Urgent warning as EVs blasted for ‘catfishing’ motorists over range & costs

A WOMAN has blasted electric cars for their false promises over low costs and long distance ranges.

Madison Hafen has warned others of the hidden issues and costs of owning an EV and explains why she got rid of hers after being “cat-fished”.

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EVs have been taking the world by storm as many drivers want to cut down both their emissions and costs – swapping their fuel engines for electric ones.

However, customers have frequently told of their difficulties in finding spots to charge and the unexpected, untold costs of electric cars.

TikToker Madison agrees with these complaints and shared how her personal experience with an EV did not live up to the dream she was sold.

In the video, she caveats her complaints by stating that she “loved” having a Tesla – “they’re so smart, they are the iPhones of cars.”

The TikToker gushes over their clever functions like pre-set heating, lane change assist, blind spot cameras and keyless entry.

Yet, she was frustrated by the frequency her EV needed to be charged.

“On average, you have to charge for 20 to 30 mins for every two to three hours you drive”.

“Elon [Musk] is out here cat-fishing us though,” she says, explaining that her Tesla’s promise of a 300 mile range actually turned out to be half that.

“It’s stressful,” she says, particularly when she was “alone and in an unfamiliar road and knowing its a possibility I could run out of charge”.

Madison then adds that charging was much more expensive than she expected.

“You still have to pay electric bill at home or at the super-charger station and it was on average $20 (£15.50) every time I stopped.”

Her complaints are backed up by expert calculations that reveal it could take almost a decade to break even after purchasing an electric vehicle.

The US Department of Energy’s calculator helps to work out the cost comparisons between fuel and electric cars.

The calculator assumes a 55 per cent stop-and-go driving mix and uses the American average of 15,000 miles driven per year.

For example, the 2023 Volkswagen ID 4 EV costs roughly £30,373 ($38,995), while its similar-sized equivalent the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan retails at £20,991 ($26,950).

This means customers are coughing up an extra £9,382 ($12,045) in upfront costs to go electric.

The calculator than predicts that EV owners will save £1,094 ($1,404) a year charging up their cars rather then buying fuel.

By dividing the upfront cost of the EV by the yearly savings on fuel, it reveals that it would take roughly eight years to break even on your purchase.

It comes as a recent report showed that owning an electric car will get even more expensive in the next year or two.

The new data revealed that the average EV running costs have jumped £158 year-on-year, mainly due to higher insurance prices.

The average premium for electric vehicles has been increasing by £121 year on year to £687.

In comparison, the typical insurance premium for a petrol-fuelled car is £659, having risen by £101 compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, a £44k Tesla Model S owner has revealed his top 10 reasons you shouldn’t buy one.

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