From Ma Bell to Tesla

Bet you have a cell phone. In fact, a good chance you are reading this blog on one right now.

You might even be one of the 70% of US adults living in a household that only has a cell phone. No landline at all. Jump back just 14 years to 2008 and that number wasn’t even 20% with about 80% of households having a landline.

The move really wasn’t too shocking. With capabilities and reach of modern mobile devices compared to the limitations of traditional analog landlines, the switch was a no-brainer once cost of ownership of the mobile devices became reasonable. 

And of course the regulations requiring migration to mobile devices away from landlines helped.

Wait, what, you don’t remember those regs? That’s because they didn’t happen.

I recall my first “mobile” phone was a bag phone. Phone in a bag about 1/2 the size of a small briefcase with a battery the size of a house brick. Limited number of talk minutes, no text messaging and roaming charges when I got out of my home area. Cost of the service was more than I pay today for 5g service with unlimited service area, unlimited data, and unlimited talk and text.

You could easily draw parallels with discussion of Electric Vehicles. EVs  have some advantages. Quiet, powerful with their high torque electric motors, and no tailpipe emissions. 

That doesn’t mean their overall impact to the environment is better than current fossil fuel internal combustion vehicles and overall cost including acquisition cost, is still very high.

Still, for a niche market, they can be desired product. Much like that bag phone. 

That’s not to say EVs will never be a viable alternative to an internal combustion fossil fuel powered vehicle. With significant improvements in battery technology and dramatic bolstering of charging infrastructure and grids, they could. But those changes will evolve over decades, not years. 

Much like that bag phone to today’s smartphone.

Point?

Capitalism works and always brings the latest and greatest at the eventual best price due to competition. But never due to forced regulation. 

Whether it’s whale oil to processed crude for lighting, landlines to cell phones, or even internal combustion fossil fuel vehicles to EVs, the only way forward is through free market capitalism.

So don’t hate EVs. Hate the regulations to force the technology on you before it’s time.

And the politicians that know better..