Buttigieg compares EV skeptics to landline lovers: 'I feel like it's the early 2000s'

WASHINGTON (TND) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday compared Americans skeptical of electric vehicles to people who hailed landlines during the rise of cell phones.

Buttigieg argued to FOX News Americans are becoming more interested in electric vehicles each year.

The automotive sector is moving toward EVs, and we can’t pretend otherwise,” Buttigieg said. “Sometimes when these debates happen, I feel like it’s the early 2000s and I’m talking to some people who think that we can just have landline phones forever.”

The secretary pushed back on claims the Biden administration’s push toward electric vehicles is premature, pointing to polls showing EV owners are interested in purchasing similar automobiles in the future.

“It’s not for everybody, and it’s not happening overnight, but the reason we can’t just sit back and let this happen on its own pace is there is a race going on,” Buttigieg said. “Either China or the United States will dominate the EV future. We want to make sure it’s the United States.”

The secretary’s assertions came as Tesla reported a drop in vehicle deliveries and production from a year ago. The company cited factory shutdowns and the start of its production ramp for the Model 3 car as reasons for the decline.

Despite Tesla's claims, Buttigieg thinks increased competition from other manufacturers in eating at Tesla's market share.

Consumers have wanted and purchased more EVs every single year than the year before,” he claimed. “Tesla is facing more competition as GM and Ford and Stellantis and other competitive players start to make sure they get a piece of the EV market.”

The Biden administration’s goal is to equalize gas and electric vehicle sales by 2030. Last month, the U.S. Energy Department announced a $2.26 billion loan to help finance the construction of a Nevada lithium carbonate plant, which could create batteries for 800,000 electric vehicles.

The agency asserted the loan progressed the U.S.’s ability to reduce dependence on China, which Buttigieg noted previously had an advantage in the electric vehicle market.

“This project supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to expand and secure reliable, sustainable domestic supply chains for critical materials, which are key to reaching our ambitious clean energy and climate goals and reducing our reliance on economic competitors like China,” the Energy Department stated.

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