Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responded to concerns about rising gas prices by claiming that families who buy electric vehicles will “never have to worry about gas prices again.”
During an interview with MSNBC this weekend, Buttigieg noted that President Joe Biden’s massive spending package includes financial incentives to make electric vehicles more affordable.
He claimed families would get a “$12,500 discount,” and then never have to fill up at the gas station again.
“The people who stand to benefit most from owning an EV are often rural residents who have the most distances to drive, who burn the most gas, and underserved urban residents in areas where there are higher gas prices and lower income,” Buttigieg said.
“They would gain the most by having that vehicle,” he continued. “These are the very residents who have not always been connected to electric vehicles that are viewed as kind of a luxury item.”
The average cost of an electric vehicle is about $55,600, according to data from Cox Automotive.
Buttigieg’s comments suggest the Biden administration is hoping that gas prices hikes will drive more Americans towards his leftist environmental policies.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., made this point earlier this month when he argued the White House wants gas prices to continue to increase.
“They want gas to cost $4 a gallon because they want all of us to get out of pickup trucks and SUVs and get into small electric compacts or bicycles or scooters or whatever else Pete Buttigieg takes to work,” Cotton said.
“They are going for broke,” he continued. “Perhaps they know that it’s too far gone for them, and they’re going to lose power next year no matter what.”
Cotton said he hoped that “the simple act of winning back Congress will help deter the radical left in charge of the Biden administration and a lot of their interest groups from their dumbest and most dangerous idea.”
