“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” This pearl of wisdom is usually attributed to Upton Sinclair, but many other thinkers have made similar observations. “Never argue with a man whose job depends on not being convinced,” was H. L. Mencken’s formulation.

When President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill into law in November, EV drivers and fans delivered a well-earned round of applause. However, until now the details were so vague that we didn’t really know what we were cheering for. Now the administration has released an EV Charging Action Plan to outline the steps federal agencies will take to implement the new policy.

Just four years ago, the end of the Oil Age was considered a crazy dream. Today it is official policy in a growing number of countries, states, cities and corporate boardrooms around the world.

Speculation continually buzzes around the world about the possible locations of Tesla’s next Gigafactories. Why not Québec? The Canadian province is arguably an ideal location for large-scale battery production, and its government has enacted a number of EV-friendly measures.

When did the first EV race take place? Shortly after the second EV was built, says conventional wisdom. Since the dawn of modern EVs, a few groups have staged Cannonball Run-style events, and many more individuals have documented long-distance road trips, often with a goal of demonstrating the prevailing state of charging infrastructure.

If all 38 gigafactories make it to production, they could be delivering as much as 462 GWh worth of battery cells by 2025, and 1,144 GWh by 2030, enough to power over 90% of expected new vehicle sales in that year. According to Transport & Environment’s analysis, this would give Europe a 20% market share of global cell production by 2025, making it second only to China.

Now Floriane Laroche, writing in the Yorkshire Evening Post, has identified a new faux pas: “blagging [bumming] electricity while visiting someone else’s home.” A survey of 2,000 UK drivers conducted by Kia found that 61 percent of respondents would consider it rude for a guest to ask to plug in his or her EV. However, 56 percent would be too polite to say no if they were the hosts. Oh dear, it’s ever so awkward!

The state of Washington just adopted a plan to ban registrations of ICE vehicles after 2030. Other states seem likely to follow. So if you’re buying a new gas-burner today, you have to consider the likelihood that, 9 years from now, it won’t be salable at all in certain states. Even if you don’t live in one of these states, the pressure on resale prices will be felt throughout the US. In Europe and elsewhere around the world, various countries and cities have announced similar sunset dates, so the shrinking market for gas-burning cars will be a global phenomenon.

Commercial vehicle OEM Lion Electric has announced plans to build a battery manufacturing plant and innovation center in Quebec. The factory will produce both battery packs and modules, and is expected to begin operations in early 2023. The planned yearly production capacity is 5 GWh of battery storage, enough to electrify approximately 14,000 medium and heavy-duty vehicles.