LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As drivers shell out close to $2 more per gallon than they did a year ago, those behind the wheel of electric vehicles like Daniel Monroe are spending a fraction of that.
“My son’s pickup truck here in Kentucky. It costs $0.25 a mile to go down the road one mile,” said Monroe. “These electric cars cost about two and a half cents a mile to go down the road.”
About 95% of his car charging is done at home, but if he needs to recharge it on the road, it typically costs about $14, said Monroe.
As President of Evolve KY, an organization working to promote electric transport, Monroe wants to be clear — for him, it’s not about saving money, but about getting away from a dependence on fossil fuels.
“Saving money, they’re safe, they’re fun, they’re good for the environment, all that’s gravy, but to me it’s peace on earth,” he said. “I don’t want our best young people dying over oil.”
Over 300 people have taken a test drive in his Tesla since he purchased it four years ago.
“This year, I’ve been offered $42,000 by two different individuals and that’s what I paid for the car new, four years ago, 75,000 miles ago, and so that’s zero depreciation of my car,” he said. “What car does that?”
Ellen Wade, the secretary of Evolve KY, says she switched to electric because she’s passionate about clean energy and she’s not gloating about spending much less than drivers using gasoline.
“I feel really sorry for them,” Wade told Spectrum News 1. “I really do, and I’m saying all the time, ‘I have a solution to the problem and I’m driving it.’ The thing of it is, if they keep on with these gas prices the way that it is, they’re going to wake up.”
As Kentucky prepares for two new electric battery plants, Monroe believes the commonwealth is headed in the right direction.
He just hopes Kentucky drivers support the industry, too.