This might be Mr. Bean’s funniest comedy bit yet, and it was all by accident. Rowan Atkinson, the infamous actor known for portraying ‘Mr. Bean’ in his hilarious silent comedy skits has been blamed for slow electric vehicle (EV) sales. He’s also being blamed for ruining the reputation of the EVs which simply can’t compete with gas cars. It’s funny that people are blaming Rowan Atkinson for this and totally ignoring the fact that some EVs just absolutely suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. Some of them are just bad and not ready for mass production. Maybe Tesla can hang, but the rest, not so much – at least not yet, and not in winter, and not when towing, and certainly not for busses.
Who’s blaming the BEAN for the slumping EV sales and poor reputation? It’s the Thinktank Green Alliance who had a meeting to discuss some things. They suggested that an article written by Rowan Atkinson back in June of 2023 was part of the problem. Mr. Bean’s article appeared in The Guardian and was titled “I love electric vehicles – and was an early adopter. But increasingly I feel duped.” Sounds like Atkinson was into them at first, but after driving them he realized how they compare to gas vehicles and now he’s not so sure about the whole EV thing anymore. Sky News reported on what the meeting suggested about Rowan Atkinson’s article, saying the following in a news article:
Atkinson wrote that EVs were “a bit soulless” and criticised the use of their lithium-ion batteries.
He suggested solutions like drivers keeping the same car for longer periods of time and increased use of synthetic fuel would negate the need for EVs, saying: “Increasingly, I’m feeling that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end, and that’s no bad thing.”
The actor, who described himself as a “car person” having got a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, said he advised friends to “hold fire for now” on EVs unless they have an old diesel vehicle.
You can’t fault someone for expressing their honest opinion about a product. Instead, they should be trying to make the EVs better. But the group disputed some of the claims that Atkinson may have suggested. The Sky News piece continued:
The Guardian published a response the following week from Simon Evans, deputy editor and senior policy editor of climate news site Carbon Brief, which looked to debunk Atkinson’s claims.
Mr Evans wrote: “Atkinson’s biggest mistake is his failure to recognise that electric vehicles already offer significant global environmental benefits, compared with combustion-engine cars.”
Atkinson’s views were used to make a wider point about “misleading” reports stunting EV sales.
Other challenges highlighted during the committee meeting included insufficient numbers of charging points, higher prices on EVs and “a lack of clear and consistent messaging from the government”.
From what I’ve read, I see that EVs aren’t very good in cold weather because of the battery charging issues. I’ve read they’re not good for towing because they’re not strong enough in comparison with a gas vehicle. I’ve read that electric busses can’t go as many miles on a single charge and it tends to disrupt an entire bus schedule if the busses need to stop and charge, which takes a lot longer than filling up for a tank of gas in a few minutes.
And what about charging stations? How many are in your neighborhood? I can’t count the number of gas stations in the area, but I know there’s only TWO electric charging stations – both at a WAWA on the other side of town from each other. Imagine more than ten people trying to charge at once? Both stations would be full and it takes a LOT longer to charge your car than it does to fill up on gas. And let’s not talk about the cost of a replacement battery. That’s more than I can afford. Heck, I can’t even afford the baseline model of an EV, let alone a battery if it ever takes a dump one winter.
I don’t think the EVs are ready for us yet. I think their batteries need to be improved and the charge time needs to be reduced, but will that ever happen? It will take some high tech solutions to figure all of that out, that’s for sure! Is it Mr. Bean’s fault if the EV sales are slow? No, he’s just an honest guy giving his personal review. Don’t blame him, blame the product.
Photo: Mr. Bean’s Mini, cropped
