Care to elaborate?
There are only 2 claims of fact made in the post
- the electricity used to power (electric vehicles) is mostly based on fossil fuel.
- the batteries don't age well.
Misinformation isn't just the statement of untrue facts though, it can be using a fact/statistic incorrectly or in a misleading way, surrounding a fact in misleading information so as to change the implication of the fact, confusing causation/correlation and a bunch of other things.
- Fact: the electricity used to power (electric vehicles) is mostly based on fossil fuel
- Misinformation: the electricity used to power them is mostly based on fossil fuel makes the whole thing a nonsense
Small ICE engines convert ~30% of fossil fuels burned into motion, large centralised power stations convert ~60% (edited my incorrect 90% figure here sorry!) of fossil fuels burned into electricity and EVs convert over 90% of that electricity into motion. There are a bunch of scientific studies out there that have proven that even on some of the most polluting coal-burning electricity grids EVs release less CO2 than ICE cars over their lifetimes. Even ignoring CO2 though, ICE engines burn fossil fuel in places where people walk/work/live, centralised power stations typically do it around far less people and this really matters because the likes of particulate matter and NOX emissions are highly localised, just a few meters makes a big difference to your exposure.
- Fact: cars catch fire
- Misinformation: I’ve just heard of an EV going on fire in a friends driveway. Tricky to put out apparently plus the cost of the fire brigade. Not nice during Christmas hols. The car is written off and lucky house didn’t catch fire into the bargain. I’ll stick with the tried and trusted.
The clear implication is that you should stick with tried/trusted ICE cars because EVs are a fire hazard. However a study from the US insurance industry shows that electric cars catch fire at a rate of 25 per 100k sales while petrol/diesel catch fire at a rate of 1529 per 100k and hybrids 3474 per 100k. If you would prefer to own a car that won't catch fire on you the data suggests you need to steer well clear of anything with petrol/diesel on-board.
- Fact: Modern EV batteries degrade over time, at a rate of ~1% per year
- Misinformation: I have no faith in the longevity of a car battery. I have heard enough scare stories to put me off. Based on my experience with phone and laptop lithium batteries they don’t age well. If they can’t get them right for a small item like a phone then how long will they remain efficient in a car without needing to be replaced?
The clear implication being that EV batteries age at similar rates to phone/laptop batteries, which we all know tend to last 5 years or so before you start thinking that a new battery would make life much easier. The reality is there are thousands of different types of lithium-ion batteries out there using different form factors, chemistries, management systems etc; some of these might only survive a single charge cycle over a couple of weeks, others are designed to last thousands over many years. Another example of the comparison issue here would be e-cigarettes, many use the 18650 lithium battery and last 6 months, Tesla use ~8000 18650 lithium batteries in their EVs but don't need to replace them every 6 months.
To throw in a real-world example, I have an 8 year old Nissan Leaf. Basically the first generation of modern electric vehicles and Nissan made some poor decisions in-terms of lithium battery chemistry and how use/charging is managed, really doesn't get much worse than the older Nissan Leafs. But the battery is still at >80% of its useable capacity. So even this worst-of-the-worst EV is not going to need a battery replacement before the rest of the car has fallen to pieces. There are certainly batteries failing and getting replaced in EVs, just as the odd ICE engine needs to be replaced, but it is misinformation to imply that the average person is in any way likely to experience this just because their iPhone is toast after 4-5 years.
Sorry for the length of that and sorry for dissecting your posts
@Mamamia22, I know this is just stuff you've read and are repeating without malicious intent.