The Problems with Owning an Electric Vehicle in Montana
You're probably reading this article for one of two reasons, either you have a genuine curiosity about the potential problems of electric cars in Montana OR you hate clicked this and are getting ready to tear my head off. If you're here for the latter reason, let me assure you that I am not a big-oil shill, in fact, I'm quite environmentally conscious. Like many millennials, I've been taught about the dangers of fossil fuels since kindergarten, and I take those dangers seriously. I recycle, I typically take only 3 showers per week and I haven't owned a car for over 10 years— how's THAT for environmentalist cred? Now that that's out of the way, I'll explain some of the issues that come with owning an electric vehicle in this state because I want Montanans to be informed before making such a costly decision.
Cold Weather
According to AAA, cold weather can cut an electric car's range over 40%, and I don't need a source to tell you that it gets cold in Montana sometimes. Don't forget that if you turn on your heaters or seat warmers, you'll have an even shorter range. But you can just charge again, right? Sure, but that leads to another problem.
Charging Stations
I'm aware that Montana had another charging station installed recently, and that's great. But according to this 2021 report from evadoption.com, Montana is in the bottom-ten states for most charging stations. So carefully plan your trip so that you stop at a charging station before you run out of range, oh and don't forget to pray that the charging station you need actually works. This New York Times article from last week informed me about the perils of broken chargers.
Privacy Concerns
We Montanans love our privacy, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals say that "electric vehicle charging stations may be a privacy risk." I'm not qualified to say how risky charging stations are or aren't but considering everything from "Yahoo" to "My Fitness Pal" has had a data breach, I don't think it would surprise anyone that charging stations could also be vulnerable.
LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving
LOOK: See the iconic cars that debuted the year you were born