When it comes to electric cars, one of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption is the lack of charging infrastructure. This is obvious to everybody.

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California is a state that has been on the forefront of electric car adoption with policies designed to incentivize drivers to switch to cleaner cars. However, a study by the California Air Resources Board found that "charging infrastructure is not keeping pace with California's ambitious electric vehicle sales targets." In other words, there are not enough charging stations to meet the needs of California's electric car owners.

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There are now over 20,000 public charging stations in the state, and that number is growing every day. However, there is still a major obstacle to electrification: gas stations. There are over 9,000 gas stations in California, and plenty are owned by private businesses.

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And most people are well aware that gas stations will eventually become obsolete, and that converting them to charge stations is an effective way to mass EV adoption. But how do we convince stations to do this?

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Gas stations can be a hugely profitable business, and that is why most of them have been reluctant to make the switch to electric charging stations. After all, it costs a lot of money to upgrade infrastructure and convince customers to use new technology. Additionally, there is simply not enough demand for electric cars at this time to make it financially feasible for most businesses. However, we believe that change is inevitable, and that gas stations will need to adapt in order to stay relevant in the market.

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This business model presents a major roadblock for the transition to electric vehicles. However, there are two potential solutions we could explore in order to break down this barrier and encourage greater use of electric vehicles.

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The first possibility is that gas stations could act as middlemen and sell electricity directly to their customers. This would allow them to continue benefiting from high sales of fossil fuels while also gaining additional revenue through selling electricity. Adding more pumps, essentially.

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If they're owned by a carmaker (IE - Tesla), this would allow gas station owners to continue to profit from this automotive market without having to make a significant investment in infrastructure. If they're bought outright by the station, the capital costs are higher but presumably they can negotiate better rates with the utility.

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Tesla would benefit from such a model because while they've been working to address this issue by installing charging stations at Tesla dealerships and service centers, there are still many areas where Tesla owners have no way to charge their cars.

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Stations with convenience stores and fast food outlets in them have a huge potential to boost sales by promoting their quick, high-margin products during charging times. Whether it's selling coffee, sandwiches, or something else entirely, a well-timed snack or beverage as a place to rest and relax while their cars are charging would go a long way in making up for any revenue lost from fuel sales. And with revenue from charging likely to remain low for some time to come, even moderate sales increases could result in significant profitability for these businesses.

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This is clearly an idea that's gaining traction, as fast food franchisees and convenience stores that aren't connected to a station are installing chargers of their own.

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Another solution is for governments to buy gas station land and convert it into public domain charging stations. This would be a significant investment, but it would provide the critical mass of charging stations needed to make electric cars more practical for consumers.

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Moreover, it would create jobs in the construction and maintenance of the charging stations, and it would generate revenue from drivers using the charging stations. Regions where electric utilities are nationalized would get their power for bargain-basement prices.

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As anyone who has worked in the public sector knows, however, government-owned stations are fraught with a number of major challenges. For one thing, many governments do not have the necessary expertise when it comes to selling fuel or driving electric vehicles, which can lead to a host of problems and inefficiencies. This is compounded by concerns around corruption and lack of maintenance, as governments often struggle to effectively manage their operations.

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Additionally, state-owned utilities may be better suited for managing EV station networks due to their experience leading similar projects in the past. However, even these organizations are not immune to mismanagement, with issues ranging from inadequate funding to chronic underperformance affecting a wide variety of states. At least initially, it seems clear that no organization can truly handle the monumental task of operating 10,000 EV stations in one state – and we shouldn't trust any single entity with this responsibility.

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Would anybody trust Pacific Gas & Electric with that? The company that still uses power towers from the 19th century?

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Then comes the fight. As anyone who has ever tried to take over an existing business knows, there are often a number of hold-outs that refuse to sell. In the context of a government-mandated mass media buyout, what happens to these hold-out stations? One possible solution is to offer station owners a hybrid plan that allows them to either accept a buyout from the government or continue running their own stations. With this approach, station owners would be free to decide for themselves whether they wanted to sell their company or maintain control over it.

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Furthermore, by offering this hybrid option, the government could avoid the potential onslaught of lawsuits that would inevitably arise if they simply appropriated all of the hold-out stations. So while there may be some resistance at first, in the end this approach offers the best possible solution for everyone involved.

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Despite the challenges privatization poses, I remain convinced that it is the best way to go. Subsidizing electricity to the stations will help ensure that they can stay afloat, while letting them manage logistics and properties will help them keep costs down. And by selling electricity at a markup, we can encourage more people to use public transportation. So yes, privatization may be frustrating at times, but it is still the best option to really get EV stations to proliferate and achieve mass market adoption within the next five years.

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Given the issues so many governments face right now (climate change, healthcare, pensions, student loans, policing, racism, corruption etc.), adopting a brand new infrastructure network is an Ever Given-sized can of worms that nobody needs opened. Especially when the stakes are so high, moving to EVs will be slowed dramatically if everybody's first electric car is a nightmare to charge anywhere.

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This will be a major hurdle in the transition to electric cars, as gas stations are both lucrative businesses and an established part of our infrastructure. But if we want to see widespread adoption of electric vehicles, this is a necessary step that we'll need to take.