Pete ‘sparks’ fury

Transport honcho’s e-car claim doesn’t add up

Critics ripped Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday after he argued that more Americans should purchase electric vehicles so that they “never have to worry about gas prices again.”

The former South Bend, Ind., mayor claimed on MSNBC’s “Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart” that families who own EVs would see a “$12,500 discount” in transportation costs.

“The people who stand to benefit most from owning an EV are often rural residents who have the most distances to drive, who burn the most gas, and underserved urban residents in areas where there are higher gas prices and lower income,” Buttigieg said. “These are the very residents who have not always been connected to electric vehicles that are viewed as kind of a luxury item.”

According to Kelly Blue Book, the average price of a new EV as of OctoWhite ber was $55,676. By contrast, the average price of a new compact car was only $25,240. The average price of a new compact SUV was $34,122, while the EV price was even higher than that of the average new sports car ($44,981).

In addition to the higher sticker price, the American Automobile Association has estimated that owning a new, compact electrical vehicle costs about $600 more per year than a gaspowered compact vehicle — despite lower fuel and maintenance costs.

Conservatives took to Twitter to mock Buttigieg’s argument that EVs are a money saver.

“Everyone can probably afford electric cars in the world that Pete Buttigieg lives in,” tweeted former Trump House communications official Mercedes Schlapp. “Average Americans struggling with record high gas prices? Not so much.”

“You realize that, even if it’s fully electric, you’re still beholden to the price of fossil fuels, right?” tweeted commentator Emily Zanotti. “IT JUST RUNS ON TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOSSIL FUEL.”

“Let me assure you there is very little overlap between ‘families that can afford to buy a $50,000 electric car,’ ” tweeted Amy Swearer of the Heritage Foundation, “and ‘families that are

worried about gas prices because an extra $50 a month is actually a week’s worth of groceries.’ ”

Hot Air senior editor Ed Morrissey wrote that instead of worrying about gas prices, Americans will “have to worry about skyrocketing electricity prices under the heavy demand EVs will create . . . and the rolling blackouts when supply can’t meet demand in a regulated environment.”