3214: Electric Vehicles

2026-03-03T19:36:25Z

Chadliness: Fix regarding -> recharging

{{comic
| number = 3214
| date = March 2, 2026
| title = Electric Vehicles
| image = electric_vehicles_2x.png
| imagesize = 209x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by an EV WITH A NON-RECHARGEABLE BOT-TERY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

In the landscape this comic was written, many potential customers of {{w|electric vehicle}}s are still concerned about the feasibility of recharging the batteries. No one wants to be stuck on the side of the road with a broken down car, and finding a gas station to refill a traditional gasoline-powered car is still easier (at time of writing) than finding an electric vehicle recharging station in most areas. Many companies have been trying to ease these fears by developing longer-lasting batteries and installing more recharging stations, but the concerns remain for many.

This comic exaggerates this concern to an absurd degree: [[Cueball]] mistakenly believes electric cars were powered by single-use, non-rechargable batteries.

In reality, of course, such vehicles have and always had {{w|Rechargeable_battery|rechargeable batteries}}. He should indeed feel incredibly silly about this, given the ubiquity of rechargeable batteries in other devices (including {{w|internal combustion engine}} vehicles), and the large amounts of recharging infrastructure springing up to support the running of such vehicles. His objection makes about as much sense as saying he'd never buy a gas-powered car because eventually he'd use up all the gas.

A modern electric car commonly has [https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/evolution-of-average-range-of-electric-vehicles-by-powertrain-2010-2021 a range above 300 km/200 miles ]. Combustion engine cars usually reach [https://energynow.ca/2022/10/visualizing-the-range-of-electric-cars-vs-gas-powered-cars/ at least twice this range] on a full fuel tank. All types of vehicle can only be driven so far or for so long without refilling its energy storage, be it liquid fuel or electrochemical potential, either from occasional top-ups at roadside facilities or through a direct feed ({{w|overhead line}}s or {{w|third rail}}s can provide electricity to suitable vehicles for some or all of their journey along prepared routes). Many countries now have vast networks of public charging infrastructure, often for fast charging of 400kW and more, and their spacing in the all but the most sparsely populated areas usually permits any electric vehicle (even one with an unusually low range of <100km) to recharge before it runs out of energy.

As an alternative, approaches for {{w|Battery_swapping|swapping batteries}} in EVs have been [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNZy603as5w commercialized]. In these cases, replacing the battery does not substitute charging it, but it can potentially reduce the “refill” time from over 30 minutes to a few minutes (the time needed to pull out the discharged battery pack from the vehicle and put in a fully charged one). The batteries are charged while uninstalled and used to replace some other vehicle’s depleted battery later on.

The title text imagines that electric cars are distinct from others in a similar way as electric instruments (particularly {{w|Electric_guitar|guitars}}) are contrasted with {{w|acoustic guitar|non-electric (aka acoustic) ones}}. In the case of instruments, though, the 'electric' and 'acoustic' don't refer to how they're powered, but how their sound is transmitted and amplified. There's no such thing as an acoustic vehicle, though sound ''can'' be used to [https://hackaday.com/2025/02/21/acoustic-engine-harnesses-the-power-of-sound/ generate propulsion] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je7eLZS6GG0 on a small scale][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCnxsoXtlmY in a variety of ways]. It has become a common practice to refer to ''bicycles'' without a motor by the misnomer 'acoustic bicycle', but this does not seem to be much the case with cars. (Bicycles are sometimes also referred to as 'analog bicycles' — this is even more of a misnomer, being borrowed from the distinction between mechanical and digital devices, where the latter are sometimes misnamed as 'electric'.) When particular bicycles were developed to supersede the type (later) known as {{w|penny-farthing}}s, the ''new'' bicycles with wheels of the same size were called "{{w|safety bicycle}}s".

Electric vehicles are {{w|Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds|commonly designed}} to emit sound, sometimes like an electronic instrument, to give an audible warning of their presence for the purpose of safety, particularly when traveling at lower speeds. Several jurisdictions around the world {{w|Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds#Regulations|require}} them to emit a minimum sound level. In some cases, electric vehicle sounds are designed by [https://abcnews.com/Business/famed-composer-hans-zimmers-score-giving-sound-electric/story?id=69242502 renowned composers]. Though it is not their intended use,{{Citation needed}} motorised vehicles can be used as music instruments. Composer Ryoji Ikeda has composed a [https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/37885/1/building-a-synth-orchestra-out-of-one-hundred-cars symphony for 100 thermal ("acoustic") cars].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing to the left side of the panel with his arms out, and [[Megan]] and [[White Hat]] are standing to his right, facing him.]

:Cueball: I would never get an electric vehicle.
:Cueball: Sure, they sound great, but what do you do if the battery runs out of charge?

:[Caption below the image:]
:I felt pretty silly when someone finally explained to me that EVs are rechargeable.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]

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3214: Electric Vehicles