That's because, even at California prices, $7.5 million homes usually have garages with multiple bays to shelter and recharge their owners' Teslas.
/Biden’s EV push will benefit bicoastal elites more than middle class or poor — study.
California EVs concentrated in affluent, college-educated, at least 75% white and Asian areas, analysis finds
President Joe Biden's campaign for Americans to buy electric vehicles (EVs) rather than fuel-powered cars continues to run up against the barrier of the average person's wallet — a reality highlighted by a new report out of California.
EVs in the Golden State are overwhelmingly concentrated in affluent communities dominated by white and Asian, college-educated, and high-income residents, according to CalMatters, which conducted a statewide analysis of ZIP codes based on California Energy Commission data.
Atherton, for example, is a small community in San Mateo County, Calif., that boasts not only California's highest percentage of electric cars — one out of every seven, or 14% — but also an average home value of nearly $7.5 million and average household income exceeding half a million dollars. The fact that Atherton is both wealthy and full of EVs isn't a coincidence, according to the data.
Most of the biggest EV clumps were found to be concentrated in Silicon Valley cities and affluent coastal areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, the central hubs of tech titans and Hollywood giants.
While more EVs are found in wealthier places home to mainly Whites and Asians, the inverse is also true: EVs are almost non-existent in low-income California communities, especially with high populations of Black and Latino residents, ranging from zero to 2.6%.
What about the millions of residents who don’t have garages, or work for mansion owners who won’t let them plug into the home’s virtue station? “Serves them right for being middle class or poor”, sniffed Malibu resident Petunia Smithers. “They shouldn’t be driving on our roads in the first place, and if they’re forced onto our mass transit, they’ll crowd out the bums and crack heads that have been keeping ordinary people from riding it.” (March 14, 2023, LA Times: LA Riders Baill On Metro Trains Amid Deadly Overdoses, Crime.)
“Mobility is a bad thing for these people”, Smithers continued. “If they can move about, they’re harder to keep track of, and who knows what they’ll do without close supervision? Probably buy gas stoves, or use washing machines and dishwashers.”