Suddenly, It’s Fashionable For Influencers, Content Creators, and Even Media To Go Negative In Their Coverage of EVs and EV Manufacturers

For nearly thirty years of the modern age of battery-electric vehicles in America, the general vibe in the media has been very pro-EV and positive. A vocal minority insisted that EVs were the de facto vehicle powertrain of the future in America and that if you din't see the writing on the wall, you were dumb and your momma dressed you funny. A new type of publication even emerged, the EV-advocacy site, which would bring you the very latest happy news that EVs were dominating, and that anyone with any sense was driving one. Government bent the knee to the vocal minority, and policy shifted to what amounted to a mandate that vehicles move toward all-electric powertrains pronto. Then it all just sort of stopped.

People started to look at EV market share charts and graphs and realized that not only was there no “hockey stick” growth, inflection point, tipping point, or exponential growth, but if you looked at the chart, it looked sad and seemed to actually be turning down. How could this be?

Is a 40% Drop In Deliveries a “Weak Month?”
There is still a lot of momentum for pretending that EVs are the future, the present, and that anyone who sees it otherwise simply has “an agenda.” One very well-respected data source said of EV deliveries in November, which were down a staggering 40% from the same month the year before, “EV Sales were weak for the second straight month…” Weak? If overall vehicle deliveries were down 40% there would be a national financial crisis. If hybrids were down 40% every publication would be writing their obituary, starting with “we told you all along they were just a bridge…”

Disappointed EV Owner, Engineer, and Content Creator #1
One outstanding source of EV content I follow is Andrew Lambrecht, a recent engineering graduate who works for an EV-related company. He’s one of America’s top authorities on EVs, and his social media EV posts are polished and popular. He’s been published in EV-advocacy sites, and he walks the walk, having owned more than one EV. Over the past few months, his posts have been mainly negative ones related to an EV he purchased. It’s been out of service, and the manufacturer can’t find any way to fix it. The problem is the powertrain. It won't work. Seeing a person so committed to seeing EVs succeed post so much negative content about an EV he owns is a bit weird. I’m not being sarcastic. It is a new thing, and that makes it worth talking about.

Disappointed EV Owner, Engineer, and Content Creator #2
Andrew isn’t alone. Jason Fenske is also an engineer and a fan of EVs. He’s the host of the Engineering Explained YouTube channel, which has earned well over 4 million subscribers. Jason is a longtime EV owner and a popular social media influencer online. The type of tech-talk guy who is not afraid to take a discussion to a whiteboard for clarity.

Jason has traded in his Tesla for a Lucid EV. To say he has some complaints would be a vast understatement. He created a 22-minute-long agonizingly detailed overview of why he hates his Lucid. He titled it “Owning A Lucid Has Been Super Disappointing.” His reported problems include hardware, software, and design problems. From the video, you’d almost get the sense that the brand still hasn’t worked out the bugs on this six-figure EV.

Once Taboo, Now Public - Reporting Issues With Media Vehicles
One channel we follow that offers more general information and car topics is Driving Sports TV. The host recently received a media test electric vehicle. It immediately bricked and could not be started. The host has put up numerous social media posts about the failure. Normally, you would never ever hear about an event like this. We share a fleet in the media, and you never know if the vehicle was mistreated before it shows up in your own driveway. Vehicles break, so why report or mention it in the story, unless the particular failure was interesting, or followed a trend? As it turns out, the very problem with the EV the host of DSTV had is also driving another colleague crazy. That content creator, who prefers not to be named, bought the same model and has had three similar failures requiring towing. That personally-purchased EV is likely headed to a buy-back deal.

Grumblings About EVs Starting to Boil Over
This week, a new EV was launched by a company, and the press package had only three images, all of them apparently AI-generated or photoshopped. A freelance media member called out the company’s half-baked effort in an industry group chat setting. Normally, a new vehicle launch includes many dozens of images, B-roll video, specs, and a lot of other resources so the media and influencers can create announcement-type stories and posts. We all use original images when possible, of course, but with over 300 US models and launches happening all the time, no publication can send a person to every in-person media event. This pushback by a media member is very unusual. We get what we get, and we don't get upset, as we say in my household (to kids). But the frustration of covering this EV was palpable, and the manufacturer tried hard to accommodate the member. This kind of push-and-pull is unusual for EVs, particularly when the media frequently reports imaginary future price points of EVs as if they were real.

Did Somebody Say Nazi?!
Our next example comes from the publication The Drive, which dove deeply into a touchy subject involving alleged discrimination at Rivian. This kind of inside-baseball stuff isn't usually published, particularly if the company is a U.S. EV manufacturer. And especially if the word Nazi is used against anyone but you know who.

Rivian is also getting a lot of heat from mainstream media outlets in the state where its only operating factory is located. The short summary, if we are following it correctly, is that Rivian cut a deal with the local government for favorable tax terms, and it was tied to employment. Following a big round of layoffs, Rivian won't say how many employees work there. Watch the media coverage, and you will find that suddenly, the media expects answers from EV companies. Imagine their gall!

Is There a Sea Change Happening Around EVs?
Taken one by one, none of these examples of content creators calling out EVs and EV makers is newsworthy. However, all of them happened at once, at precisely the time that EV deliveries dropped 40% in a month. There is a new vibe now around EVs. Folks who provide the information that consumers use to make buying decisions seem to be fed up with a lot of the false promises, product failures, and lack of transparency that EV makers have been able to get away with for decades. Tell us in the comments below if you’ve sensed this too. 
 

John Goreham is the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his fourteen years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. John employs grammar and punctuation software when proofreading, and he sometimes uses image generation tools. 

Top of page rendering by John Goreham. EV market share graph by John Goreham using data from Cox Automotive and personal forecasting. Image of Andrew Lambrecht courtesy of X, post is linked in the story.