‘Bellevue is the king and queen of Teslas’: Gee says high costs hold Washington back despite No. 2 EV ranking

New census data shows Washington is one of the country’s leaders in electric vehicle ownership.

On “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, KIRO host Ursula Reutin asked why the numbers still seemed so low. KIRO host Gee Scott said the answer was cost.

“First of all, electric vehicles are expensive,” Gee pointed out.

In 2025, 8.9% of Washington households owned or leased at least one electric vehicle, according to The Seattle Times. The national rate was 5.5%. Only California ranked higher, at 13.8%. The count includes both fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

It was the first time the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey measured EV ownership by household. King County came in at 13.4%, about one in every seven households. That put it among the top counties in the country outside California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

‘Every vehicle you see in Bellevue is a Tesla’

Gee said King County’s numbers were heavily concentrated on the Eastside.

“Bellevue is the king and queen of Teslas,” Gee said. “Every vehicle you see in Bellevue is a Tesla. It’s crazy.”

Ursula pointed to another divide in the data. Homeowners in Washington were more than twice as likely as renters to have an EV, about 11% compared with just under 5%.

Gee said that gap made sense to him. When he owned an EV, he charged it in his garage overnight. Renters often don’t have that option.

“It’s not really fun to go and sit at the charging place,” Gee said.

Tabs, insurance and chargers

Gee said the costs don’t stop at the sticker price.

“When it’s time to redo them tabs, them tabs is expensive,” Gee said.

Listeners texting the show agreed. One said insurance on an EV is expensive. Rick in Tacoma pointed to a lack of charging stations.

Gee said Tesla had an edge because of how many chargers it has in the region.

“Tesla is the only way to go,” Gee said. “They own the infrastructure when it comes to that.”

Should the state keep paying people to go electric?

Ursula said the numbers felt low, given how hard Washington has pushed EVs. She noted that electric vehicles were a signature issue for former Gov. Jay Inslee.

She listed what the state has spent: $45 million on an EV rebate program that ended in 2024, and about $43 million in sales tax revenue the state gave up through EV tax exemptions between 2019 and 2023.

Businesses can still qualify for tax credits of up to $100,000 on qualifying EV fleet purchases. The state is also preparing a new $5 million EV instant rebate program, expected to start in January 2027, according to the Washington State Department of Commerce. Federal EV tax credits ended in September 2025.

“Is it time to pull back on those or double down on that to get people to drive them?” Ursula asked.

Ursula said she drove a hybrid Subaru Forester over the summer and loved it. Her family ultimately bought a non-hybrid Outback because they wanted more space.

Gee explained there was “a lot of good and bad” in the EV conversation. Even with Washington near the top of the national rankings, the price tag is keeping people from making the switch.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio.