Weighing the benefits of electric cars

As teens imagine their dream cars, electric cars may be at the top of the list

Sai R. , Staff Writer|November 9, 2021

The full-size dashboard display features

Steve Jurveston - Wikimedia Commons

The full-size dashboard display features

Electric cars like the Tesla are gaining more and more attention. That black Model X with the white interior actually has a “hungry button” on the console screen!

As middle schoolers began to dream of the cars they will be legally driving in the next few years, they may start weighing the options, electric cars of gasoline.

According to MotorTrend,  2020 was huge year for electric cars. automakers  such as Volkswagen, Tesla and Porsche released electric vehicles.

Electric cars are considered safer alternatives to traditional vehicles.

“Electric cars are a safer route to a better future,” said Carys Dugan, an ROMS eighth grader. “I prefer electric to gas, since we are using fossil fuels.” However, Dugan said that teens should have a “normal” car when they start driving because they’re still learning how to drive. 

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Switching to an electric car can save on average over $700 per year in gas expenses.”

— CarandDriver.com

Electric cars and trucks are often cleaner than even the most efficient conventional vehicles.According to CarAndDriver.com,electric cars can be more expensive to purchase they can be a fraction of the cost of the gasoline, since the electric cars battery have no tailpipe emissions and replaces gasoline with electricity, they could be some of the greenest cars available.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, when you deplete the batteries and they are recharging, they use grid electricity, either from a wall socket or a dedicated charging unit.  Also not using gasoline or diesel also means that battery electric cars are significantly cheaper to fuel than other conventional vehicles when you add up how much money is saved not buying gas.

Electric Car Example 1 (Tesla)
Electric cars like the Tesla shown here range from $43,000 (2022 Model 3) to $104,990 (2022 Model x) without special features or options. (Photo: Dronepicr – Wikimedia Commons)

CarAndDriver.com reports that switching to an electric car can save on average over $700 per year in gas expenses, and also over $1,000 per year in some big cities.

Driving.ca reports that one injustice of the Electric Vehicle Revolution is what happens to battery packs when they no longer serve their purpose of propelling a vehicle. Turns out that there are many people and companies that ensure the batteries are repurposed or recycled.