Dear Electric Cars,

You say you’re good for the environment. You say you’re the future, but are you? All of the big companies say they are going to go full electric by a given date, but should you? If we are to look to the future then we must look at what is realistic. We must slow down, and think about a solution to sustainable transportation.

I’m not against you. You’re just another form of transportation, but not the right one for the future. I know that you aren’t all that you seem. I know what is truly put under the hood. When I think of a futuristic vehicle, I think of something sustainable. I think of something reliable. I think of something affordable. Electric cars follow none of these principles. They can’t be for the future.

While you call yourself sustainable, you’re really not. You think you’re better because you don’t release emissions. But you really do. You force power companies to burn fuel to provide your energy. In the long run, we haven’t stopped any emissions; we’ve only made it seem that way. Your components aren’t sustainable either. In the New York Times article “How Green Are Electric Vehicles” by authors Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer writes: over 70% of cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, having a large amount of unregulated mines producing toxic slag harming everyone. These mines often have children working in unsafe conditions. On top of your unsustainable materials, few of them are recycled, only 5%, proving a waste to the sacrifices that are made to make them in the first place.

I know that all cars can’t necessarily be perfect, but you are far too unreliable. Kevin Doyle from Consumer Reports’ article “Electric Vehicles Are Less Reliable Than Conventional Cars” mentions that you have 79% more problems than conventional cars. You have suspension failures causing you to be lopsided, you have software failures and you have charging port failures. Which begs the question, do we want you in the future if we struggle to get around?

If you are for the future, then you need to be accessible to everyone, but you’re not. The future involves everyone having a good way to get around, but you’re too expensive for people. How must everyone have a way to travel if the future is far too expensive?

What is the future? A car that isn’t sustainable, isn’t reliable, and isn’t affordable or one that is? In order for us to have a good world to live in, you can’t be the new mode of transportation. A better one must be found. We must focus on long term progress…

For all of us.

Sincerely,

Camden Kleitsch