dragonsgate
True Classic
That's how I feel about electric cars in general. People seem to forget that they are merely transferring the burden on the ecology from one source to another - the "grid" in this case. In many areas the generation of electrical power has a huge environmental impact.
Back in the 70's-80's the air-cooled VW scene was HUGE in Orange County (SoCal). It was said there were more VW's in O.C. than the rest of the world combined. That might have been an exaggeration, but it illustrates the point (I think there actually was more Porsche cars in O.C. than everywhere else combined though). The gas burning heaters were a highly sought after accessory to try and make one's Bug stand out from all the rest at the shows. They commanded a very high price, despite there being absolutely no need for it in SoCal. However the stock heating system (passing air around the exhaust manifolds into the passenger compartment) was not without its own dangers; frequently there would be a small exhaust leak that entered the heating air stream, filling the passenger compartment with a funny smell.
Likewise for electric air conditioners. Which might explain why I often see Teslas on the back of flatbed tow trucks halfway between Vegas and LA; the extra electrical load depletes the energy store pretty quickly.
You may be getting the energy from another source but an electric car can be over 50% cleaner than a modern ICE car even it the electricity is generated by a coal powered plant.
An electric motor is as high as 90% efficient compared to a modern ICE that is about 70% efficient throwing the other 30% into the atmosphere in the form of heat and carbon dioxide.
The electric A/C's are probably pulling close to the same amps as an electric heater, then combine that with higher rates of speed and it eats the amps.
Do they have signs up saying no electricity for next 100 miles yet?