Eliminate the sale of new gas cars by 2035, California said. It’ll be great, they said.
Right. California’s recent energy debacle — in which the state lawmakers banned the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines in the not-too-distant future just a few days before they told electric car owners not to charge their vehicles brought home the issues with EVs — is hitting home, and in more ways than one.
For instance, if you own a Tesla and live in the People’s Republic of Newsom, you might have received a not-entirely-friendly reminder via the car’s wireless network.
This bullshit was on the screen of my Tesla yesterday when I got in the car pic.twitter.com/ioZ3W2p4ig
— Mike Bolen (@mikebolen) September 7, 2022
“The current heat wave is expected to stress California’s grid this weekend. Use the Scheduled Departure setting to ensure your vehicle is charged and preconditioned to your preferences at the time of departure while avoiding charging during higher price evening hours between 4-9 PM,” the warning read.
California’s current coping mechanisms for dealing with the energy shortage include what are known as Flex Alerts. Issued by the California Independent System Operator — a nonprofit that manages the grid for most of California and some of Nevada — Flex Alerts are a plea for residents to voluntarily stop using electricity between the peak hours of 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
If you don’t voluntarily stop, then not-so-voluntary and rolling blackouts begin.
This isn’t the first time Tesla owners have been asked not to charge their EV during peak hours. As the Tesla-centric website Teslarati reported in 2020, Tesla owners received similar notices about the once-Golden State’s energy crisis.
And it hasn’t just hit California.
A Twitter user in Texas documented a similar message from earlier in the summer on Twitter:
— Sara Dietschy 🍑y (@saradietschy) July 13, 2022
Liberal California has led the way in transitioning to renewable energy before the technology is either ready or necessary. That’s part of the reason California is in such a mess right now.
According to a Wednesday report in The Sacramento Bee: “California’s increasing reliance on solar power and other renewable sources has made the grid susceptible to blackouts in the early evening when solar panels go dark, but the weather stays hot.”
You know — the same kind of EVs now sending drivers remote messages about Flex Alerts.
If California’s grid is as stressed as it is this summer, and the state’s residents start buying more and more EVs in the future, will these messages remain simple reminders about Flex Alerts? Or will drivers get ever-sterner messages telling them that, sorry, the state has decided they don’t need to go out for groceries right now?
Because these sorts of reminders — and Twitter users besides Bolen have reported they received them, too — are evidence the technology exists to control your car remotely. It may be rudimentary right now, as Teslas were pretty rudimentary things 13 years ago.
In another 13 years, when California claims it’ll be banning the sale of new gas-powered cars, the technology might well have progressed to the point you see this:
"Our records show you burned 10lbs of fossil fuels this month in your choice of groceries. We regret to inform you that your vehicle is restricted 50 miles per day for 30 days to bring your carbon allowance within California State regulations. To dispute this charge call…"
— Kenneth Rapoza (@BRICbreaker) September 7, 2022
Get the message?
You are lucky Tesla did not lock you out of charging the car until Tesla decided it was ok to charge, which could take days. That feature is soon coming to Tesla vehicles. Solution: sell the Tesla for a gas burning car.
— Maskul (@MaskulNitespore) September 7, 2022
Wake up and smell the gasoline, America.
