Bring on the Boring EVs
Sign up for The Weekly Planet, The Atlantic’s newsletter about living through climate change, here.
If you tune in to Queer Eye next season, you may find the “Fab Five” talking about the transformative power of a carefully curated refresh from the interior of a zero-emissions Hummer pickup truck. The placement is part of a new deal between Netflix and General Motors to feature electric vehicles on the streaming service, a deal that both companies are promoting as a step toward “creating a better, more sustainable future for our world.” But the idea that placing EVs in TV shows is leading-edge progressivism seems somewhat dated. Even the prospect of the Hummer EV—an icon of gas guzzling transformed into a green mode of transportation—seems about as transgressive and edgy as Queer Eye itself in 2023, which is to say: not very.
EVs are just, up from just more than 3 percent the year before. In California, of new cars sold are fully electric. In part thanks to the tax breaks and incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, the price of EVs is also with the price of gasoline-powered cars.
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days