, Columnist
EVs Represent All That’s Wrong With US Industrial Policy
The EV bandwagon was rolling. Then it crashed into a political wall.
Photographer: Alex Krauss/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Almost five years after the start of the US’s big experiment with industrial policy, we can begin to assess the results. Zeroing in on electric vehicles, the results are not good – losses have mounted, American tech supremacy has slipped and “ghost factories” are proliferating.
Perhaps worst of all, the wreckage was entirely predictable. Large industrial investments need multi-decade stability, but modern US politics makes that almost impossible. EVs exemplify the disconnect.