*By Britt Terrell*
For electric vehicles to truly take off with consumers, car dealerships will have to get on board, and manufacturers will have to find ways to competitively price their cars for American drivers.
A new [study](https://electrek.co/2018/05/21/electric-car-adoption-deceptive-car-dealerships-new-study/) about European car-buying in the journal Nature Energy found that car dealers may be hurting the sales and adoption of electric vehicles because salespeople are "dismissive and deceptive."
Brian Deagon, a senior reporter at Investor's Business Daily, said the same is likely true in the United States.
"We're on a slow growth track," Deagon said Wednesday in an interview with Cheddar. "Even though we've heard so much about hybrid vehicles and electric cars, they still represent something like 1 percent of the total cars on the road in the U.S."
Electric cars generally cost more than gas cars. Business Insider [estimates](http://www.businessinsider.com/electric-cars-roadblocks-tax-credit-2018-4?r=UK&IR=T) that the average price ー before subsidies and incentives ー for electric vehicles is around $42,000 compared to $34,000 for the average new car.
Federal and state governments are also beginning to back away from subsidies once granted to companies like Tesla to reduce the price of electric vehicles.
"Here in the state of California, for example, millions and millions have been applied to those subsidies and many consumers have been enticed by these subsidies, saving $7,000 or more," said Deagon. "That's a lot of money."
Car manufacturers will have to find news ways to make electric cars less expensive in the future.
"There is going to be a tremendous amount of familiarization that needs to take place, and it will," said Deagon. "But again, over time, I think people will go into a car lot and go 'Do I get an electric car or a gas car?' and it's going to come down to which one represents the better value for the consumer."
Automakers including Tesla, Ford, GM and BMW are investing billions in electric vehicles, Deagon said. "They'll certainly have the finances to persuade the car dealers at some point to open their doors and promote their cars."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/electric-vehicles-dealership-dilemma).
Facebook parent Meta officially has changed it’s ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’. Paul Meeks, a portfolio manager, Independent Solutions Wealth Management, and a professor of practice in the Baker School of Business at The Citadel, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the tech giant has had to make big changes to its name, its ticker, and its business plans. "When you see what's happening in digital advertising — and there was a slowdown there even before the threat of a recession, which could cause a even more drastic slowdown next year — they had to pivot," he said. Meeks noted he sees Facebook dominating in the metaverse space going forward — whatever that may end up being.
Sports merchandising company Fanatics announced it will be making trading cards featuring college athletes, a deal made possible by the NCAA's change to NIL rules for its players. Anchors Kristen Scholer and Ken Buffa break down the deal for Cheddar.
Catching you up on today’s top business headlines with household wealth falling in Q1 for the first time in two years, Meta officially changing its ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’, and updates on Tesla.
The European Union has approved a 40 percent quota for women to sit on company boards. This comes as only 9 of the 27 EU member states have gender equality legislation.
Amanda Victoria, co-founder and CEO of Siponey, joins Cheddar News to talk about the company's canned cocktails. The spritz is made with only four ingredients — wildflower honey, aged rye whiskey, sparkling water, and fresh lemon juice.
Officials and power operators are bracing the public for blackouts caused by higher-than-average temperatures this summer. Utility officials in California and Arizona are warning of potential interruptions this summer due to the strain on energy supplies. Heat waves and drought conditions weaken power grids and available electricity reserves. This also makes hydroelectric power less reliable and raises the risk of wildfires.
Cisco DeVries, CEO of OhmConnect, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The markets opened lower on Thursday as investors hold their breath ahead of the May consumer price index, which will give investors a better picture of the state of inflation in the United States. Michele Schneider, a partner and the director of trading research and education for MarketGauge.com, joined Cheddar to discuss. "If the CPI read is softer than what's expected, we actually might get a rally," she said. "If it's more than expected, then I think it will spook the market."
