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Comment by pstuart | Hacker News Reader

Another problem is that fuel taxes are a reasonably equitable means of paying for the roads, and EVs don't have that -- the closest would be vehicle miles * weight or some such.

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Equivalents of fuel taxes for EVs have been announced recently - charging directly on a per mile basis.

> The rate of tax will be 3 pence per mile for fully electric cars; this is around half of the 6 pence per mile the average petrol or diesel driver pays in fuel duty.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-...

In my state they decided to tax EVs punitively through our annual registration fee. I already pay an additional $200 for my EV registration, which is $50 more than the average ICE driver pays is gas taxes. I drive considerably less than the average TN driver. Next year it will be $274.

Fuel taxes don't seem to take into account the quartic scaling of damage by vehicle weight on pavement.

Well, if they did then EVs would pay more, since they are much heavier., because of, you know, the batteries.

At least in the US, EVs are not heavier than the average driver's vehicle, though they are heavier than other vehicles in their class. And practically all consumer vehicles are nothing compared to semi trucks.

Like for like, about 10% heavier. For now, at least. Few more years and they will be lighter on average.

Bollocks - all generalizations are false.

My Model 3 (RWD SR+ 2023) is 1847kg unloaded weight, including driver.

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