is somewhat redundant in both the UK and Oz given it's a crime in both places, but I said to him wait, I was born here and you've basically admitted to being a nonce given what you've said about most immigrants He really didn't like that.

I can't help wondering what's in it for them? Unless of course they've been slipped a bung by big oil. I can't see Shell doing that though, as Shell were one of the organisations who lobbied the Government to bring the ban on the sale of new ICE cars *forward* to 2030...... The National Grid were another.

@@waqasahmed939 I always chuckle at the news-clip of the taxi driver, who said he was fed up of all the foreigners coming to live in Britain. He said he intended to move to Spain..... Oh the irony.

Sounds about right....

Most people I know don't care what powers their car, being cheap to run and reliable is what concerns them most

Or more to the point, those who believe it...... About the only thing I'd believe in the Daily Mail, would be the date at the top of the page. And as for the Sun, well Ronnie Barker had it right in the episode of Porridge, where Lenny Godber was about to go to the prison library, as asked Fletch if there was anything he wanted while he was there. Fletcher (Ronnie Barker) replied " yes, get me a copy of the Sun while you're there - oh, and something to read as well"........ Ronnie Barker co-wrote Porridge, and had a longstanding rift with the Sun over a comedy award he won.......

What is good about EV's then ?

We need to grab the authors and force them to admit they don't speak the truth. And get them removed from their positions. They CAN'T deserve to continue in post, surely?

I wish we could but have no faith in the tabloid press. I'm waiting for a response regarding a factually incorrect Headline to both the reporter and corrections dept. The article is still wrong, despite others in the comments section saying the same as me.

I have to say it's also surprising that the Mirror are very anti EV given they're meant to be a left wing paper - A tabloid, sure but left wing. EVs have become a big of a "culture war" issue for the mail

@@waqasahmed939 No not since it was owned by the same people that own the Express etc... From Wikipedia "Reach plc (known as Trinity Mirror between 1999 and 2018) is a British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. It is one of Britain's biggest newspaper groups, publishing 240 regional papers in addition to the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, The Sunday People, Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Star Sunday as well as the Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail and the magazine OK! Since purchasing Local World, it has gained 83 print publications."

You get lots saying just ignire them but I am on the other side, you need to fight back and correct them otherwise their obvivious readers won'tever see past the lies being pushed. Ive even seen comments from people saying she went to the media.

cos if you noticed, many of us cant afford 2 meals a day let alone an EV ffs @@waqasahmed939

​@@waqasahmed939The Desperate Express is even worse. I know it's hard to believe.

If you have the capital I am sure the finances made sense but most people do not. My next car will be petrol and I will not install solar panels as it makes absolutely no financial sense to do otherwise even though I am not in financial distress, not yet anyhow but the future looks bleak. Considering 1 in 12 people in the UK are borrowing money just for food and many having to use the despicable usurious pay day loans the coming imposition of the expensive heat pump, solar panel and premium priced EV could not come at a worse time. People should not underestimate how flaky these plans to defossilise energy in such a short time are with so few resources available in this country for even basic health care and policing let alone saving the planet. It will drive a wedge in society, with the superior eco being sitting comfortably at home with the remainder marooned in their freezing houses. Of course all is well and any dissent is just the Daily Mail so the rot will continue.

@@michaeld5888 I'd argue if you're NOT in financial distress, now is a perfect time to decarbonise your house as much as possible even IF the financial returns don't look great for now. Outside of say the Ukraine war, part of inflation is crop failure. Crop failure will be way more likely as climate change bites. It means you're shielded somewhat in the next crisis. I'm not even planning on getting a heat pump, until I've Super insulated my flat roof Super insulated my walls of said flat roof Super insulated the loft Replaced all my copper piping Upgraded to Jaga Strada radiators Upgraded to high quality triple glazed windows Got myself an MVHR Then and only then will I get a heat pump. After that I'll hopefully get some form of waste water heat recovery system and some water recycling system too given most fresh drinking water doesn't need to be fresh (ie: I don't need fresh water for the iron, dishwasher, washing machine, washing the car etc..)

@@michaeld5888 I live in California which is a very different cultural and political context. I am deeply troubled by the growing divide between rich and poor but these are things over which I have little or no control. I am retired and fortunate to have financial resources to allow me to afford these modest luxuries that make some small contribution to a cleaner, more sustainable environment.

@@michaeld5888 Why not buy a used EV? I did and am saving about £2k a year in fuel costs compared to my previous fossil fuel car.

@@malcolmfowler8972 I obviously do not do your mileage. Looking at Tesla's site a standard range 2019 Model 3 is still £30,000. Considering a similar petrol car like a Vauxhall Astra of that vintage can be bought for £10,000 that is a payback of 10 years not allowing for interest which I have seen dealers quote at 13% up front and the petrol does not have to be pre-financed. A different world and the you have to wonder if the people who are forcing people down this route in such a hurry are aware of it or even care.

The Daily Telegraph is just the Daily Mail or Express for those who like longer words.

@@scottbarrett4746From "Yes, Minister" Sir Humphrey : The only way to understand the Press is to remember that they pander to their readers' prejudices. Jim Hacker : Don't tell me about the Press. I know *exactly* who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they *ought* to run the country; The Times is read by the people who actually *do* run the country; The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; The Financial Times is read by people who *own* the country; The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by *another* country; and The Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is. Sir Humphrey : Oh, and Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun? Bernard Woolley : Sun readers don't care who runs the country as long as she's got big tits.

They'd often churn, but they used to have enough money to have time to rewrite it so they weren't stealing.

@@AnonYmous-rw6un you're talking plagiarism. Rewriting or not, is plagiarism therefore still churning

Not only that but they use half as much electricity as would move an EV the same distance. Extracting and refining petrol uses rather a lot of energy.

Yes, a very similar scenario.....

Then don’t get one.

Plenty of Superchargers and why would you go to a petrol station with an EV?!

It would if it was Princess Di's standing there....... :-)

@@chrispenn715 That's the express :)

That might even beat the old "London Bus Found on Moon" headline. Remember that one?

There’s a Tesla floating around in space 😂

No blame on her, she made a mistake calling an automatic transmission an electric transmission. It was in a tweet, which is not meant to be fact checked - it's just stream of consciousness and sometimes you just tweet the wrong thing. But some readers got hold of the wrong end of the stick by just picking up on literally one word (electric). The rest of her tweet made it clear what she was talking about and any reasonable reader would have understood (perhaps after a bit of puzzlement) what she meant.

@@andysimmonds4023 I'm not blaming her. You noticed I said "posters" not poster. I meant all of us. All people who post need to be very careful these days with the word electric and car/vehicle in the same post with all these anti-EV vultures around. She perhaps should talk to a councel as to possibly bringing a lawsuit as to her post being misused and twisted without her consent even after she clarified it.

It makes you wonder what boats are used for......

All these reasons can be easily debunked, even the upfront costs (MG 4). Range is a function of charging speed, the charging infrastructure is ramping up massively all over the country. I respect it's their opinion, but from someone who's been running one for two years now, it's fine.

Why? They're about saving shareholder/owner profits, nothing else.

And these so called professional journalists frequently demonstrate their poor grasp of the King's English too. Grump grump

Some people *need* something to believe in or follow, and EV's are the linchpin of the moment. The haters - most of whom have zero EV experience - will close ranks and dig in.... It will take oil running dry, or the oil companies no longer producing road fuel in huge quantities, to finally make them realise it's over.....

The high cost of owning one? EVM bought a 2016 Renault Zoe with 35k miles on for £4400 just a few weeks back..... Something like that, along with a decent off-peak EV tariff, and you could be looking at 1.5p per mile motoring...... Not *that* high surely?

High cost of ownership? My Kia eNiro costs 2/3 as much to run as my wife's Kia Piccanto. That's a big difference.

What annoyed me during the previous fuel shortages was that even though they had LPG which I could have used, they still closed the service station locally. The reason? They said "it would confuse people of they were open". I guess a sign saying LPG ONLY was being possibility.