Most people around the world have fallen for misinformation about electric vehicles, believing that they’re more dangerous and less environmentally-friendly than they really are.
A University of Queensland-led study published in the journal Nature Energy has found that people in Australia, the U.S., Germany and Austria were more likely to agree than disagree with misinformation on EVs—even when they actually owned one themselves.
The misinformation tested included the claims that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, that they don’t produce emission savings and that they emit electromagnetic fields that damage health—all claims that are demonstrably false.
“We know this sort of false information is out there and circulating, but the scale of acceptance is concerning and poses a significant challenge to the global transition to more sustainable transport”, said Dr Chris Bretter from the UQ Business School.
“The fact that even EV owners were more likely than not to agree with misinformation underscores just how embedded it’s become in society.”
Perhaps surprisingly, education doesn’t seem to make a great deal of difference when it comes to falling for misinformation around EVs. What does, though, is what the researchers call a ‘conspiracy mindset’.
“The biggest predictor of whether a person accepted misinformation statements was actually conspiracy mentality—a tendency to believe conspiracies occur and seeing the world through a lens of corruption and secret agendas”, said Professor Matthew Hornsey.
“This same outlook has also been associated with opposition to science-backed technologies like vaccinations and wind farms.”
Many respondents believed there was a secret agenda to exaggerate the benefits of EVs; others thought that decisions were being made unethically, and for motives of profit. Some had unfounded or exaggerated concerns about the damage of EVs towards health and the environment.
“The results show public understanding of EVs has been distorted by an information landscape shaped by myths, selective framing and speculative reasoning”, said Hornsey.
When it comes to specific claims, EVs aren’t more likely to catch fire than conventional vehicles – indeed, according to data from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, EVs are 20 times less likely to catch fire than petrol and diesel cars.
Meanwhile, according to research from Carbon Brief, it takes less than two years for a typical EV to pay off the ‘carbon debt’ from its battery. Over the full vehicle lifecycle, CO2 emissions from an EV are around three times lower than an average petrol car, it said.
And as for emitting electromagnetic fields, research from fact-checking organization Science Feedback found that electric vehicles do indeed generate low-frequency magnetic fields for their occupants – but that there’s no evidence that these fields have any impact on human health.
The researchers found that both traditional fact sheets on electric vehicles and conversations with ChatGPT led respondents to be less likely to fall for misinformation about EVs.
“Given the global need to transition toward more sustainable transport options, it is crucial we address the prevalence of misinformation about energy efficient technologies like EVs”, said Bretter.
