An EV convoy is headed to Texas and Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation love it Leave a comment

An EV roadshow is headed to East Texas next week, and the Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation is helping to spearhead it.

EV convoy in East Texas

The Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (TxETRA), Texas Electric School Bus Bus Project, and the Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation will drive a convoy of EVs through East Texas from January 29 to 31. 

The aim of the EV roadshow, which will be driving through Beaumont (January 29), Longview (January 30), and Texarkana (January 31), is to educate the general public about EVs, answer questions, allow folks to experience them firsthand in a ride-and-drive, and encourage applications for grants and incentives, such as the Inflation Reduction Act’s $7,500 EV tax credit. They’ll also evangelize about the positive economic impact EVs are having on the US economy.

Buzz Smith of the Texas Electric Transportation Resource Alliance said, “We’re not just showing off electric cars, including a cool electric school bus, but we’re laying out a plan to electrify our state, right here in East Texas. We’re here to boost our local economy, work with our neighbors, and show everyone the real deal about EVs.”

The convoy will include a Rivian R1S SUV, a Tesla Model Y, a Hummer EV, and a Blue Bird electric school bus. 

In September 2023, the coalition drove an EV convoy through West Texas. Matt Welch, state director of Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, then said [via CBS7], “We recognize that the Permian of West Texas is the heart  of oil and gas country, but as conservatives were here to tell conservatives in West Texas that it’s okay to be for electric vehicles.”

Electrek’s Take

Donald Trump is going to be the Republican presidential candidate, and his performative hatred of EVs sits at the heart of his campaign. (His Christmas wish to electric car supporters was to “rot in hell.”)

Tesla, of course, has a gigafactory near Austin, and Texas is the US leader in solar and wind. But the state’s conservative politicians are toeing the Republican party line when it comes to anti-EV and anti-clean energy propaganda.

It’s good to see this conservative coalition working in Texas to promote EV education and adoption. It’s going to be more needed than ever in the US this year because Trump’s lies and half-truths about EVs and clean energy are only going to escalate.

Read more: LG Electronics just opened its first US EV charger factory

Photo: Tesla

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