CNN climate correspondent Bill Weir joined Thursday afternoon’s CNN Newsroom to applaud California’s new edict that will ban new gas-powered cars by 2035. Weir didn’t see what the big deal is considering horses used to be a primary mode of transportation.
Towards the end of his segment with guest host Bianna Golodryga, Weir noted that the Chinese province of Hainan will do the same by 2030, “Europe is doing this. So, it might be time to start thinking about the tailpipe like the horse. You know, the horse didn't go extinct when we all picked up cars. They changed in their use there will be a used car market robust, and you know there will be states that will probably, proudly will be burning gas and have their own artisan four-barrel carburetor, you know, builders.
Of course, a car is much more efficient than a horse, but details were less important to Weir, who added “this is a big step forward in terms of decarbonizing our economy.”
Earlier in the segment Weir and Golodryga attempted to tackle another problem facing electric cars: the heavy price tag. Golodryga wondered, “The cars right now are very expensive. Inflation, a factor there on that front. So, how feasible is this on that front, given that we're seeing the prices that are relatively high?”
Weir held out hope that as the supply increases, the cost will decrease. As CNN posted a graphic showing the cost of a new electric vehicle is more than double that of a new midsized, gas-powered one, Weir praised the Democrats’ latest spending spree, “I mean, if you look at the early days of the computer or the cell phone, you know, they were monstrous in terms of the price tag. That will come down and with all these incentives that are-- just went into this Inflation Reduction Act, there's ten years of incentives built in for consumers now. So, it's an indication this is a real milestone.”
After reading some statements from car companies praising California’s new rules, Weir returned to the IRA, “They tried to incentivize American production, not just of the car itself, but the minerals that go into it, all these rare earth minerals, lithium. The United States has those, but you need to uncork them and that means environmental reviews and all of that so the whole supply chain around transportation has to move.”
Recently, the cost of electric vehicles has increased by an amount equal to that of the IRA’s tax credits as companies seek to pass those mining costs onto consumers.
This segment was sponsored by Carvana.
Here is a transcript for the August 25 show:
CNN Newsroom with Ana Cabrera
8/25/2022
1:41 PM ET
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: The cars right now are very expensive. Inflation, a factor there on that front. So, how feasible is this on that front, given that we're seeing the prices that are relatively high?
BILL WEIR: Well, keep in mind this is 12 years away.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
WEIR: And there’s going to be so much more supply, who knows, we may get the Jetsons car we were promised—
GOLODRYGA: Maybe.
WEIR: -- and it will run on hydrogen or something, but right now, if you just look at the prices, it is pretty, you know, staggering. California owns 39% of all electric vehicles, but it's just 2% of the car fleet there. These are the prices comparatively now.
But as we said, I mean, if you look at the early days of the computer or the cell phone, you know, they were monstrous in terms of the price tag. That will come down and with all these incentives that are-- just went into this—
GOLODRYGA: Right.
WEIR: -- Inflation Reduction Act, there's ten years of incentives built in for consumers now. So, it's an indication this is a real milestone.
GOLODRYGA: It was interesting to hear Chris say that most automakers and the car industry as a whole is on board with this. That's promising.
WEIR: Well, for the same reason that Henry Ford was considered a genius. He figured out early on that you want an assembly line. That uniformity is the key to profit. You don't want to build 12 different assembly lines for the various states, rights? So, these are the statements, “GM and California have a shared vision of an all-electric future.” The Ford logo investing more than 50 billion next to that one, you see investing more than $50 billion in electric vehicles and batteries by '26, much faster.
Honda calls it an ''ambitious but important milestone,' but cautions reaching the goal would require several steps including building out domestic supply chains so more vehicles can qualify for the tax credit."
They tried to incentivize American production, not just of the car itself, but the minerals that go into it, all these rare earth minerals, lithium. The United States has those, but you need to uncork them—
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
WEIR: -- and that means environmental reviews and all of that so the whole supply chain around transportation has to move. But this is an indication. Look, China, the smallest province there, promised they would ban all electric cars five years sooner than California, by the way, by 2030. Europe is doing this. So, it might be time to start thinking about the tailpipe like the horse. You know, the horse didn't go extinct when we all picked up cars. They changed in their use, there will be a used car market robust, and you know there will be states that will probably, proudly will be burning gas—
GOLODRYGA: Right, right.
WEIR: -- and have their own artisan four-barrel carburetor, you know, builders. Who knows how long, but this is a big step forward in terms of decarbonizing our economy.
