Electric vehicles for a long time we unavailable to the average person due to their high price point. Since they first began to be marketed in a more widespread way, electric vehicle makers were able to charge astronomically high prices, as the concept was still so new and foreign that the manufacturing process was still very expensive. However, now the manufacturing costs have dropped due to more technological developments. This is why just two years ago the price of an electric vehicle was more than $17,000 (on average) higher than the cost of a gas powered vehicle, but now the difference is only about $5,000. This has made the electric vehicles more accessible and is why we are starting to see more and more on the streets.
Even Tesla, an automaker who had notoriously extremely high prices, is now nearly even with gas powered vehicle prices.
In the instance of Tesla, the reason could also be further explained by the fact that Tesla had some bad PR in the last year. First, about two million models were recalled due to issues that are needing to be fixed by the company. Second, a fictional film came out in 2023 with the premise of a cyber failure leading to an apocalyptic life, in which there was a scene of Tesla’s massively failing and turning deadly. Even though this was a work of fiction, this movie in time with the recall announcement left many people concerned about Tesla’s. It appears now the price point could be an attempt at a bit of damage control.
Additionally, the price is dropping because people were simply not buying the vehicles in the way manufacturers expected them to.
Automakers have come to a point in which they are realizing that they are over-making electric vehicles. They have created an abundance in the market that does not have the consumer support to buy them up, so now dealers are left with a surplus of vehicles. The newness has worn off and the car owners who were eager about the releases have already come and gone, purchasing their cars right away and now leaving the rest to be bought by others who have thus far been uninterested. Now, the average driver and buyer is left thinking about the charging system we have in the U.S. and feeling like the vehicles are simply not worth the hassle.
Data trackers predict the prices will continue to drop a little bit before plateauing at a certain point, but what that point will be is unclear for now.
