EVs and The Mitten State: Are we ready?

I want to preface this by saying this is entirely a rant/opinion write-up that is too long for a regular post.

I'll begin formally with this admission; I'm an EV slappy and a Tesla fanboy. There is usually a degree of bias in everything EV for me, and I am still proud of owning a Model 3.

However, something became blatantly apparent to me over the weekend. Michigan is not quite ready for electric vehicles.

The reason(s)? Besides the bone-chilling winters that eat batteries alive and the preposterous "EV Gas Tax", there simply aren't enough places to charge quickly and efficiently. Here are some alarming stats from a recent ~60 mile trip I took to my hometown over the weekend:

The trip to my hometown of Flint, MI was not terrible given the variables of elevation, highway driving and temperature (typically the kryptonite of EV range).

The stats courtesy of TezLab:

• 63.3 miles driven / 73 miles of range used / 62 ft elevation gain/ Avg. temp of 44 degrees Fahrenheit [9.7 miles of range "wasted"]

It was the trip back that gave me the most range anxiety I have ever experienced and it's not even technically winter yet:

Does an average of 3 degrees Fahrenheit really make this much of a difference? It was a downhill trip, less traffic, and an overall smoother experience than my trip there.

The stats courtesy of TezLab:

• 66.5 miles driven / 109 miles of range used / -62 ft elevation drop / Avg. temp of 41 degrees Fahrenheit [42.5 miles of range "wasted"]

What gives?

The fact that the Level 3 and supercharging infrastructure are scarce in Michigan will only hold adoption back, not just on a state like Michigan's level, but in the country as a whole. Here is a map of "fast charging" in Michigan (courtesy of PlugShare):

Out of the orange dots you see here, over half of these are CCS/SAE plugs which are essentially rendered useless on a Model 3 unless you want to purchase an adapter than has not come out in the United States yet. If you're looking for a quick and convenient supercharge, your options are far more limited:

Charging on Level 2 infrastructure takes a lot of time and it's even slower in the cold temperatures. If I had to stop and charge on my 60 mile drive, it would have easily turned a 1 hour trip into a ~2 hour trip. Not to mention the fact that I truly have no idea how many miles I would need to add on a charge since these winter variables make it so unpredictable.

The point of this is not to bash Tesla, charging providers, or even the State of Michigan. Instead, it's to bring awareness to a situation that has not gotten to the forefront of a lot of people's minds.

Whether it be the awesome incentives to purchase an EV in California, or the warm climate not being detrimental to performance and reliability, the country should find ways to emulate what is being done on the west coast. What Michigan lacks in dollar incentives to purchase an EV, could instead go to building infrastructure. Probably easier said than done, but it'd nip a pretty large problem.

Sure, this the epitome of a "first-world problems" rant, but if we want to find our way to a more sustainable future with a cornerstone effort like EVs are, we need to make changes.