Rowan Atkinson – a popular British actor, creator of the cult character of “Mr. Bean”, and privately a motoring enthusiast with a higher education in electrical and electronic engineering, fell foul of “green ideologists”. Reason? A critical look at e-automotive. The matter is serious because the actor’s publication was supposed to slow down the sales of “electric cars”. Even the House of Lords took up the topic… And this is not a summary of the plot of the new adventures of “Bean”.
In 2023, the actor published a text in The Guardian in which he was not optimistic enough about the electrification of the automotive industry. Horror of horrors, Atkinson allowed himself a handful of realism and criticism. However, the publication was described as one of the most harmful to the perception of electric cars. To such an extent that it was supposed to slow down the sales of e-cars. The effects of the publication were discussed during a meeting of the British House of Lords, devoted to the plan to ban the sale of combustion cars from 2035.
What has the TV series “Beans” done this time? According to the Green Alliance think tank (present at the Chamber meeting), in his material the comedian allegedly used theses about electric vehicles that have been repeatedly denied in the past.
Atkinson titled his publication: “I love electric cars and was an early adopter, but I increasingly feel cheated.” And although he admitted that e-cars are great machines, he is not sure whether “they are the panacea for environmental problems that they are believed to be.”
The actor was critical of the issue of lithium-ion batteries, pointing out that until better alternatives appear, synthetic fuels and extending the life of vehicles would be a reasonable solution (for the environment).
Atkinson assessed that “our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end” and although there will probably come a time when electric drive will bring environmental benefits, “that day has not come yet.”
The text must have caused a storm. A week after the publication of The Guardian, the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine distanced himself from Atkinson’s theses, accusing him of repeating “a series of repeatedly refuted theses”, concluding that e-cars already bring benefits to the environment.
Source: tvn24.pl/Oprac. MA