Photo: Steve Wozniak
Earlier this year, Apple co-founder and all-round nice guy Steve Wozniak got all excited about the Chevrolet Bolt. It got to the point where it almost started stinking of GM publicity stunt, but Woz isn't the kind of guy you can buy easily.
Besides, he's an EV enthusiast and Tesla owner, so he's pretty committed to the cause, so it's unlikely to side with a traditional carmaker such as GM. However, when Chevrolet started handing out test drives this autumn, Woz announced he would trade in his Model S for a Bolt the second the car became available.
As you would expect, a statement like this made a lot of eyebrows raise, but Steve was there to answer all questions and expose his reasons in great detail. The thing that made his choice so hard to understand was that he's not constrained in any way by the financial aspect. So who in their right mind would snub a Tesla for a Bolt?
Well, there are a few aspects that are worth mentioning. For one thing, the Bolt appears to be the first electric car that's decent enough to consider besides a Tesla, so perhaps Woz is just looking for a change. Then, there's the practicality aspect: the Bolt is taller, easier to get in and out, and has a much smaller footprint. These traits make it an ideal daily driver for those who venture into urban areas as well.
Woz did not trade his Model S in - in fact, just two weeks ago, his wife bought him a new one. Now, though, he's announced that his Bolt will be arriving on January 3, so he did keep half of his word.
In a move that put all doubts to rest, Woz confirmed his plans for the future with the two EVs he owns: the Tesla is going to be the road trip car (apparently, he takes a lot of them), while the Bolt will become the daily driver. Since very few of us actually know what the Bolt drives like, we're going to have to take Woz's word for it and accept that this is a set up that makes sense.
But it definitely highlights a problem for the Bolt: the fact there aren't any compatible fast-charging stations, and even if there were, the car isn't built to take advantage of them. Maybe this will change in the future once the infrastructure gets built, but that means condemning those who bought the car until then to painstakingly slow charging. For now, though, the Tesla remains the only real alternative for zero-emissions road trips. Woz confirmed.
As you would expect, a statement like this made a lot of eyebrows raise, but Steve was there to answer all questions and expose his reasons in great detail. The thing that made his choice so hard to understand was that he's not constrained in any way by the financial aspect. So who in their right mind would snub a Tesla for a Bolt?
Well, there are a few aspects that are worth mentioning. For one thing, the Bolt appears to be the first electric car that's decent enough to consider besides a Tesla, so perhaps Woz is just looking for a change. Then, there's the practicality aspect: the Bolt is taller, easier to get in and out, and has a much smaller footprint. These traits make it an ideal daily driver for those who venture into urban areas as well.
Woz did not trade his Model S in - in fact, just two weeks ago, his wife bought him a new one. Now, though, he's announced that his Bolt will be arriving on January 3, so he did keep half of his word.
In a move that put all doubts to rest, Woz confirmed his plans for the future with the two EVs he owns: the Tesla is going to be the road trip car (apparently, he takes a lot of them), while the Bolt will become the daily driver. Since very few of us actually know what the Bolt drives like, we're going to have to take Woz's word for it and accept that this is a set up that makes sense.
But it definitely highlights a problem for the Bolt: the fact there aren't any compatible fast-charging stations, and even if there were, the car isn't built to take advantage of them. Maybe this will change in the future once the infrastructure gets built, but that means condemning those who bought the car until then to painstakingly slow charging. For now, though, the Tesla remains the only real alternative for zero-emissions road trips. Woz confirmed.
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