Green vehicles, especially electric cars, have greatly increased in popularity the past couple of years; in fact, shares for the prominent electric car company Tesla have increased by over 20,000% since 2010. Although electric vehicles such as Tesla cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases and do not run on the non-renewable energy source of gasoline, it has its several downsides, as mentioned by many ambassadors in previous reports. However, to better understand how these vehicles function to emit less greenhouse gases, this report is gonna investigate how exactly these cars work.

However, we must understand the parts in an electric vehicle and the function for each of these parts. Conveniently, electric cars have 90% fewer parts than cars running on combustion engines. First, we have the electric engine itself. The engine is what powers the car, as it is what generates the power to turn the wheels of a car. Next, we have the inverter, which converts the existing electric current from the car battery into a different form so that it is usable by the engine. The drivetrain is also a crucial part in an electric vehicle, as it is what acts as a bridge between the engine and the wheels. Last but not least, we have the battery, which is where the energy is stored, and the charging port, where a charger is plugged in to revitalize the battery. 

After knowing all of these parts and how each of these function, it’s not hard to imagine how the car works together as a whole. The battery is charged through a charger plugged into the car’s charging port. Then, the inverter converts the energy in a battery into a usable form for the engine. The engine uses the converted energy to turn the wheels of the car with the help of the drivetrain.

Electric vehicles seem to be the future of automobiles; they emit less greenhouse gases and are significantly less costly to maintain. However, because of the many controversial issues regarding the non eco-friendly production of electric cars, the question of whether or not they will really help us achieve carbon neutrality in the future remains. 

Edit:

The production of electric cars is not eco-friendly. Electric cars, unlike the classic Internal Combustion Engine vehicles, require batteries to operate. To create these batteries, specific resources must be mined from the earth, which takes lots of energy, causing pollution and the burning of fossil fuels. Additionally, charging batteries require electricity; to generate electricity, even more fossil fuels are burned, causing greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. Finally, when the batteries reach the end of their life cycles, they often end up causing more pollution as it is very expensive to recycle batteries.

Sources:

1. https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-stock-price-rally-explained-elon-musk-electric-vehicle-frenzy-2021-2

2. https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/energywise/how-do-electric-cars-work

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drivetrain