The sticker price doesn’t tell you everything about the cost of an electric vehicle

For the editor: Your op-ed on the Biden administration’s tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles confuses the sticker price of an electric vehicle with the actual cost of driving it and misrepresents the real reason for slowing electric vehicle sales.

The best-selling gas sedan is the Toyota Corolla, which you can drive for $299 a month in lease, plus the cost of gas and repairs.

The best-selling electric vehicle is the Tesla Model Y, which you can drive for $399 a month in lease, minus savings on gas and repairs. These savings put the actual monthly cost well below $299.

It’s this kind of confusion that turns off potential electric vehicle buyers.

The other reason is the lack of decent charging infrastructure for any car other than a Tesla. Only Tesla had the foresight to build a nationwide network of Superchargers that is reliable, easy to use, and eliminates any fear of range.

A $12,000 Chinese-made electric vehicle without the necessary charging infrastructure won’t accelerate the transition to zero-emission cars.

Michael Mekeel, Los Angeles

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For the editor: We won’t need help from Chinese tariffs to kill the electric car if the media, including the Times, continues to relentlessly and misleadingly characterize electric vehicle prices as exorbitant and out of reach for many.

Remember, the vast majority of Americans buy used cars and I just did a quick search. I found used electric vehicles from Chevrolet, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW and Nissan for less than $20,000, and that’s before a federal tax credit of up to $4,000, for which all vehicles qualified .

Some utilities offer even greater rebates for replacing high-polluting vehicles. Add in incentives for charging stations and the reduced cost of operating an electric vehicle (hello, gas prices), and you get a pretty picture.

More than that, it’s much more realistic. Please stop perpetuating your misleading storyline.

Zan Dubin, Santa Monica

The writer is co-founder of National Drive Electric Week.

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For the editor: We don’t need to choose between accelerating electric vehicle use while decimating U.S. auto worker jobs, and accelerating global warming as electric vehicle adoption slows to a crawl. Instead, make sure Chinese auto workers are paid fairly.

Recent changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement have made it easier for Mexican workers to form truly independent unions.

Furthermore, the United Auto Workers union has not only shown that the lives of workers in the American South can be improved to a decent level, but has also pledged to support Mexican auto workers as they are trying to raise their own standard of living.

As American and Mexican workers struggle to reenter the middle class, they improve their respective economies and become consumers instead of just wage slaves.

China must have access to North American and European markets. We should only open ours to the extent that China allows strong, independent unions to thrive and cooperate with their counterparts around the world.

Douglas Marshall, Bell