Last spring, I was invited to give a guest talk to an undergraduate Innovation class. After a quick introduction I encouraged the students to ask me anything they wanted about electric cars. I was inundated with a wide variety of questions, but one in particular stood out because I hadn’t expected it:
“When the apocalypse comes, are you going to grab the keys to your electric car or your gasoline powered car?”
Sadly, about two weeks ago, as Hurricane Helene approached the Florida coast, a number of people had to make this exact decision. They were developing their plan to evacuate and/or head to higher ground and had to decide what vehicle they were going to use.
During the process a number of news outlets offered advice to those trying to figure out whether to take their EV or leave it behind.* On September 27th, just as Helene spawned tornados in South Carolina, the Washington Post posted an article that asked: “Should you worry about evacuating in an EV?” Ultimately the author of the article suggests that EVs can be a good way to evacuate if you have enough warning, have the ability to charge your car in advance, have a recently built EV that gets 250 miles/charge or more, and have an escape route with strategically placed chargers.
The article even pointed out a distinct advantage in using an EV. When stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic (a frequent occurrence during evacuations) EVs don’t consume nearly as much energy as gasoline powered cars. If traffic is really bad, it’s possible that some cars will run out of gas before an EV runs out of juice.
After thinking through all of this I still wasn’t sure what I would do. So I took a peek into the world of people who actively think about these things. I checked out discussion boards where “preppers” – those who are preparing for cataclysmic events – debate what role electric cars should have in their plans. These groups consider what they would do in a “SHTF situation” (i.e. when the Sh-t Hits The Fan].
As with the Hurricane Helene discussions, there is no clear answer. There are lots of pros and cons and it depends on your situation.
For instance, you generally get better range in a gasoline powered car, so if you need to get a couple states away quickly, it’s probably the better way to go. If, however, things really break down and gasoline becomes scarce, an EV could provide reliable transportation. My car came with a power cord that can plug into any AC outlet or generator. Admittedly it takes something me something like 100 hours to charge the car that way, but it would mean that I have significant flexibility in where and how I “refuel” my vehicle.
EVs also have the benefit that they can be used as a mobile power source. If you can get them charged, they can help address a wide variety of survival issues. For instance, you could run an electric stove and a water purification system simply by plugging them into your car. Having healthy food and clean water can certainly mean the difference between life or death when basic services break down.
A number of preppers reflect on the possibility of “homesteading” off grid for a couple years while they wait for some form of normalcy to return to society. In those conversations, there’s some interest in having an EV and a solar array that could keep it charged. If gasoline becomes scarce or spoiled, this approach could continue to provide basic transportation. [Note: This plan doesn’t work if we have an apocalypse like the one presented in The Matrix, where humans block out the sun in an attempt to deprive the machines of their power source.]
In the recent past a few EVs – including the Fisker Ocean and Hyundai Ioniq 5 – even offered the option of a solar panel roof that was supposed to extend the range of your car. Conceivably an EV so equipped could generate just enough of its own energy to be independent. Alas, they weren’t terribly effective (which is probably the reason they don’t seem to be available any more). One tester managed to add 0.2 kwh of charge to the batteries in 4 hours of strong sunlight. That might only be enough to drive a kilometer or so. Still… if your homestead is 3 kilometers from fresh water, and you had at least some sunlight, an EV with a solar roof might allow you to make the trip once a week.
Finally, there is the question of repair in a world where you’re likely to have to be your own mechanic. The basic powertrain of EVs tend to be relatively trouble free. If nothing goes wrong with the electronics, you could be good for the life of your batteries (maybe 10 years). But what are the chances of that? If there’s a small computer glitch, you might not even be able roll down the windows. If you haven’t spent a couple years at an automotive technical school or have a degree in computer engineering, a simple problem might be unrepairable.
Gasoline powered cars, especially older ones, can still be tinkered with by those with a little bit of knowledge. I’m far from a handy guy, but I can do some basics like swap out spark plugs. And at least in the current state of the world, there are a lot more replacement parts and junked cars that can be harvested to keep a gasoline powered car moving forward.
In the end, a number of preppers have come to the same conclusion that I did if I was living in an apartment with only one car: they’d buy a plug-in hybrid. That would give you significant range if you need it and, if basic infrastructure falls apart, you’d still have the flexibility of different fuel options and you might still be able to repair your own car.
The hardcore preppers, however, are thinking they might need to abandon cars altogether. Their vehicle of choice should SHTF? A mountain bike. It’s easy to repair, easy to fuel, can travel across rough terrain, and (if you’re in shape) can take you a dozens of miles a day. Sometimes older technologies have their advantages.
* In addition to whether to take your EV, there was a fair amount of discussion of how you should leave your EV behind during an evacuation. On September 25th, Florida Governor DeSantis held a press conference giving citizens information on how to best evacuate. In the middle of his conference he announced: “If you have an EV, you need to get that to higher land.” Why? It could catch on fire.
It’s generally a bad idea to let a car to get submerged in any amount of water. Engines, upholstery, and electronics tend not to fare well. There’s an additional wrinkle with electric cars. Expensive battery packs will corrode when immersed in water. But the emergency management professionals in Florida were worried because they were anticipating a specific type of water – salt water. Salt water can react with lithium batteries in a reasonably disturbing way.
In the aftermath of Helene, a garage security video was shared by a number of news organizations that showed an electric car innocently sitting in less than a foot of storm surge salt water. The reactions between the batteries and the salts in the water created flames that leapt out of the underside of the car. The family said that it took only a few minutes for the resulting fire to consume the entire house.
**Thanks to Blake Duprey and Toby Shulruff for helping me think through the apocalypse.
You continue to amaze me with the breadth of your research. Thanks!