Life coach and TikToker Andrew Cipriano (@lifecoachandrew) has a message for those considering purchasing an electric car. “Please stop.”
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He documented his frustrating charging experience for a Chevrolet Equinox EV in a viral TikTok that has more than 135,000 views. In the video, he shows the difficulties of setting up an EV for fast charging. Even when he finally can charge his car, he says the cost of charging is the same as the cost of gas. He also explained that preparing your home for Level 2 charging comes with some expenses.
Charging trouble
Cipriano begins the clip sitting in his brother’s Chevrolet Equinox. he says: “Everyone’s lying about this damn electric car. My brother got an electric Equinox and he said, ‘Hey, Andrew, can you charge this? I went to work and charged it. I can’t go back.” I said, “I can’t go back.” ”
At this point in the video, a text overlay appears detailing how inconvenient it is to charge the vehicle. “After entering all my card information, it took 15 minutes to charge properly.”
He went on to say: That’s why I’m stupid[expletive] I sit here and watch things rush like Dickens. I’m using a quick charger. Not only do they cost as much to fill up as gas today; But you also have to like going out and spending an hour to an hour and a half. ”
Another overlay adds that just using the charging plug costs an additional 50 cents. Cipriano further vents his dissatisfaction.
“It takes me 10-15 minutes just to figure out how to use this thing because the card reader doesn’t work. You have to download an app,” he rants. “Submit it. Then you can actually unplug the car and plug it back in and it will reset.”
passage of time
He looked out the car window and showed the station’s gas pumps.
“Twenty-five people have pumped gas since I’ve been sitting here,” he said. “Just so I could plug the car into a power outlet. Then the car wouldn’t start, so I had to turn everything off and restart it. That’s five times short.”
He also mentioned the installation costs of home charging solutions. EV charging speeds are typically graded into three different levels. Level 1 charging is a standard 12-volt plug and adds very little power to your car. For example, when I previously owned a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, an 8-hour Level 1 charge added 10% to battery capacity.
Additionally, the car had to be turned off for Level 1 charging to actually store battery power. Level 2 charging occurs more quickly, taking approximately 8-10 hours to charge most EVs from 0 to 100%. If you have Level 2 charging access at home, this can be a convenient solution. However, this requires a NEMA-1450 outlet with higher voltage capacity.
Cipriano says such equipment doesn’t come cheap. “By the way, if you don’t want to spend $2,500 to install a car charger in your garage. You literally have to plug it into the 120 outlet that came with the car,” he says. “And guess what? You get 1 mile per hour on a single charge. 1 mile per hour, so you can get 12 miles on an overnight charge.”
slow energy
He says these standard wall outlet adapters are virtually useless. This means if you don’t have a Level 2 charger at home, you’ll have to rely on a fast charging solution.
Additionally, Cipriano said the cost of Level 2 charging extends beyond installing the NEMA-1450. The more electricity you consume, the higher your electricity bill will be.
This potential cost increase, combined with electrician service fees, can negate any savings you might get from an EV.
“And once you do that, you’re going to end up paying more for your electricity bill anyway,” he says. “The technology just hasn’t caught on. Don’t do it. Don’t be fooled by these stupid salesmen because of the rebates on these cars. Why do these cars have such high rebates? , because the infrastructure is not maintained sustainably.”
@lifecoachandrew Look at this before buying an electric car. I don’t care what a salesperson or company is promoting. This experience has been awful for the last 4 months #electric car ♬ Original song – Andrew Cipriano
TikTokers also participate
One user shared Cipriano’s criticism. “EVs are the biggest scam these days,” they write.
Some people noted that long drives in electric cars are a nightmare. “Can you imagine going on a road trip?” they said.
Another person emphasized that Controversies related to lithium ore mining. “People haven’t studied how these affect the environment. From the battery to the tires, it’s much worse than petrol cars,” they argued.
One user said the EV ownership experience sounds unnecessarily frustrating. “Working with electric cars seems like a lot of hassle,” they wrote.
However, one person said they had a pleasant fast charging experience with their EV. “My Tesla charges to 80% quickly. Maybe it’s specific to your car, not to Tesla,” they said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Cipriano and Chevrolet via email.
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