

Get in the KNOW
on LA Startups & Tech
X
Photo by Nadine Shaabana
Why Do People Resist New Technology Like Electric Vehicles?
David Shultz
David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.
Last week California air regulators voted to ban all new internal combustion car sales starting in 2035. The news was met with a predictable mix of responses: Some lauded the decision as forward-thinking and environmentally responsible; others saw it as government overreach–an attack on consumer freedom and the free market.
Whether the arguments against EVs are in good faith or not (they’re often not), the fact remains that this burgeoning technology has been met with fierce resistance since Teslas started hitting the road back in 2008. It’s easy to find examples of people keying EVs, rolling coal to spite them or blocking chargers with gas-powered cars.
A part of human nature is naturally resistant to change and to the unknown. It has served us well evolutionarily over the past 200,000 years. Tradition keeps us safe when it comes to eating the right wild berries or choosing a route to the next town. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there were people in the Roman Empire spreading myths about how using indoor plumbing makes your sword hand weak, or that riding in a chariot would make your uterus fall out. Even without political tribalism and pressure from the fossil fuel industry, new tech can be divisive.
Rosabeth M. Kanter, a professor of business at Harvard Business School, who studies these ideas, says the number one reason people resist change is that they fear a loss of control over their lives. This may explain why the ban on new gas cars in California has faced some backlash.
“For people who are feeling like life is slipping out of their control–that sinister forces are pushing them around–they're likely to not want to be forced into making a change,” says Kanter. Whether or not the state could have accomplished the same goal without a mandate is debatable, but due to the California Air Resources Board’s successful history of driving national policy with ambitious state-level laws, it’s not surprising they chose to take that risk.
However, Kanter also notes that plenty of new tech innovations have been welcomed with open arms. Take the smartphone, for instance. Steve Jobs announced the iPhone in 2007. By 2017, 77% of Americans owned a smartphone. Cars, of course, were always going to be slower transition—after all, the lifecycle of a car is at least three or four times as long as that of a smartphone. But why has there been so much cultural resistance to the growing EV market share?
The biggest and most obvious answer is cost. Smartphones aren’t cheap, but there’s a big difference between $700 and $70,000. The current batch of EVs on the road are simply too expensive for the average person to afford. Knowing that demand would outstrip initial manufacturing capacity, EV makers have chosen to offer luxury models first in order to make as much money as possible while ramping up production. And while legacy OEMs are beginning to enter the scene and change this dynamic, we’re still early in this story and costs are still extremely high.
Kanter says that to get consumers to adopt new tech, the transition has to be smooth. It has to be easy. Remember taking your flip phone to a Verizon or AT&T and trading it in for a smartphone? These companies made it simple and offered excellent financing plans–just a few extra dollars added to your bill every month. And while there are about a thousand different EV rebates and incentives on offer (see Wednesday’s newsletter) finding and understanding how to apply these deals is a whole lot harder than trading in a Motorola Razr for an iPhone.
Regarding smooth transitions: Charging infrastructure remains another huge impediment. While EV range anxiety is perceived to be much more of an issue than it actually is, the fact remains that America’s charging infrastructure is inadequate–especially rural areas in the middle of the country. If California wants to get everyone in an EV as quickly as possible, the state will need to make EV charging as seamless as gassing up.
Another thing Kanter says made the transition to smartphones different from EVs and other technology. New phones offered immediate and obvious benefits. Maps and internet access alone would’ve sold the devices. They also connected customers to networks that were pretty much inaccessible without the device. Nobody wants to miss out on the group chat drama. “The minute they see things that are benefits for themselves, you don't have to argue with them anymore,” says Kanter. “The benefits are right there in front of them.”
The benefits of electric vehicles, on the other hand, are more subtle or even existential. Calculating the cost of recharging the vehicle or the cost per mile of driving almost requires some familiarity with high-school physics. While the math isn’t necessarily complex or difficult, it’s new and foreign enough to present a barrier. Yes, it’s usually cheaper per mile to drive an EV than to fill up with gas, but to figure that out you have to know what a kilowatt hour is and how many your car consumes per mile of travel and how much electricity costs per kilowatt hour. Climate benefits only really apply at a society- and perhaps planetary level.
Of course you have this entire debate playing out against a climate in which batteries and gasoline have somehow become political footballs. If “opposing any policy from the other side” remains de rigueur in Washington, EV adoption will be slowed by politics…until the transition is truly seamless and the benefits are impossible to ignore.
From Your Site Articles
- Los Angeles Electric Vehicle News - dot.LA ›
- H2scan Raises $70 Million - dot.LA ›
- Hydrogen's Having a Moment in Southern California - dot.LA ›
- Republicans Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Electric Vehicles - dot.LA ›
- EVs Cars Not Reliable, Says Consumer Reports - dot.LA ›
- C02 Emissions Saved by Using EVs For Holiday Travel - dot.LA ›
- C02 Emissions Saved by Using EVs For Holiday Travel - dot.LA ›
Related Articles Around the Web
David Shultz
David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.
Here's How To Get a Digital License Plate In California
03:49 PM | October 14, 2022
Photo by Clayton Cardinalli on Unsplash
Thanks to a new bill passed on October 5, California drivers now have the choice to chuck their traditional metal license plates and replace them with digital ones.
The plates are referred to as “Rplate” and were developed by Sacramento-based Reviver. A news release on Reviver’s website that accompanied the bill’s passage states that there are “two device options enabling vehicle owners to connect their vehicle with a suite of services including in-app registration renewal, visual personalization, vehicle location services and security features such as easily reporting a vehicle as stolen.”
Reviver Auto Current and Future CapabilitiesFrom Youtube
There are wired (connected to and powered by a vehicle’s electrical system) and battery-powered options, and drivers can choose to pay for their plates monthly or annually. Four-year agreements for battery-powered plates begin at $19.95 a month or $215.40 yearly. Commercial vehicles will pay $275.40 each year for wired plates. A two-year agreement for wired plates costs $24.95 per month. Drivers can choose to install their plates, but on its website, Reviver offers professional installation for $150.
A pilot digital plate program was launched in 2018, and according to the Los Angeles Times, there were 175,000 participants. The new bill ensures all 27 million California drivers can elect to get a digital plate of their own.
California is the third state after Arizona and Michigan to offer digital plates to all drivers, while Texas currently only provides the digital option for commercial vehicles. In July 2022, Deseret News reported that Colorado might also offer the option. They have several advantages over the classic metal plates as well—as the L.A. Times notes, digital plates will streamline registration renewals and reduce time spent at the DMV. They also have light and dark modes, according to Reviver’s website. Thanks to an accompanying app, they act as additional vehicle security, alerting drivers to unexpected vehicle movements and providing a method to report stolen vehicles.
As part of the new digital plate program, Reviver touts its products’ connectivity, stating that in addition to Bluetooth capabilities, digital plates have “national 5G network connectivity and stability.” But don’t worry—the same plates purportedly protect owner privacy with cloud support and encrypted software updates.
5 Reasons to avoid the digital license plate | Ride TechFrom Youtube
After the Rplate pilot program was announced four years ago, some raised questions about just how good an idea digital plates might be. Reviver and others who support switching to digital emphasize personalization, efficient DMV operations and connectivity. However, a 2018 post published by Sophos’s Naked Security blog pointed out that “the plates could be as susceptible to hacking as other wireless and IoT technologies,” noting that everyday “objects – things like kettles, TVs, and baby monitors – are getting connected to the internet with elementary security flaws still in place.”
To that end, a May 2018 syndicated New York Times news service article about digital plates quoted the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which warned that such a device could be a “‘honeypot of data,’ recording the drivers’ trips to the grocery store, or to a protest, or to an abortion clinic.”
For now, Rplates are another option in addition to old-fashioned metal, and many are likely to opt out due to cost alone. If you decide to go the digital route, however, it helps if you know what you could be getting yourself into.
From Your Site Articles
- 8 Alternatives to Uber and Lyft in California - dot.LA ›
- Automotus Will Monitor Santa Monica's New Drop-Off Zone - dot.LA ›
- Metropolis CEO Alex Israel on Parking's Future - dot.LA ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read moreShow less
Steve Huff
Steve Huff is an Editor and Reporter at dot.LA. Steve was previously managing editor for The Metaverse Post and before that deputy digital editor for Maxim magazine. He has written for Inside Hook, Observer and New York Mag. Steve is the author of two official tie-ins books for AMC’s hit “Breaking Bad” prequel, “Better Call Saul.” He’s also a classically-trained tenor and has performed with opera companies and orchestras all over the Eastern U.S. He lives in the greater Boston metro area with his wife, educator Dr. Dana Huff.
steve@dot.la
This LA Startup Wants to Make It Rain and Just Raised $25M to Do It
09:38 AM | May 09, 2025
🔦 Spotlight
Hello LA!
While most tech headlines are busy chasing AI chatbots and flying taxis, one startup in El Segundo is aiming a little higher. Literally.
Rainmaker just secured$25 million in Series A funding to expand its cloud-seeding drone technology. The round was led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Starship Ventures, 1517 Fund, Long Journey Ventures, Naval Ravikant, and others.
Their idea is simple but urgent. Instead of relying on old-school aircraft to spray rain-making particles across the sky, Rainmaker uses AI-powered drones that find and seed clouds with pinpoint accuracy. It is faster, more affordable, and could reshape how regions fight back against droughts.
California's ongoing water struggles have made it clear that simply "saving" water is not enough. Cities and entire economies need new tools to create it. Rainmaker plans to use the funding to grow its fleet, invest in atmospheric science, and expand commercial partnerships with utilities and governments searching for solutions.
Bigger picture, Rainmaker is part of a growing shift in LA's tech ecosystem. While software remains dominant, more investors and founders are quietly betting on "hard tech" that addresses real-world problems like water, energy, and infrastructure.
It is not just about apps anymore. It is about survival tech.
With the skies getting hotter and the reservoirs getting lower, the next great tech export out of LA might not be entertainment or social media. It could be rain.
Stay tuned…
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- SimpleClosure, a Santa Monica-based startup that automates the business shutdown process, has raised a $15M Series A funding round led by TTV Capital. The company, which launched publicly in late 2023, helps startups and businesses navigate legal, regulatory, and compliance hurdles when closing down, using AI to streamline paperwork and communications. The new funding will support SimpleClosure’s platform growth and product expansion, as rising economic pressures create heightened demand for efficient dissolution solutions. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
- Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Haya Therapeutics’ $65M Series A funding round. Haya Therapeutics, which is developing precision RNA-guided medicines for chronic and age-related diseases, will use the capital to advance its lead therapeutic programs targeting heart failure and fibrosis. The company plans to expand its pipeline, invest in its discovery platform, and grow its team to accelerate clinical development. - learn more
- Griffin Gaming Partners led a $7M funding round for Fuse Games, a gaming studio focused on developing new original IP. Fuse Games, founded by industry veterans with experience at major gaming companies, plans to use the funds to accelerate production of its first title and expand its team as it builds ambitious new gaming experiences. - learn more
- Shamrock Capital has made a strategic growth investment in Neocol, a leading consulting platform that specializes in sales and AI-driven software solutions for subscription businesses. Neocol, which helps companies optimize revenue operations and digital transformations, plans to use the investment to accelerate its growth, expand its services, and further strengthen its leadership position in the Salesforce ecosystem. - learn more
- Trust Fund participated in a $7.2M seed funding round for Agree.com, an all-in-one platform that combines e-signature and integrated payments, aiming to streamline and speed up service agreements. The company plans to use the new capital to grow its engineering team, expand integrations, and enhance payment capabilities to help service providers close deals faster. - learn more
- Hyperlink Ventures participated in Orca AI’s $72.5M funding round. Orca AI, headquartered in London, develops AI-based navigation and collision-avoidance solutions to improve safety and efficiency for commercial shipping fleets. The funding will help Orca AI scale its autonomous shipping technologies, expand its team, and support global growth efforts. - learn more
LA Exits
- StoryFire, a social storytelling and video platform with over 2.5M users, has been acquired by Flashy Finance to launch a new platform called Flashy Social. The move aims to merge content creation with blockchain-powered financial tools, allowing creators to monetize through token incentives, streaming features, and community engagement. This acquisition supports Flashy Finance’s broader vision of building a cultural, creator-led financial ecosystem. - learn more
- Jaanuu, Inc., a Los Angeles-based medical apparel brand known for its stylish and functional scrubs, has been acquired in an asset sale by VentureOn Management, LLC. The acquisition includes substantially all of Jaanuu's assets, encompassing its intellectual property, inventory, and customer relationships. VentureOn Management plans to continue Jaanuu's operations, focusing on delivering high-quality medical apparel to healthcare professionals. - learn more
- Skechers has agreed to be acquired by 3G Capital in a deal valued at approximately $9.4 billion. Shareholders will receive either $63 per share in cash or $57 plus an equity unit in a new private parent company. Following the acquisition, Skechers will become privately held, maintain its Manhattan Beach headquarters, and continue to be led by its current management team. - learn more
Read moreShow less
RELATEDTRENDING
LA TECH JOBS