Doesn't EV charging take forever?

Most charging happens at home overnight, adding 200+ miles of range in 8 hours, so you start every day with a full battery. DC fast chargers can add significant range in 15-30 minutes on the road. Charging stops naturally align with food and bathroom breaks. The gas-station comparison is misleading because home charging eliminates the need for it most of the time.

Top 10 EV Myths Debunked: What's Actually True About Electric Cars

Q: Do EVs work in cold weather?

Yes. EVs lose 20-40% of their range in freezing temperatures, but they absolutely work fine. In Norway, where temperatures average about 10°F colder than the US, over 90% of new cars sold are electric. The range loss is temporary and returns to normal when temperatures warm up. Cold weather affects all vehicles — gas cars typically lose 10-20% of their city fuel economy at 20°F. Preconditioning your EV while plugged in minimizes the winter impact.

Q: Will I get stranded with no charging available?

Very unlikely. As of early 2026, there are over 75,000 public charging stations in the US with around 230,000 individual charging ports — roughly triple the number from 2020. 64% of Americans now live within 2 miles of a public charging station, and over 95% live in a county that has at least one. About 18,000 new DC fast-charging ports were deployed in 2025 alone, the largest annual increase in US history.

Q: Don't EV batteries die after a few years?

No. Modern EV batteries degrade at just 1.8% per year on average, meaning they could last 20 years or more. All automakers offer at least 8-year, 100,000-mile warranties on EV batteries. Recurrent's 2025 battery-health dataset, drawn from over 30,000 connected EVs, has reported some 2012-2015 Tesla Model S vehicles still showing 85% or more of their original capacity past 200,000 miles. Very few EV batteries have needed replacement, even after the 8-year warranty period ends.

By Gregory Wilson · Excerpt from Chapter 9 of EV Curious?

After ten years and seven EVs, I've heard every misconception in the book. Below are four of the ten most persistent myths I get asked about, with real-world numbers. The remaining six — covering reliability, road trips, recycling, EV simplicity, mainstream adoption, and the "EVs are slow" stereotype — are answered in full in Chapter 9 of the book.

Myth #1: EVs don't work in cold weather

EVs do lose range in cold weather (typically 20–40% in freezing temperatures), but they absolutely work fine. In Norway, where temperatures average about 10°F colder than the US, over 90% of new cars sold are electric. The range loss is temporary and returns to normal when temperatures warm up.

Bottom line: Cold weather affects all vehicles — gas cars typically lose 10–20% of their city fuel economy at 20°F. Preconditioning your EV while plugged in minimizes the winter impact.

Myth #2: You'll get stranded with no charging available

As of early 2026, there are over 75,000 public charging stations in the US with around 230,000 individual charging ports — roughly triple the number from 2020. 64% of Americans now live within 2 miles of a public charging station, and over 95% live in a county that has at least one. About 18,000 new DC fast-charging ports were deployed in 2025 alone, the largest annual increase in US history.

Bottom line: Most EV driving uses home charging anyway, and for road trips, public charging is widely available and growing rapidly. Range anxiety is largely outdated for modern road travel.

Myth #3: Charging takes forever

Most charging happens at home overnight, adding 200+ miles of range in 8 hours, so you start every day with a full battery. DC fast chargers can add significant range in 15–30 minutes on the road, and charging stops naturally align with food and bathroom breaks.

Bottom line: Home charging eliminates most charging-time concerns, and the gas-station comparison breaks down once you start every day full.

Myth #4: EV batteries die after a few years

Modern EV batteries degrade at just 1.8% per year on average, meaning they could last 20 years or more. All automakers offer at least 8-year, 100,000-mile warranties on EV batteries. Recurrent's 2025 battery-health dataset, drawn from over 30,000 connected EVs, has reported some 2012–2015 Tesla Model S vehicles still showing 85% or more of their original capacity past 200,000 miles — well past the point most people assumed these batteries would have died.

Bottom line: Very few EV batteries have needed replacement, even after the 8-year warranty period ends.

This is an excerpt from Chapter 9 of EV Curious? — What I Learned from Seven EVs by Gregory Wilson. The full chapter also tackles the other six common myths: that EVs are slow and boring (multiple mainstream models do 0–60 in under 5 seconds, and a few do it in under 2), that EVs can't do road trips, that you need an engineering degree to own one, that EVs are unreliable, that old EV batteries become landfill waste (they don't — Redwood Materials and others recover 95%+ of the lithium and cobalt), and that EVs are still just for tech nerds (96% of new car sales in Norway in 2025 were electric).

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