I have to agree with OP, taxes should be based on weight. If you EV causes 10x the wear that a ICE car then you pay 10x the taxes. If the goal is fossil fuel usage, we cannot ignore the fact that pouring tar and repairing roads is not horrible as well.

If the goal is to encourage usage, then just subsidize it, but eventually it all comes down to wear and taxes, you cannot ignore a car that weights 10x as much as a normal car.

There are ways to make the road stronger if the government really cares about such things. But they don't it ends up being yearly cost = total upfront cost / average life span which in there mind is cheaper than a bigger upfront cost that lasts longer.

I think the optics are bad but the logic is sound. EVs don’t pay gas tax like ICE vehicles do, so it should even out in the end.

Heavy EVs cause more tire wear. I've seen articles claiming that particulate pollution from tires on EVs is a problem. I can think of a few other reasons to want lighter EVs. But you need a really heavy vehicle to be the dominant cause of roads wearing out.

Compared to other cars, sure but still negligible compared to semis and other _heavy_ machinery

EVs are not "way heavier". They are a couple hundred pounds heavier than comparable ice cars on average.

And all that extra weight is in the battery. Over time, batteries will shrink to the point where EVs are lighter on average.

Great, EV taxes can pay for EV infrastructure and contribute towards road maintenance!

Nothing unfortunate about it at all. Why shouldn't an EV Hummer or Ford Lightning pay up for the weight on the road?

EVs are not the solution to our transportation problems.