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The Koch brothers are planning an offensive against electric vehicles through a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign

Brace yourself for some misinformation in the coming months.

Gandhi said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

It looks like electric vehicles are still in the “fighting phase” as we learn today that billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are planning to back a new group of lobbyists with a focus on “boosting petroleum-based transportation fuels and attacking government subsidies for electric vehicles”, according to refining industry sources talking to the Huffington Post.

When your product can’t win based on common sense and merit alone, you can always count on lobbying and advertising, and it’s exactly what the Koch brothers seem to be doing with this latest effort.

According to the Huffington Post, the Kochs are teaming up with James Mahoney, a member of their company’s board, and lobbyist Charlie Drevna, who until recently was the head of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. Their mission will be to “make the public aware of all the benefits of petroleum-based transportation fuels”.

The group has been courting oil companies to raise money for the lobbying effort in “changing the energy narrative” in the US. The report doesn’t say exactly when the group will officially launch its offensive, but it will probably be around this spring or summer.

The federal tax credit for electric vehicles, which is set to expire after 200,000 units per manufacturer, is apparently what sparked the Kochs, who themselves own a company (Koch Industries) heavily invested in subsidized industries like oil and mining, to fund an offensive against electric cars.

[tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/700583378328784896 align=’center’]

The Kochs might also be worried about Obama’s recent ‘Clean Transportation Plan’ unveiled earlier this month. The plan aims at significantly increasing investments in clean transportation through a new $10/barrel oil tax.

Featured Image: Rolling Stone caricature of the Koch brothers by Victor Juhasz: Inside the Koch Brothers’ Toxic Empire

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Comments

  1. I find this article false and extremely biased. I live in Wichita where the Koch brothers hold their business. The Kochs have no desire to do as this article says. They are not strictly an oil company. Koch does a myriad of things completely unrelated to oil. Not to mention, your information is pulled from The Huffington Post which is known to be heavily liberal biased. Not only does the Huff Post heavily exaggerate, but they are known to dig up false dirt on any an all Republican supporters. Any information from the Huffington Post should be taken with a grain of salt.

    • Fred Lambert - 8 years ago

      Well the Huff post is citing sources, while you are saying it’s not true based on the fact that you live in Wichita…. I think i’m going to go with the Huff for this one. Sorry Colin.

      • kijijigod - 8 years ago

        Touché Sir Fred.

        Fred 1 : Colin 0

        Although the Wichita card does pack a powerful emotional punch.

      • Micromentor - 8 years ago

        The primary difference between the Huffington Post and many right wing sources is that HP will accept articles from most any ideological source. Almost all Republican politicians and their fans have posted articles including the RNC chairman. Right wing publications rarely accept opposing viewpoints and have been known to modify them into locally produced articles to belittle their points. Does HP have misleading left wing articles also? Of course they do but most of their dedicated readers know this and follow up researching interesting articles to test their validity which is why their readers want the sources. Though this article was in the HP, was that the original 1st submission or was it added there after … I don’t know, do you?

  2. Dan - 8 years ago

    @Colin Wake up and smell the coffee! This is exactly the kind of tactic the Kochs have taken in the past. Get back to me in 6 months after the campaign has rolled out. Or do you actually work for the Kochs and have inside info?

    • Electric feel - 8 years ago

      You must work for the cock brothers, clearly.

  3. ncbrisson - 8 years ago

    Ten bucks says their first BS ad tries to convince the masses that producing EV batteries is much more painful to mother earth than oil extraction. The second will tell people that EVs are dirtier because the main power source to charge them is Coal.

    If you don’t know the answer to that first accusation I suggest you look up the video where Musk explains why this isn’t the case.

    EVs aren’t gonna be killed this time around, not after Tesla built what are arguably the best luxury sedan/SUV in the world.

    • Illuminati - 8 years ago

      “EVs aren’t gonna be killed this time around…”

      But Elon Musk will perhaps get killed by a sniper hidden on the 6th floor of an obscure warehouse…

      • Fred Lambert - 8 years ago

        suitable username…

  4. Stephen Davies - 8 years ago

    Only in America could this happen. They’ll be saying that the Earth is Flat and that Sun goes round it next.

    If the US wants to get left behing in the technology race then so be it. All over the world governments and companies are investing in transportation that is not powered by Gasoline (cars) or Diesel(trucks).

    Now I must go out and get the Sentinel ready for a trip tomorrow (Sentinel is a Steam Truck). Just like Electric cars, it is almost silent when moving.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

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