I’m not sure about the state-of-the-art at this moment, but solar is nearly at cost parity (without subsidies) to coal (and natural gas). It’s true that distribution of power has losses. And, batteries are still far from perfect. But, electric motors are naturally much more efficient than fuel-burning engines. And, as an increasing percentage of electricity comes from renewable sources, the environmental impact will continue to favor electric vehicles — there is even some work being done on extracting lithium from sea water (in the desalination process) to minimize mining impact.
While it is true that politics (subsidies, tarrifs, R&D, etc) can distort some of this, I believe that in the medium to long term (+10 years) that renewables will be simply be faster, better and cheaper.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments.
