I wonder if electric cars will make potholes worse by increasing the average weight of vehicles on the road.

I wonder if electric cars will make potholes worse by increasing the average weight of vehicles on the road. 🚘

The Tesla Model S weights roughly 2 1/2 tons, the Ford F150 lightening electric is nearly 5 tons. While not as heavy as commercial vehicles, electric passenger car and trucks are quite a bit heavier than gas motors due to battery packs.

If aluminum ion batteries eventually replace lithium ion batteries electric vehicles might even get heavier. Aluminum ion batteries are 3 times more energy dense but also 3 times heavier than lithium ion batteries, with much faster routine charging. Load up a 3/4 ton 2500 truck with an extended range aluminum ion battery you might end up with a 7 1/2 ton curb weight vehicle versus about 4 tons for the diesel. Good in snow but probably not great for roads if everybody is driving around in big heavy vehicles.

The desire for longer and longer ranges might actually encourage vehicles to get bigger and longer too to accommodate bigger battery packs, plus fuel economy is unlikely to be mandated with electric cars in the near term.