As the government is handing out tax rebates, and lawmakers are debating new laws to encourage the public to buy electric vehicles there are some businesses that are cashing in from the zero emissions revolution — tow companies. “They definitely have increased towing business somewhat for everybody,” Steve Lucero, who owns Highland Wrecker Service in New Mexico, said.Lucero said at one point, he was towing as many as three cars a week to charging stations in Las Vegas and Wagon Mound.“It’s more of an inconvenience, I think, for people,” Lucero said. “Sometimes they get stuck out there in the middle of the night and can’t get a hold of a towing company. You know, you end up staying up there for some time in the cold.”The state’s Department of Transportation maintains a map of all of the electric charging stations in New Mexico. There are 760 of them. However, there are large gaps in rural areas and one on Interstate 25 from Raton to Las Vegas.Many electric vehicles — such as Teslas — have a navigation system that tells you where the closest charging station is and whether you have enough power to get there.So why are electric vehicles needing a tow?Target 7 went to experts who are for and against government mandates on electric vehicles to find out why.“The people that are driving them understand when they look at their mileage that they have left, that they need to be able to get to the next charging station,” Larry Behrens, of Power the Future, an organization opposed to government mandates on electric vehicles, said. “But because sometimes, you know, they have to go uphill, they have to turn on a heater or an air conditioner or any number of things that, internal combustion car would handle just fine. The electric vehicle then diminishes their range greatly.”Jim MacKenzie is the co-coordinator of the climate-focused organization 350 New Mexico. He said part of the problem is there are gaps in the charging network, and people are waiting too long to charge.“We hear a lot of that in rural New Mexico. They’re still lacking the charging infrastructure,” MacKenzie said. “That is a long stretch between, Vegas and Raton. I’ve been on it many, many times. I’ve seen broken cars. So that’s a problem. That maybe there should be a charging station out there somewhere. We’re not all the way there yet with our infrastructure, but we are making rapid strides. And I think within the next year or two, we will be there and we.”Target 7 went to a Tesla charging station in Las Vegas to see if anyone had close calls making it to a charge.There we ran into Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. He stopped in Las Vegas on his way to Scottsdale to get a charge.“So it automatically rerouted us. We didn’t do anything, routed us here,” Wozniak said as he was walking his four dogs. “We always tried to have an adventure and go a little beyond where they had their supercharger stations to figure out. With our iPhone, how are we going to figure out how to charge and get back home.”Wozniak said he has never needed a tow truck but had some close calls. “We took risks and, some of them caught up with us, but the network just expanded nationwide so far,” he said. “Sometimes when we travel, we look to see where are the charging stations. But that’s like the old days of battery anxiety. Where? Which one should we stop at?”With the tax rebates and the governor’s mandates, electric vehicles are becoming more popular.Last year, Tesla opened a store on the Santa Ana Pueblo. However, according to records we obtained from the Taxation and Revenue Department, there are 9,932 registered electric vehicles in the state.That’s less than half a percent of all cars on the road.
As the government is handing out tax rebates, and lawmakers are debating new laws to encourage the public to buy electric vehicles there are some businesses that are cashing in from the zero emissions revolution — tow companies.
“They definitely have increased towing business somewhat for everybody,” Steve Lucero, who owns Highland Wrecker Service in New Mexico, said.
Lucero said at one point, he was towing as many as three cars a week to charging stations in Las Vegas and Wagon Mound.
“It’s more of an inconvenience, I think, for people,” Lucero said. “Sometimes they get stuck out there in the middle of the night and can’t get a hold of a towing company. You know, you end up staying up there for some time in the cold.”
The state’s Department of Transportation maintains a map of all of the electric charging stations in New Mexico. There are 760 of them. However, there are large gaps in rural areas and one on Interstate 25 from Raton to Las Vegas.
Many electric vehicles — such as Teslas — have a navigation system that tells you where the closest charging station is and whether you have enough power to get there.
So why are electric vehicles needing a tow?
Target 7 went to experts who are for and against government mandates on electric vehicles to find out why.
“The people that are driving them understand when they look at their mileage that they have left, that they need to be able to get to the next charging station,” Larry Behrens, of Power the Future, an organization opposed to government mandates on electric vehicles, said. “But because sometimes, you know, they have to go uphill, they have to turn on a heater or an air conditioner or any number of things that, internal combustion car would handle just fine. The electric vehicle then diminishes their range greatly.”
Jim MacKenzie is the co-coordinator of the climate-focused organization 350 New Mexico. He said part of the problem is there are gaps in the charging network, and people are waiting too long to charge.
“We hear a lot of that in rural New Mexico. They’re still lacking the charging infrastructure,” MacKenzie said. “That is a long stretch between, Vegas and Raton. I’ve been on it many, many times. I’ve seen broken cars. So that’s a problem. That maybe there should be a charging station out there somewhere. We’re not all the way there yet with our infrastructure, but we are making rapid strides. And I think within the next year or two, we will be there and we.”
Target 7 went to a Tesla charging station in Las Vegas to see if anyone had close calls making it to a charge.
There we ran into Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. He stopped in Las Vegas on his way to Scottsdale to get a charge.
“So it automatically rerouted us. We didn’t do anything, routed us here,” Wozniak said as he was walking his four dogs. “We always tried to have an adventure and go a little beyond where they had their supercharger stations to figure out. With our iPhone, how are we going to figure out how to charge and get back home.”
Wozniak said he has never needed a tow truck but had some close calls.
“We took risks and, some of them caught up with us, but the network just expanded nationwide so far,” he said. “Sometimes when we travel, we look to see where are the charging stations. But that’s like the old days of battery anxiety. Where? Which one should we stop at?”
With the tax rebates and the governor’s mandates, electric vehicles are becoming more popular.
Last year, Tesla opened a store on the Santa Ana Pueblo. However, according to records we obtained from the Taxation and Revenue Department, there are 9,932 registered electric vehicles in the state.
That’s less than half a percent of all cars on the road.
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