Four in ten Americans have unfavourable views of electric vehicles thanks to ten key reasons

The tide is turning on once-trendy electric vehicles, with many Americans admitting that the cars are actually more hassle than they're worth. 

Almost all major electric vehicle makers, including Tesla and Chinese rival BYD, saw declines in sales in the first quarter of 2024 - as people have questioned if the costs, convenience, and reliability are actually worth it.   

Demand for these cars have dropped precipitously throughout 2023 after a boom in interest during 2022, but now a new poll in the Wall Street Journal has found that a total of 61 percent of Americans don't like EVs. 

The 864 respondents gave 10 reasons why electric vehicles just aren't for them - with the top three being 'cost,' 'not enough charging stations available,' and EVs failing to be as reliable as gas-powered vehicles. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) stands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (C) and Brandenburg State Premier Dietmar Woidke  at Tesla's 'Gigafactory' on March 22, 2022 in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin

A recent survey from iSeeCars found that electric vehicles cost 63.6 percent more for every 1,000 miles driven per year compared to gasoline cars. This is because electric cars end up being driven less than gas cars.

Consumers can still expect to pay more upfront for electric vehicles as well. 

The average price paid for a new electric vehicle in February was just over $52,000, which is about $5,000 more than what you'd expect to pay for a new gas car.

The sticker price isn't all there is to consider, though because unless you're leasing your car, the whole purpose of buying one is to have it last for as long as it can without major issues.

As the technology for electric vehicles are a lot newer than the systems that have been inside gas cars for decades, drivers report having a lot more issues with EVs.

Among the most frequently reported troubles were battery and charging system issues as well as flaws in how the vehicles´ body panels and interior parts fit together. 

Consequently, 57 percent of people surveyed in the Wall Street Journal poll cited their belief that electric vehicles don't perform as well as gas cars as a major reason for their negative views of EVs.

Kia EV6 GT is displayed during the New York International Auto Show 2024. The base model's MSRP is over $61,000, whereas the gas powered Kia Selto, another SUV, has a starting MSRP of around $24,500

Carmakers aren't only facing troubles with reliability concerns and prohibitively expensive upfront costs but now have to deal with customers' ideological beliefs when it comes to EVs.

A sizable chunk - 20 percent - said that EVs go against their political views, according to the Journal's poll.

As the White House pushes the nation towards a future where two-thirds of new cars sold will be need to be EVs or plug-in hybrids, conservatives have come out staunchly against such mandates.

Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist, told the Journal he was frustrated by his party's consistently negative view of EVs. 

Murphy is from Detroit, which was known as the center of car manufacturing for decades, and he formed a a nonprofit to ease the political divide on EVs and consult with carmakers on ways to appeal to ideologically driven Americans.

Tesla sales slipped 20 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the deliveries it made in the last quarter of 2023

Steven Center, the head of US operations for Kia,  stands with the Kia EV9. He recently told the Wall Street Journal he's aware that Americans view EVs through a political lens

'There is a hearts-and-minds resistance to EVs, mostly on the Republican side,' Murphy said. 'If you can't break down that tribalism, the industry isn't going to sell enough EVs' to meet the Biden rules. 

It isn't as complicated as Republicans just hating on EVs though. 

Tesla remains the world's leading EV company despite recent company setbacks and layoffs and its CEO, Elon Musk, has staked out a much more right-leaning disposition on hot button political topics. 

Steven Center, the head of US operations for Kia, said he's aware of how EVs have become a political issue for many Americans.

'You know that old saying, "Don't talk about religion or politics?" I think you can add EVs to that,' he told the Journal.