With gasoline topping $5 per gallon in parts of California, many drivers are reconsidering whether electric vehicles could offer long-term savings and protection from volatile fuel prices.
In these uncertain times due to the war in Iran, no other state in the US has suffered more from rising gas prices, with no end in sight.
The US president has already stated that he doesn’t mind this increase because, he says, in the long run, people will benefit from lower prices.
Its staff popularized a controversial slogan: “short-term pain, long-term gain.” In other words, get used to spending more. This has sparked a widespread debate about whether it’s time to change not only our cars but also our mindset—and finally switch to an electric vehicle. It’s no exaggeration: these days, the difference between driving a gasoline car and an electric one can mean savings of about $200 per week on average.
Stratospheric prices are accelerating consumer interest in electric vehicles (EVs) in early 2026, with local gas prices exceeding $5 per gallon. While federal EV tax credits have ended, this economic pressure is driving demand for electric alternatives, reinforcing California’s long-term goal to phase out gasoline cars by 2035. Despite a decline in federal support and reduced production, the rising cost of gasoline is pushing more California drivers toward electric options. California maintains its mandate that all new cars and passenger trucks sold in the state must be zero-emission vehicles. 2035.
California is not replacing the expired federal $7,500 tax break, but instead, new proposals suggest a $200 million program focused on targeting rebates for first-time buyers and income-qualified residents.
Automakers are adapting to changing demand, with companies like Volkswagen’s Scout Motors focusing on extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) that function as hybrids.
In the past, high gas prices have pushed buyers toward different cars. During the 1970s oil crisis, Americans shifted to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. In 2008, as prices emerged again because of global oil demand and supply constraints, sales of more fuel-efficient cars also temporarily grew. By 2022, when Russia’s attack on Ukraine spiked gas prices, electric vehicles were finally widely available, and rising fuel costs helped push EV sales.
Unsurprisingly, the higher gas prices get, the more interested consumers become in electric cars. In one 2022 study in California that looked at pre-pandemic data, when gas prices went up, so did EV sales. Parts of the state with higher gas prices also saw bigger increases in sales of EVs.
“When gasoline prices tend to rise and people are looking for a new vehicle, they tend to prioritize vehicles that historically were higher fuel-economy vehicles. But in more recent times, there are vehicles that might run on other fuels than gasoline,” says Erich Muehlegger, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, and one of the authors of the study. (In the study, the price of electricity didn’t have a similar effect, possibly because it’s difficult to track how much you’re paying for electricity at a given time.)
Weekly Operating Cost Comparison
Cost Category Gasoline Vehicle (25 MPG)/Electric Vehicle (3.5 mi/kWh)
Fuel / Energy $55.00/$11.15
Maintenance $3.12/$2.08
Total Weekly Cost $58.12/$13.23
Total Weekly Savings: $44.89
