Learn about driving electric

Why should I care about electric cars?

• Cost: lower your total cost of car ownership and stop thinking about gas prices—you can stop buying gasoline today
• Health: keep toxic exhaust out of your kids, garage, city, and self
• Independence: buying gas furthers a dependency on the middle east and supports dictators, human rights violations, and war
• Convenience: stop wasting your time with oil changes and other mechanical maintenance; charge at home and never visit a gas station again—unless you just want a snack
• Sustainability: we all have a responsibility to future generations and should make smarter choices that avoid irreversible damage to the planet

Where can I get an electric car today?

For a new car, you can start online now and get connected to a manufacturer or dealer; the Cars page has a link for each model along with basic info. You can also shop for used electric cars using an aggregator site: Autotrader, CarGurus, TrueCar, Cars.com, Used Teslas

How should I decide on which car to buy?

I recommend choosing an electric car based on price, size, and range. Most people overestimate their range needs, so keep an open mind. If you can plug in at home or at work and your round trip commute distance is less than about half of the range of the electric car you choose, you won’t have trouble adopting a gas-free commute.

Where can I learn more about incentive programs available to me?

There's a US federal income tax rebate of $7,500 that applies to new electric car purchases in all states (limited to $3,750 for Tesla and GM). Many states offer significant incentives on top of that.

More on extra state incentives

How do I install a charger at home?

You may not need to. If you have a regular electrical outlet near where you park, you can use that. The vast majority of commuters can replenish their batteries with overnight charging using a common wall outlet.

If you want to charge your car more quickly, you can use (or have installed) a higher power outlet. The best choice is a NEMA 14-50 outlet, which is otherwise used for clothes dryers or RVs. It can provide up to 10kW (about 6x as fast as slow charging). For the charging cord—they’re called “EVSE”—my advice is to choose either a hardwired option or one with a 14-50 plug.

Imagine never going to the gas station again, not breathing your own gasoline fumes, knowing that you aren’t supporting middle eastern dictators, and not needing to pay the American average of $2,000/year per car on gas!

What’s it like to maintain an electric car? Will I need to worry about the battery?

Electric cars are much less complex than traditional cars. Electric cars don’t need oil changes, engine air filters, spark plugs, belt replacements, or emission tests. Transmissions in electric cars don’t even need to shift! And because of how slowing down recharges your battery (“regenerative braking”), your brake pads will last way longer—probably for the life of your car. Speaking of batteries, electric cars carry substantial battery warranties, typically 8 years/100k miles, so you’re covered longer than with a traditional car.

Which brands make electric cars?

Almost every car company: Tesla, Nissan, Chevy, Hyundai, BMW, Kia, Ford, Fiat, Smart, and more. Check out the Cars page for a comparison of some selected specifications.

What if I can’t charge at home?

Many employers are adding vehicle charging to workplace parking. You may also be surprised to learn of just how many public charging stations are now available. PlugShare offers extensive listings and a local map of charging options. DC fast chargers are also already pretty common, and of course Tesla’s Supercharger network is almost everywhere.

How long will it take to charge?

Most people really sweat this question until they actually own an electric car. If you can plug in at home or work, even slow charging from any outlet will conveniently get the job done.

It’s reasonable to look at your average daily mileage and calculate your expected charge time based on that (i.e. not the 0–100% time). More than two-thirds of Americans commute fewer than 30 miles per day (round-trip), which can easily be replenished overnight even with the slowest charging arrangement. And if you think about it, there are way more places to get electricity than to buy gasoline!

What if I need to drive very long distances?

Long distance road trips are a common worry of folks considering switching to an electric car. The simplest workaround is to keep a traditional car to use for road trips. Another approach is to buy a plug-in hybrid car rather than an all-electric car.

However, if you have a car with a sizable battery, DC fast charging stations make road trips manageable. Tesla pioneered this with their Supercharger network of stations, but many people don’t realize that there are tons of other public fast charging stations as well. And if you're visiting friends or family, you can also plug in to an outdoor outlet to top up while you're visiting.

PlugShare is a fantastic resource to find places to charge near you (shown on a map). You can filter the results based on your exact needs.

Check out more detailed info and go electric today!