Atlantic writer Mateo Wong gushes about “a group of people in a red Tesla driving through the Moroccan desert,” when one exclaims, “Two million, Hans!” Apparently, the 2014 Model S became the first electric car to drive 2 million kilometers, or 1.24 million miles.
It turns out that to achieve that milestone, the car needed “several battery and motor replacements.” I’m not sure that counts as a record. In fact, almost any car might last that long with “several engine replacements.” In fact, it is far from setting any record. Guiness World Records lists several gas-powered cars that have topped a million miles, with their original engines and drivetrains and without major repairs. That includes Irvin Gordon’s famous 1966 Volvo 1800S with over 3 million miles; a 1976 Mercedes 240D with 2.85 million; a 1963 Plymouth Fury with 1.62 million; a 1983 Lincoln Town Car with 1.3 million; a 1991 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with 1.29 million; and several others.
You would think millions of people worldwide would be flocking to EV dealerships and trading in their cars for the latest technology. But they’re not. Instead, McKinsey & Company’s Annual Mobility Consumer Survey for 2024 shows “Half of Electric Vehicle Owners Switching Back to Internal Combustion Engines.”
EV owners in countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Norway, France, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. increasingly report frustrations, saying they will switch back to internal combustion engines. In Germany and China that includes more than a fourth of all EV owners; in the U.S. it is 46 percent, and in Australia nearly 50 percent.