Minister of transport Pete Buttigieg came with a price list to a hearing where a GOP congressman claimed electric vehicles were too expensive.
Pennsylvania Republican Representative Scott Perry said suggestions had been made that Americans “should buy an electric vehicle and opt out of this 80 percent per gallon increase.”
“Just look at a Kelly Blue Book, the price of one [electric vehicle] is about $55,000,” Mr. Perry said, before adding, “It’s actually more than that because $7,500 per car subsidy of about $48 billion in taxes is being paid by the same people … so closer about $60,000. That’s about $20,000 more than a gas-powered car.”
In response, Mr. Buttigieg argued that “no one I know, certainly not me, thinks that all, or even most, Americans can afford electric vehicles.”
“Nevertheless, I’m impressed by the $55,000 figure that keeps circulating,” he added. “I knew this could happen, so I just pulled a couple of the latest prizes. A Chevy Bolt, which is an American-made 2022 EV, costs $26,595. If you want a pickup like a Chevy Silverado EV or a Ford F-150 Lightning, they start at $39,930 and $39,974 respectively.”
Buttigieg continued, “For example, when I first got a plug-in car, Chasten and I got one, it cost $14,000, had about 15,000 miles, it was a [Ford] C-Max… it was a combo plug-in hybrid,” he noted.
“But what we’re seeing now in terms of momentum is that we’re close to — and indeed may be on certain models and in certain circumstances — the point at which the extent to which your car payment would increase is actually already through.” outweighed the extent to which your gas bill would go down even if you included electricity costs,” the secretary said.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks with Grace Napolitano, a Democratic congresswoman from California
(EPA)
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is preparing to testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
(EPA)
Following the exchange, some political reporters and critics shared their thoughts on how Buttigieg conducted the conversation on Twitter.
“This exchange with the GOP’s Pete and Scott Perry shows why many Democrats continue to consider him one of the party’s best communicators,” Politico reporter Alex Thompson tweeted.
“What a polite way to tell someone they’re full,” wrote Alonzo Bodden.
“You know what sucks, before Pete slapped that GOP shill back into submission – I actually thought ALL EVs start at about 50,000 because that’s what every OIL-bought inbred Republican has been spitting out since the beginning of TIME,” said another Twitter user.
