Big difference between how much Americans drive EVs compared to gas-guzzlers

But there's an exception to the trend — and it has to do with Elon Musk.

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Here’s an fascinating, if somewhat troubling, statistic: According to researchers at George Washington University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, American owners of EVs drive their vehicles considerably less than their fossil-fueled counterparts.

Here are the numbers: An analysis of odometer readings of millions for cars and SUVs listed between 2016 and 2022 published in the journal Joule reveals that owners of car EVs drove an average of 7,165 miles per year as opposed to 11,642 for gasoline-powered autos. When it came to SUVs, the numbers were somewhat closer — 10,184 compared to 12,979.

So what’s going on?