At the end of last year, Charlotte, John and I went on a road trip.

We piled into our gigantic pickup truck, fastened our seat belts and switched on the engine.

But it didn't sound like a typical road trip.

It's so quiet.

The loudest thing about turning on the car is that your seat moved forward.

Rather than the familiar hum and rev of an internal combustion engine, an electric vehicle,

even the kind of pickup truck we were driving, is eerily quiet.

It's like being in a ferry or on a ferry, like on the bridge of a lodge boat.

Or in a secondary apartment that happens to move.

We drove across the Midwest on a journey to find out how electric vehicles can help America

meet its environmental and industrial goals in 2023.

I'm John Prado, and this is Chex and Balance from the Economist.

Each week, we take one big theme, shaping American politics and explore it in depth.

Today, what do electric vehicles tell us about the future of American industry?

2023 ought to be a big year in America's transition towards EVs.

The federal government has set aside billions to incentivise consumers and manufacturers

to hitch a ride, and is ramping up the nation's charging infrastructure.

America's roads are starting to be filled not just with sleek Teslas, but with pickup

trucks, whose classic exterior's height cutting edge battery-powered technology underneath.

Electric vehicles could help marry too big, but possibly contradictory goals.

To re-industrialise and to decarbonise at the same time.

So in December, John and Charlotteson I took a road trip through the Midwest,

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