????早期的汽車也是先被富人接受的,。第一臺(tái)使用汽油的內(nèi)燃機(jī)于1885年在德國(guó)誕生，在接下來(lái)20年中,，引擎和汽車的其他部件都在不斷改良,。直到1908年亨利?福特的T型車面世，現(xiàn)代轎車才能為普通人所有,。福特帶來(lái)了大量創(chuàng)新——尤其是在裝配線上——使老百姓也能買得起T型車,。但他之所以能做到這點(diǎn)，也是因?yàn)樵谛⌒偷母呦M(fèi)市場(chǎng)超過(guò)20年的創(chuàng)新經(jīng)驗(yàn)所致,。

????當(dāng)然,，政府并未在購(gòu)買早期的手機(jī)或19世紀(jì)的汽車上給予富人稅收減免。而電動(dòng)汽車可能最終也將在沒(méi)有政府幫助的情況下競(jìng)爭(zhēng),。不過(guò)正如美國(guó)投入軍費(fèi)以防御中東地區(qū)潛在危險(xiǎn)一樣,，投資加速新科技的發(fā)展，以減少美國(guó)對(duì)于來(lái)自動(dòng)蕩地區(qū)的石油依賴是有道理的,。盡管石油產(chǎn)量達(dá)到新高,，美國(guó)仍是全球市場(chǎng)的一部分。當(dāng)沙特阿拉伯陷于混亂之時(shí),，美國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)也會(huì)受油價(jià)飛漲拖累,。擺脫這種危機(jī)的唯一辦法，就是在汽車和卡車上少用油,，即便本土的石油產(chǎn)量增加,。

????借助政府來(lái)開辟早期市場(chǎng)，增加了電動(dòng)汽車幫助我們達(dá)成這一目標(biāo)的可能性,。它已經(jīng)幫助了天然氣產(chǎn)業(yè),。21世紀(jì)初，天然氣價(jià)格飆升,，大大激勵(lì)了鉆井者去試驗(yàn)水平鉆孔和水力壓裂法,，以便從頁(yè)巖中提取天然氣。稅收減免讓鉆井者能夠迅速?gòu)浹a(bǔ)處理危險(xiǎn)氣井的成本,。十多年來(lái),，在這一緩沖之下，他們提高了技術(shù),，降低了成本,，增加了每口氣井的產(chǎn)氣量。到2008年天然氣價(jià)格暴跌之時(shí),，水力壓裂法的成本已經(jīng)很低,，仍然能夠繼續(xù)使用,。

????如果任何人都能擁有一輛電動(dòng)汽車，當(dāng)然很好,。但是事實(shí)上,，現(xiàn)在就讓電動(dòng)汽車成為人人可有之物，成本之高難以想象,。我也像其他人一樣嫉妒能夠駕駛特斯拉S型車的家伙,。不過(guò)如果能因此產(chǎn)生一些突破，最終使得下一代汽車進(jìn)入千家萬(wàn)戶,，并幫助美國(guó)擺脫石油依賴,，那么這個(gè)價(jià)格我們也愿意付。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

????邁克爾?列維是《力量洶涌：能源,，機(jī)遇,，為美國(guó)的未來(lái)而戰(zhàn)》一書的作者。他是美國(guó)外交關(guān)系協(xié)會(huì)能源安全和氣候變化項(xiàng)目的高級(jí)研究員兼主管,。

????譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

????The automobile itself benefited from early adoption by wealthy buyers. The first successful gasoline-based internal combustion engine was introduced in Germany in 1885 and over the next two decades, engines and other parts of the vehicle steadily improved. Yet it wasn't until Henry Ford introduced his Model T in 1908 that modern automobile became accessible to mere mortals. Ford (F) introduced a host of innovations -- most notably the assembly line -- that made the Model T accessible to the masses. But he was only able to do that because he could build on innovations that had been driven by smaller, upscale markets for more than 20 years.

????The government, of course, didn't give rich people tax credits for buying early-model cellphones or nineteenth-century cars. And electric vehicles might eventually compete without government help. But just as Washington spends money on the military to protect the country from potential dangers in the Middle East, it makes sense for it to invest in accelerating new technology that could make the U.S. less dependent on the volatile region for oil. Despite record gains in U.S. oil production, we're still part of a global market; when things go haywire in Saudi Arabia, our economy suffers from skyrocketing oil bills. The only way to escape that danger is to use less oil in our cars and trucks even as we produce more crude at home.

????Using government to create an early market increases the odds that electric cars will help us do that. It helped the natural gas industry. During the 2000s, skyrocketing prices for natural gas created a big incentive for drillers to experiment with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") to extract natural gas from shale. Drillers were supported by tax credits that allowed them to quickly write off the costs of tackling risky wells. Over the course of the decade, that cushion let them improve their technology, bringing down costs and raising . By the time natural gas prices crashed in 2008, fracking had become so cheap that it persisted nevertheless.

????While it would be great if anyone could have a shot at owning one now, the reality is that making electric cars available to everyone today would be ruinously expensive. I'm just as envious of the guy who gets to drive a Tesla Model S as the next person. But if that's what it will take to get some breakthroughs that ultimately make the next generation of cars available to the masses -- and help slash American dependence on oil -- it's a price we should be willing to pay.

????Michael Levi is the author of The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future. He is a senior fellow and director of the energy security and climate change program at the Council on Foreign Relations.