Is electric dirtier to produce?

[Joe G]

I absolutely love my Model 3, and I think Ill be buying an S in the future. With that being said I have gotten a lot of people saying producing power is dirtier then a diesel trucks are. I am not even sure this is true, so I normally dont have a response to it. Is there any fact that negate that type of thinking?

 

[nwdiver]

I absolutely love my Model 3, and I think Ill be buying an S in the future. With that being said I have gotten a lot of people saying producing power is dirtier then a diesel trucks are. I am not even sure this is true, so I normally dont have a response to it. Is there any fact that negate that type of thinking?

Nope. EVs are absolutely cleaner and getting cleaner.

 

[garrett5688]

Who knows. Every “study” is just that. EV is way more fun to drive, and it’s full every morning, for less money.

If someone really wants to reduce their impact, ride a bike made of 100% recycled materials.

 

[EinSV]

@Joe G the Union of Concerned Scientists is a good resource for this topic. The map below shows the MPG you would need to get in an internal combustion car to match the greenhouse gas emissions of an efficient EV like a Model 3. On their website UCS has a tool that allows you to plug in your zip code and exact car for a more precise comparison.

The map shows that EVs have huge advantages over traditional gasoline or diesel everywhere in the U.S. (same is true for other countries). And the numbers on the map actually dramatically understate the advantages because:

• their numbers are from 2016 and the grid gets cleaner every year
  
• when you buy an EV now your car will get cleaner every year as the grid gets cleaner (not the case with gasoline or diesel)
• if you charge off rooftop solar EVs are vastly cleaner than gasoline or diesel

New Data Show Electric Vehicles Continue to Get Cleaner

 

[Joe G]

Thank you for all the information, I was asking around and we get our power here in Phoenix from a nuclear power plant so I can always follow up with that too.