Survey: Half Say No Gas Price Will Convert Anti-EV Drivers — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Electrek's April 2026 survey asked what gas price would push the most stubborn anti-EV drivers to switch, drawing more than 2,800 responses in seven days.
- Nearly half of respondents said there is no price high enough — not even above $10/gallon — that would convert the most committed ICE drivers.
- By September 26, 2026, BP Ultimate 93 octane hit $7.19/gallon in Chicago, putting the survey's highest hypothetical tier into real-world territory.
- A Dutch reader noted European E10 already runs the equivalent of $11.34/gallon, yet committed ICE supporters there still haven't switched — directly supporting the "no price" thesis.
- Other readers argued total cost of vehicle ownership, not pump pain, is the real barrier: a paid-off ICE car at $200/month in fuel still beats buying a new or used EV today.
- Author counters that home solar plus an EV lets owners "own the refinery and the delivery system," quoting GM Energy's Jim Reilly and dismissing the rising-electricity objection as a "lack of imagination."
Why it matters: With US gas now above $7/gallon in major cities and European equivalents past $11, the survey suggests pump prices alone may not force mass ICE-to-EV conversion among the ideological holdouts — meaning automakers and policymakers can't rely on fuel pain to do the adoption work, and structural levers (purchase price, charging infrastructure, home solar economics) carry more weight than headline gas spikes.
Ask SkimNews
