The Tesla Electric Car Is Late in Meeting Safety Standards

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If you sell enough of them, the global warming story doesn't work as well. But even on coal power, the better calculations suggest that a plug-in electric does slightly better than a gasoline-powered car. And of course, if you're getting your electricity from hydro or methane Or nuclear. Then the effects on global warming are far better.

Jonathan Rauch, of the Brookings Institution and the Atlantic Monthly, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolution of the Chevy Volt, GM's planned electric car. Due to the transparency of GM's effort, Rauch was able to spend a great deal of time on site at GM writing a piece for the Atlantic Monthly on GM's plans and hopes. Rauch discusses the huge risks, GM's past failures, and GM's hopes that the Volt might change the company's culture. The conversation closes with a discussion of competitors and the implications for energy policy.