Electric Vehicle Owner Pretty Fucking Smug Right Now

Insufferable Man's Nissan Leaf Retroactively a Stroke of Genius

LOS ANGELES — Gavin Holt, 41, spent the better part of this week reminding anyone within earshot that he pays roughly US$1.20 to fully charge his car at home, which he described as basic foresight while colleagues stared at their phones in the break room, none of them pulling up gas station apps for the first time in months.

Holt, a mid-level procurement analyst who purchased his Nissan Leaf in 2021, told reporters he had always known a moment like this would arrive. "People laughed," he said, leaning against the vehicle in his office parking lot. "Not to my face, but I could sense it."

"He’s unbearable," said Laura Chen, who sits two desks away. "He once brought in an actual calculator to show me what I'd save annually if I made the switch. I drive a 2019 Corolla and it's paid off."

"I'm not saying I predicted the exact circumstances," Holt clarified, unprompted. "I'm saying the math was always there."

Holt has begun forwarding Reuters articles about crude oil futures to a WhatsApp group titled "Lads + Gavin," a chat in which he is the only active participant. Members confirmed they muted notifications in early March.

His spouse, Priya, noted that Holt's environmental convictions had deepened considerably recently. "Though he never once mentioned the planet when he bought it," she said.

Chen added that Holt had taken to parking his Leaf directly beside the office entrance, a spot previously occupied by their manager's BMW X5. "He reversed in," she said. "So the charging port faces outward. I think he wants people to see it?"

At press time, Holt was calculating his monthly fuel savings on the same calculator while eating a US$19 salad from the deli downstairs — up from US$14 in February — and had not yet made the connection.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ■