The 4 EV myths keeping Americans at the gas pump

"Are we there yet?"

It's the timeless question every parent dreads on a long car ride. But when it comes to electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., the answer is a resounding "NO!"

America is way behind other countries when it comes to ditching gas vehicles. Ninety percent of new cars sold in Norway are electric, along with 63% of new cars in Sweden, and the U.K. and China both hover around 30%—while the U.S. barely scrapes together 9% of new car market share for all-electric vehicles. Even for plug-in hybrids, which run on gas and electric, the U.S. market share is only 1.8%. So the question is, why is the U.S. falling behind the rest of the world? The short answer: There's a stigma against EVs here that doesn’t exist in other places, and a lot of it may stem from fossil fuel propaganda. 

It's time to debunk these myths once and for all.

Here's a fact that might surprise you: EVs aren't actually a brand new or groundbreaking technology—and they’re even older than gas-powered cars.

The first electric vehicles hit the road in the late 19th century, but back then they were called "horseless carriages." But the first EVs were shoved to the back seat when Ford Motor Company introduced the first gas car in 1908. So, why are Americans still so skeptical of EVs?

"I’ve talked to so many people who say, 'I would never drive one,’ ‘They're horrible,’ ‘Don't they catch on fire?'” said Jonny Lieberman, host of the YouTube show Driving with Jonny, where he test drives various cars. “Every time one of those is brought up, it just strikes me as propaganda by Chevron, Shell, or the petroleum industry."

He's not alone in this observation. Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, founder and host of the EV education Youtube Channel Transport Evolved, said the reason America falls behind other countries in the EV race is because of a “perfect storm of political misinformation and fossil fuel lobbying—lobbyists in America are very, very powerful."

In 2021 alone, fossil fuel groups spent over $7 million lobbying against a Biden administration law that limited emissions from tailpipes on new cars starting in 2027, and falsely portrayed the new rule as a “ban” on new cars in advertisements.

Let's tackle some of the top misconceptions fueling America's EV resistance:

EVs tend to be more expensive than gas cars, but that price gap is shrinking. Tom Bowen from Qmerit, a leader in EV charger installations, said "too expensive" hasn't been a strong argument against EVs since 2021.

"We're seeing a number of models coming out that make EVs much more accessible. Price points are down, and volume and types of selection of brands and models have increased significantly," Bowen told EnergySage.

Here’s a look at the numbers. One of the top-selling gas cars is the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, with a starting price of just under $30,000. Its electric twin, the Equinox EV, is just under $32,000—that’s only about a $2,000 difference, or roughly 33 gas-tank fill-ups, which you wouldn’t have to do with an EV.

Considering that the average new car price today is about $48,000, an EV under $32,000 is pretty budget-friendly. Plus, there are valuable financial incentives: The 30% federal EV tax credit knocks the price of the Equinox EV down to $23,500 if you buy one by the end of this September, when the EV tax credit is phased out prematurely by the Trump Administration.“I think the bottleneck that we see with most prospective customers right now is just confusion as to what's happening next and where the tax credits will go. They’re wondering, ‘Is it worthwhile for me to get an EV?’” he said.

Bowene wants people to know that even without federal incentives, many states, local governments, utilities and even original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) offer incentives and rebates for EVs and home EV charger installations.

“We're seeing many of our partners on the OEM-side respond with additional incentives to try to encourage folks to purchase EVs,” Bowen said. “We see it at the state level and some of the utilities are still offering incentives.”

Some car companies will even cover the cost of installing an EV charger at your house to incentivize you to buy an EV.

The true cost of ownership: EVs vs. gas cars

Even if the sticker price of an EV is higher, when you take into account the total cost of ownership over the long-term. One study comparing lifetime costs found that small and low-range EVs cost drivers less, while longer-range EVs cost about the same as their gas counterparts.

"The break-even point in most countries on EVs now is two to three years," said Gordon-Bloomfield.

Lieberman says the minimal maintenance costs are where EVs really shine, though. “I've probably spent $15 on windshield wiper fluid over three years. That's it, nothing else," said Lieberman of his electric truck, which is a Rivian. How many pickup truck owners can say that?

There's also the potential fuel savings, but that’s mostly if you charge at home or take advantage of free public charging. As State of Charge host Tom Moloughney explains: "If you use public DC fast charging infrastructure, the cost is very comparable to gasoline,” said Tom Moloughney, host of the YouTube show State of Charge. “So I urge people to charge whenever they can at home."

The fear of running out of battery power—known within the EV community as “range anxiety”—is one of the biggest concerns of EV skeptics. But Bowen said that fear is based on outdated information.

"The initial adopters of these vehicles had ranges from 150 to 200 miles, but now you have some of these vehicles with 300 to 400 mile range, which helps eliminate a lot of anxiety," Bowen said.

Still worried about getting stranded? Moloughney has a homework assignment for you: Keep a pad of paper and a pen handy in your car, and write down your starting and ending mileage for about three months. “I can't tell you how many people came back and they're like, 'I'm averaging 30 miles a day and I'm worried about getting a car with 300-mile range.,” he said.

The average North American driver travels almost 30 miles a day, which is only roughly 10% of the capacity of most EV ranges—so the chances you’ll end up stranded without power are rare for the typical driver. If you like to take road trips, Moloughney said he’s taken plenty in his EV without any issue.

"I've done cross-country drives. I've driven from down to Florida, up into Canada—and I live in New Jersey,” Moloughney said. If I put in my navigation that I want to drive to LA, the vehicle would map it out and set the stops and would say, 'Okay, you're going to drive 220 miles and stop here and you're going to need to stop there for 32 minutes. ' 

Charging is different from filling up with gas

EV charging is very different from getting gas because you don't drive until the the tank is almost empty and then fill up. When it comes to an EV, you simply it charge it overnight the same way you would your cell phone. About 80% of EV owners charge their cars at home, according to Bowen. As for charging time, Gordon-Bloomfield said she commonly hears EV skeptics say that they “can’t be waiting 10 hours” for their car to charge. She said the argument makes her laugh because it’s so far from true, and most modern EVs can charge from 0 to 80% battery life in roughly 20 minutes.

"Even one of the worst charging EVs on the market today, even in the absolute worst conditions, middle of winter, it's cold—about an hour to an hour and a half for a decent 80% charge," explains Gordon-Bloomfield.

Lieberman said he actually prefers taking his EV on roadtrips because it makes fuel stops much more enjoyable.

"We stopped, we plugged in, we both went to the bathroom, we bought beef jerky and two bottles of water, and by the time we got back, it was charged 85%," Lieberman said of his most recent trip.

People tend to believe that EVs are more prone to fires, when the opposite is true. Data from the National Transportation Board found that for every 100,000 EVs sold, only about 25 will catch fire. That’s much lower than the 1,530 fires for gas vehicles and 3,475 that occur with hybrids.

"There are 121,000 car fires a year in America, but how many that aren't EVs do you hear about? The answer is zero because no one bothers to cover it. Somehow it's newsworthy if an EV catches on fire," Lieberman points out.

Then there's the environmental argument that mining minerals like lithium for car batteries is worse than oil extraction, something that Lieberman hears often.

"That's a complete fabrication, nothing could be less true," said Lieberman. "You mine lithium once, but gasoline you burn forever, constantly. You've never burned a gallon of gas in your life without using cobalt that was mined."

Moloughney has also heard similar arguments, with critics speculating that having to replace EV batteries will be a detriment to the environment.

“Batteries today are designed and engineered to last the lifetime of the vehicle," explained Moloughney. “You can keep an electric vehicle 10 or 12 years and the battery is going to be just fine, as long as you treat it right.”

Plus, increased energy efficiency

EVs also outshine gas cars when it comes to efficiency.

"Twenty percent of the energy in gasoline is converted into forward momentum. The other 80% is heat and noise. With an EV, 60% of the battery energy is used for forward momentum, and because of regenerative braking, electric vehicles can recapture 20% to 30%. So EVs can be between 80 and 90% efficient, while the gas car is 20% efficient," Lieberman said.

That makes EVs more than four times more efficient than gas vehicles. Even if you charged your EV entirely with electricity from a coal plant—which almost nobody does—it would still be cleaner than burning gasoline.

While “cool” is subjective, many Americans don't consider EVs exciting to drive. Gordon-Bloomfield said it’s another reason she thinks the U.S. is slower to go electric.

“In other countries, cars are sold very differently. In America, cars are very often seen as a status symbol, they're seen as an extension of the self,” said Gordon-Bloomfield. “We're buying more on image than we are on actual substance.”

If you don’t think driving an EV is fun, Lieberman and Moloughney—both self-proclaimed “car guys”—beg to differ. In fact, Lieberman drives sports cars for a living and chooses to drive a Rivian electric pickup for personal use:

"I love a good-sounding engine more than most people—my passion in life is supercars. But, for instance, we just shot a Lamborghini video for my YouTube channel, a 110-horsepower supercar,” said Lieberman. “To get the sustained 110 mph tracking shot from another smooth vehicle, we used my off-road-tired pickup truck, because the Rivian can do it, and it handles great."

Then there's Moloughney, who was driving a Porsche Boxster back in 2008 when he got his first electric car, a Mini Cooper. He said he ended up selling the Porsche because the EV was much more fun to drive.

”That instant torque of an electric vehicle is exhilarating. If you're a car guy and you drive an EV, it just puts a grin on your face."

These days, Moloughney drives an electric Ford F-150 Lightning that goes from zero to sixty in under four seconds.

Despite the thrill and speed of EVs, we're not "there yet" on EV adoption in America—and it's not because the technology isn't ready. It’s because misinformation about their true benefits has been amplified and spread by conglomerates like Big Oil, which are vested in continuing to sell gas cars. If Americans can be convinced of the real advantages of EVs, there’s nowhere to go but up.