or we could subsidize competing flocks of new entrants, up and down the supply chain. (we need an ecosystem, inputs from lithium and rare earths to batteries and motors and airbags and doors to the vehicles themselves, not just top-level manufacturers.) 1/

China went from zero to dominance in like 5 years on EVs. they are better placed to do that, sure, because they've been subsidizing competitive capacity in general for decades, they have know-how not just at the level of a given product, but at the level of developing capabilities. 2/

still to pretend that what China did in five years is beyond our capacity ever to do (even with protective tariffs to create demand-side space) is to concede there is little point trying to compete at all. and there is no compelling reason to concede that. /fin