Here’s something the Biden administration and CA Gov. Gavin Newsom haven’t talked about: electric cars actually emit more soot and particulate matter than their gas-powered counterparts—because of their tires.

At least, that's what a Wall Street Journal opinion piece which dropped Sunday concluded with this jaw-dropping headline:

Electric Cars Emit More Soot

They have greater tire wear, the source of most particulate matter. California is trying to conceal that fact.

“[B]anning gasoline cars would do little to reduce particulate emissions, and it could even increase them,” they conclude. 

As we’ve reported, Biden and Newsom are hell-bent on making you buy an EV even though the technology and price so far have not been up to snuff.

EVs have had a brutal news cycle: 

See:

'We Got a Bunch of Dead Robots Out Here'—Tesla Charging Stations Freeze in Chicago

Ford Announces Billions of Dollars in Losses on Electric Vehicle Range—Worse Than Expected

Electric Vehicles Enter the 'Total Failure' Phase of Their Existence

California says tailpipes are the problem with fossil-fuel-powered cars, but the WSJ writers argue that tire wear from the far-heavier EVs is more contaminating:

Where do most particulate emissions attributed to cars come from? California speaks as if their primary source is the tailpipe. That was true in the past. But today most vehicle-related particulate matter comes from tire wear. Cars are heavy, and as their tires rub against the road, they degrade and release tiny, often toxic particles. According to measurements by an emission-analytics firm, in gasoline cars equipped with a particle filter, airborne tire-wear emissions are more than 400 times as great as direct exhaust particulate emissions.

Banning gasoline cars would do little to reduce particulate emissions, and it could even increase them, writes Michael Buschbacher and Taylor Myershttps://t.co/rBwBhbYa5l

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) March 4, 2024

But the news gets worse for proponents of electric cars: they're not "zero-emission" at all:

California calls electric cars “zero emissions vehicles” because they don’t have tailpipes. That is deceptive. Generating the electricity that powers those cars creates particulate pollution, and of course electric cars still use tires, which are made from petroleum. Electric cars weigh far more than gasoline-powered ones, so their tires degrade faster, as electric car buyers are learning. 

The opinion piece, written by Michael Buschbacher, a partner at the law firm Boyden Gray and a former official in the Justice Department’s Environment Division, and Taylor Myers, a research fellow at Boyden Gray who holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, asks the fundamental question that Biden, Newsom, and Co. have failed to answer: why the fanatical push for EVs when the technology is not yet there?

Why are California and the EPA so eager to push electric cars when they will increase what EPA administrator Michael Regan calls “one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution”? That’s a good question. Perhaps someone should ask them under oath.

Here's one of my favorite headlines from 2022, courtesy of my colleague Levon Satamian:

Californians Told Not to Charge Electric Vehicles Days After State Banned Gas-Powered Sales by 2035

That about sums it up. Now add the fact that the WSJ is claiming that these electric vehicles aren't so clean after all, and one can't help but come to the conclusion that it's time to rethink this entire offensive to fundamentally change the way Americans transport themselves.

I'm not ideologically opposed to clean energy or emission-free cars; sounds like that would be great—but call me when the tech is ready for prime time.