Trump Says EV Drivers Are Crazy, Have a 'Disease'

Trump Says EV Drivers Are Crazy, Have a 'Disease'

Political debate over electric vehicles resurfaced on the campaign trail. At a rally at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, President Trump mocked range anxiety and said drivers who worry about battery levels have a disease.

According to a report by Electrek, he raised electric transport during a broader speech on regulatory policy and took credit for ending what he called an electric mandate, saying:

“I ended the electric mandate. I don’t want to talk about it because Elon wasn’t exactly thrilled with me, but I had to do it. We love Elon.”

He then turned to ridiculing EV owners who watch their state of charge on long highway trips:

“I ended [it] because it said that within a very short period of time, like 2030, everybody had to have an electric car — even though there was no way you could charge it. You ever see the signs? You’re driving along [in] an electric car, they have a disease, you know, it’s a disease… they’re driving and they realize their battery’s getting low, and they start thinking about it when it’s 3/4 full. Okay, it loses a little bit, so ‘where am I going to [go]?’ And you’re driving down the highway and you’ll see a sign — charging station, with an arrow, 89 miles to the right. These people are crazy.”

Mandates, Market Share, and Political Dynamics

Despite repeated claims at rallies, no federal law required Americans to buy an EV by 2030. The executive actions he referenced focused on federal tailpipe emission standards and state clean-air regulations that encouraged automakers to produce more EVs.

Trump also cited a 7% market share for battery-electric vehicles in the U.S., presenting it as evidence of weak demand. These remarks come amid shifting political alliances in Washington. The administration’s rollback of clean energy incentives followed an earlier public feud between Trump and Elon Musk after the CEO briefly led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in early 2025. Musk has since stepped back from Washington, later admitting he got too involved in politics before refocusing on Tesla and his other companies.

The Long-Term Economics of Electric Transport

While political arguments continue, the move toward electric drivetrains is rooted in engineering and economics. Electric vehicles are fundamentally more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than internal combustion engines, even when accounting for manufacturing, battery production, and current power grid mixes.

Because EVs draw power from regional utility grids, they are the only powertrain that automatically becomes cleaner as electricity generation gets cleaner and shifts to renewable sources. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels lowers long-term household transportation costs and decreases the U.S.’s dependence on imported oil.

As with other major technology transitions, EVs initially had higher upfront costs. Rapid scaling by Tesla and Chinese manufacturers has pushed purchase prices toward parity with internal combustion vehicles, and EVs tend to come out ahead on total cost of ownership due to cheaper fuel and lower maintenance.

The range anxiety Trump described has largely been addressed by modern high-capacity battery packs and widespread Superchargers, and it continues to diminish as charging networks expand along major transit corridors.