A Canadian businessman, Dalbir Bala, recently experienced firsthand the potential pitfalls of electric vehicles, highlighting the ongoing debate between traditional gas-powered vehicles and their electric counterparts.
Bala, who resides near Winnipeg, embarked on a 1,400-mile business trip to Chicago on July 27, accompanied by his wife and three children. His vehicle of choice was a 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat, a truck he purchased for $85,000 (approximately $115,000 Canadian) in January, as reported by CBC.
The truck, when fully charged, boasts a range of about 320 miles. Bala had strategically planned to stop at three charging stations during his journey. His first stop in Fargo, North Dakota, was successful, although the charging process, which took over two hours to reach 90% battery life, proved inconvenient.
However, the real trouble began at the second charging station in Albertville, Minnesota. Bala found the station to be non-operational. Despite his attempts to seek assistance, his efforts were in vain. Hoping for better luck, he drove to another charging station in Elk River, Minnesota, only to encounter the same issue.
With a mere 12 miles of battery life remaining, Bala was left with no choice but to have his electric truck towed to a nearby Ford dealership. There, he rented a gas-powered Toyota 4Runner to complete his journey to Chicago, retrieving his electric truck on his return trip.
Bala is now sharing his experience as a cautionary tale for potential electric vehicle consumers. "People have to make the right choices. I want to tell everybody to read my story," he told Fox Business. "Do your research before even thinking about it and make a wiser choice. ... The actual thing they promised is not even close. Not even 50%. And once you buy it, you're stuck with it, and you have to carry huge losses to get rid of that. And nobody is there to help you."
This unfortunate trip is not Bala's sole issue with the truck. He revealed in a social media post that following a minor accident, it took six months for the damage to be repaired due to a parts shortage. "It was in [the] shop for 6 months. I cant take it to my lake cabin. I cannot take it for off-grid camping. I cannot take [it] for even a road trip," Bala wrote on Facebook. "I can only drive in city biggest scam of modern times."
In response to Bala's ordeal, Ford Motor Corp. issued a statement indicating that his experience underscores the need for an increased number of charging stations.
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