Electrek survey: half say no gas price would flip anti-EV drivers — SkimNews
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- Electrek ran a reader survey in April 2026 asking what gas/diesel price would convince the most stubborn anti-EV driver to switch, drawing 2,800-plus responses over seven days.
- Nearly half of respondents said there is no price high enough — not even above $10/gallon — to change the most committed ICE holdouts, with many drawing on experience from countries where fuel already costs $11+/gallon.
- A September 26, 2026 update noted BP Ultimate 93-octane reached $7.19/gallon in Chicago — a price Electrek originally used as its highest, most outlandish survey option just months earlier.
- A Dutch commenter calculated Netherlands petrol at €2.56/L (~$11.34/gallon) versus electricity at roughly $0.30/kWh, or effectively $0 with solar — making the equivalent gallon cost about $4.80 in electricity.
- Several readers argued the real barrier isn't pump pain but replacing a paid-off working car; one calculated that even with fuel costs rising from $90 to $200 a month, keeping the ICE still beats current EV prices.
- Readers also flagged that electricity rates are rising faster than gas and that consumers only switch when they believe high fuel prices are durable rather than a temporary spike.
- The piece spotlighted home solar paired with an EV as the advantage ICE drivers overlook, quoting GM Energy's Jim Reilly: "I own the refinery and the delivery system."
Why it matters: With Chicago gas already at $7.19/gallon and Dutch drivers paying roughly $11.34/gallon — and roughly half of Electrek readers saying that still wouldn't flip the hardest holdouts — the survey suggests the EV transition for the most resistant drivers won't be price-triggered at all, hinging instead on whether high fuel costs are seen as permanent, whether replacement-vehicle economics shift, and whether home solar changes the total-cost calculus.
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