The great EV debate: Americans reveal what they REALLY think of their electric cars as more and more reject White House drive to go green… So, whose side are YOU on?

For years they were sold to motorists as a glimpse into the future. But is the EV revolution over before it ever really started?

The headlines are certainly not promising. Tesla shocked analysts last month when it announced that sales had fallen for the first time since the height of the pandemic in 2020.

So far this year, Apple has halted its decade-long project to make its own electric car, while Ford is scaling back production of its electric pickup. Meanwhile, General Motors wants to bring back its plug-in hybrid instead of going all-electric.

But amid all the dismal sales reports, there is a growing army of die-hard EV enthusiasts who insist they will never return to their old gas-guzzling ways.

DailyMail.com asked its readers to give their honest, unfiltered opinions about their experiences with their electric cars – and was inundated with strong opinions on both sides of the debate.

Tesla shocked analysts last month when it announced that sales had fallen for the first time since the height of the pandemic in 2020

While EV converts insist the cars are fun to drive and cost-effective, skeptics said upfront prices were too high, while America’s lack of charging infrastructure made long trips impossible.

David Brundage, 55, has only had his Tesla Model Y for eight weeks, but he already knows he will never return to his petrol car.

The travel agent, who lives just outside Orlando, Florida, paid $38,000 for the car, taking into account the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit he received with the purchase.

But he estimates it saves him and his wife Lisa, 55, $400 a month in gas because he charges the car at home with energy from the solar panels he installed about a year ago.

David, father-of-three, told DailyMail.com: ‘We will never go back to a petrol car now – it just doesn’t make economic sense.

‘We’ve already taken our Tesla on a 1,000 mile road trip and the charging infrastructure has been excellent. We stopped on average every two and a half miles and our longest stop was only 17 minutes.

He added that the car was “fun to drive” and even accelerates faster than his old Ford Mustang.

His views are at odds with fellow motorist Michael Woods, who had to sell his Audi e-tron four months after purchasing it – at a loss of around $20,000.

Woods runs his own oil and gas exploration company but is always looking for ways to reduce his energy use, having earned a master’s degree in environmental science.

But long trips between his offices in Dallas and Shreveport gave him “range anxiety” — a term EV drivers use to describe the worry they feel that their battery will run out before they reach a charging station.

He said: ‘It’s a 220 mile round trip and there are no charging stations on that journey.

‘The charging infrastructure is simply not good enough. I think it’s better in areas like California, but most of America doesn’t have enough chargers.

‘If you just use it to drive around town it’s a great car, but if you use it as your only car – and don’t have another petrol car to rely on – it doesn’t work.

‘You see that EVs are piling up at car dealers because no one wants them. It’s a shame because I really wanted to love mine.’

Michael Woods (pictured) was forced to sell his Audi e-tron four months after purchasing – at a loss of around $20,000

Matt Spease bought a gray Tesla Model Y Long Range in 2022 for about $54,000 with the plan to flip it and make a profit. Pictured: Spease (bottom right) with his brother and two nephews

For Matt Spease, buying an electric car was just about making money.

Spease, 52, bought a gray Tesla Model Y Long Range in 2022 for about $54,000 with the plan to flip it and make a profit.

However, to his surprise, he found that he enjoyed driving too much to part ways.

The business owner, who lives just outside of Detroit, MI, told DailyMail.com, “The car has some quirks, the auto wiper blades are a joke and the autopilot responds strangely at times.

‘But in the 36 years that I have been a driver, it is the best car I have ever driven. I drive 190 kilometers a day, I did some basic calculations and I realized that it is cheaper to keep it.

‘Someone has to counter all the negative campaigns about electric cars. It’s not just about the environment, it’s about giving people a choice and making them realize that these are better cars that do a great job of getting from point A to B.”