Surprise! Electric cars are already making California healthier
From the “duh” department, California is already becoming more healthy because of electric car penetration, which has resulted in cleaner air in areas where electric cars are more prevalent, according to a new study.
The study was published last week by the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. It tracked real-world pollution levels, electric car penetration, and emergency room visits across California between 2013 and 2019.
Completely unsurprisingly, the study found that clean air vehicles actually resulted in clean air, with the benefits being stronger in areas where there were more of them. Amazing. Who knew.
Each increase of 20 cars per 1,000 people (which is roughly equivalent to 2% of cars – since CA has 840 cars per 1,000 people) was associated with a .41ppb (parts per billion) drop in nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. California law sets average NOx standards at 30ppb, so a drop of .41 is a pretty big chunk, especially when compared to just 2% of EV penetration.
It stands to reason that taking gas cars off the road would reduce NOx, because nitrogen dioxide is a form of pollution particularly associated with vehicle tailpipes, and is the major contributor to the formation of smog, with a variety of negative health effects.
For one example, worldwide, vehicle traffic specifically is responsible for 4 million new cases of childhood asthma per year. And air pollution is responsible for up to 200,000 deaths in the US per year.
And so the study checked to see if areas with higher EV peneration, and lower NOx, would also have fewer problems with asthma, and whaddayaknow, they did!
Every 20 electric cars per 1,000 Californians in a particular zip code was associated with a 3.2% decline in asthma-related emergency department visits.
And since emergency room visits are extremely expensive in the American healthcare system, it stands to reason that any drop in ER visits would also reduce health costs. This is relevant even for those who do not suffer from asthma, due to pooling of costs through health insurance.
The cost benefits of better public health are not always focused on, but should be relevant here. The study did not focus on these, but other studies have. For example, IMF estimates that fossil fuels are responsible for $5.3 trillion globally in health and environmental costs every year, and any reduction in fossil fuel pollution would stand to reduce this number.
And the best part of these results is that they happened rapidly, only over a few years, and with only low numbers of EV penetration. The study period only tracked 2013 to 2019, where the installed base of EVs across California rose from a tiny 1.4 to a still-modest 14.7 cars per 1,000, and yet the study still found these significant benefits even with a small number of EVs.
And those numbers are still growing. EVs made up 8% of the new car market in California in 2019, but that number is up to 17% now. Surely, if the study were to incorporate new data, the health benefits of clean air vehicles would continue improving. And on the longer term, the benefits of avoiding climate change will be tremendous.
But the benefits of cleaner air haven’t been equally distributed. The study’s zip code-level analysis showed that areas with fewer electric cars also tended to be poorer areas. This is a problem because these are the areas which tend to suffer more negative health effects of pollution anyway.
The average electric car does cost more than the average gas car… but that’s because the average electric car is a Tesla, as Tesla owns ~70% of the EV market. The cheapest electric car, the Chevy Bolt, can also be the cheapest car of any type in California, as long as you can qualify for all available federal, state and regional incentives – and buy it before March, when it’s expected to lose half of its federal EV tax credit (if you’re looking for a Bolt, feel free to use our link to search local dealers).
Nevertheless, there are other difficulties with getting electric cars into poorer areas – poorer people tend to buy more used cars than new, tend to have more difficulty fronting upfront costs which can be higher with EVs while running costs are lower, and may not have access to their own off-street parking, as street parking does make EV ownership less easy.
There are solutions to some of these problems – for example, apartments and HOAs in California already cannot stop residents from installing EV chargers, and the Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits for used EVs – but more work needs to be done to distribute the health gains from electric cars more equally. Or even better, we can leapfrog the whole concept of private car ownership and build better public transportation, which is a particular problem in California’s most populous areas and can provide disproportionate benefits for poorer communities.
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Rivian (RIVN) is already preparing for changes under the Trump administration. In anticipation of Trump’s new auto tariffs, Rivian built a reserve of EV batteries from Asia as a countermeasure.
Rivian has a plan to overcome Trump’s tariffs
At this point, nearly every major automaker has acknowledged the damaging impact of tariffs on vehicle imports in the US.
GM, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Volvo all withdrew their financial guidance due to the uncertainty. Rivian wasted no time preparing for the changes.
According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, Rivian has been stockpiling lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells from Gotion High-Tech since last year. The battery cells are used in Rivian’s Commercial Van, initially used by Rivian and now open to other businesses.
Sources familiar with the matter said Rivian covered the upfront costs to stockpile inventory for later use. China’s Gotion paid for and built a separate reserve in the US.
The sources also said that Rivian is working with Samsung SDI to move a significant portion of its battery supply from Korea to the US. Battery cells from Samsung are used in Rivian’s R1S electric SUV and R1T pickup. All three vehicles are built at Rivian’s manufacturing plant in Normal, IL.
The move is to ensure Rivian has enough supply while minimizing potential higher prices and other complications from the tariffs.
As it prepares to launch its smaller, more affordable R2, sources said Rivian is looking to secure similar deals for batteries and raw materials in the future. Rivian has reportedly already signed its first agreement, but no other details were offered.
The upcoming R2 will use cells from LG Energy Solution. Although they will initially come from Korea, LG will produce the next-gen batteries in Arizona.
Electrek’s Take
Although Trump eased some of the impacts on imported vehicles on Wednesday, many tariffs remain in place and are already causing havoc in the industry.
Almost every major automaker has withdrawn earnings guidance due to the expected impacts. Like Rivian, others are taking countermeasures, including boosting US inventory in preparation. However, how long can this last?
Trump claims that the “Golden Age of America” is here, but it looks to be the complete opposite. The tariffs will only put the US further behind as China and others emerge as global leaders in tech.
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Tesla plans to deploy a public charging network for its Tesla Semi truck, starting with 46 stations in 2027, according to a new presentation.
At a new presentation at the ACT Expo this week, Tesla’s head of the Semi program, Dan Priestley, revealed several new details about the long-awaited electric semi-truck.
During the presentation, Priesley claimed that Tesla Semi trucks have already cumulatively traveled 7.9 million miles (12.7 million km).
He didn’t disclose how many trucks contributed to this total mileage, but he did add that “more than 26 Tesla Semi trucks” have each traveled over 100,000 miles.”
These numbers have been updated from a previous presentation in September 2024, when Priestley said the Tesla Semi fleet had traveled 7.5 million miles and that a single truck had traveled 250,000 miles (400,000 km) over the last 1.5 years.
Tesla also confirmed that the truck is going to be equipped with a 25 kW Power Take Off (PTO) at the back to power external systems, like a refrigerated trailer, for example (via Jake Guerra on LinkedIn):
Priestley also revealed a few more details about Tesla’s planned expansion of its charging network for the Tesla Semi.
The company currently operates the Supercharger network. It is the most extensive EV fast-charging network in North America, but it is geared toward passenger electric vehicles and not practical for bigger commercial vehicles, like Tesla Semi.
Tesla has already deployed Megachargers, its charging station for electric semi trucks, at its own installations and those of a few customer-partners who have been testing the Tesla Semi, but now it plans to deploy public charging stations to enable long-haul trucking with the electric truck.
Priestley said that Tesla is now aiming to deploy 46 Megacharging stations as part of its public charging network by early 2027.
It is not clear whether the locations on the map accurately represent the plans, but it appears likely based on previously reported Megacharger information.
The presentation follows an update released by Tesla this week about the Tesla Semi factory in Nevada.
The automaker aims to start volume production of the truck in 2026.
Tesla Semi was first supposed to enter production in 2019, but it has been significantly delayed as Tesla tried to deliver on the promise of range and capacity.
It appears that the automaker may be able to deliver on those, but at a significantly higher price than previously announced, as we recently reported.
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Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), already the first airport in the US to be fully powered by a microgrid, is expanding its solar field with utility Duquesne Light Company (DLC) and solar owner and operator IMG Energy Solutions.
The new solar project will add more than 11,216 panels to the airport’s existing solar array, generating an additional 4.7 megawatts MW) of renewable energy. That’s enough to cut around 5 million pounds of carbon emissions annually. It’s DLC’s first-ever power purchase agreement, and clean energy will go to the regional grid to help power homes and businesses in Pittsburgh.
This expansion will sit on 12 acres of land that used to be a landfill, adjacent to Pittsburgh Airport’s eight-acre solar array, which hosts nearly 10,000 panels. This new and old infrastructure, just off the airport exit from I-376, supports the airport’s 23-MW solar and natural gas microgrid, launched in 2021.
Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato called the project a “fantastic step” toward a more sustainable future for the region. PIT also has plans to make sustainable aviation fuel onsite.
DLC will use 100% of this project’s energy and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to support its default service customers.
“We’re maximizing the use of airport assets for the betterment of the region – from air service to real estate development to energy innovation,” said PIT CEO Christina Cassotis. “And there’s more to come.”
The new solar field is expected to come online by 2027. So if you’re flying into Pittsburgh in a couple of years, you might spot it from your window seat.
Read more: Solar adds more new capacity to the US grid in 2024 than any energy source in 20 years
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