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The withering dream of a cheap American electric car

(www.wsj.com)
152 points voisin | 4 comments | 17 Nov 24 23:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.798s | source
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DaveExeter ◴[18 Nov 24 14:51 UTC] No.42172785[source]▶
If we wanted a cheap American electric car, the way to do it would be to allow Chinese EV manufacturers to sell to the American public!

Of course, that is not allowed, because it would benefit the American people and hurt the American car cartel.

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1. nunez ◴[18 Nov 24 17:37 UTC] No.42174773[source]▶
No. They will flood the market with government-subsidized EVs built in zero-workers-rights environments that will absolutely destroy the American auto industry. It will benefit American people in the short term but absolutely harm our country long-term.
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2. HarHarVeryFunny ◴[18 Nov 24 18:42 UTC] No.42175502[source]▶
Perhaps true, but how is this any different to other Chinese products sold at Walmart ?
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3. nunez ◴[18 Nov 24 20:43 UTC] No.42176761[source]▶
It's not. Heaps on heaps on heaps of small businesses have been destroyed by cheap international goods that Walmart and Amazon push, and customers have crappier products that don't last as long as a result.
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4. asadotzler ◴[18 Nov 24 22:37 UTC] No.42177859{3}[source]▶
This is incorrect. The products we buy today from the Chinese through big box stores like Walmart (or Amazon) actually last much longer and work far better than the same American-made goods from 25 years ago in those same big box stores before China was so dominant.

Quality is actually going up as prices come down VIA CHINA. You may get comfort pretending otherwise, but Chinese manufacturing is generally far better than US manufacturing at large scale. Sure, you can find some bespoke businesses that make great stuff here, but if you want the best possible smartphone or bluejeans or air conditioner, or automobille, you'd go with China over the US most days of the week.