Electric Garage Talk: Driven by Tony
by Timur Tufail | April 17, 2025
Meet Tony Benton, a lifelong car enthusiast and rideshare driver living in Honolulu. When his gas-powered car gave out, he made the leap into the electric lane with a Chevy Bolt — and hasn’t looked back. In this candid conversation, Tony shares what it’s like switching to an EV as a full-time driver: from loving the instant torque to grappling with charging access, especially without home charging. He also dives into what he wishes utilities and policymakers understood better about real-world EV adoption.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Tony, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. I know you drive a lot and are self-described gearhead, so tell me a bit about how you first learned to drive. Where were you? What kind of car was it?
Tony: I was in Hawaii, in Moanalua. My mom taught me how to drive manual at the age of 14. Don’t tell her, but when she would go to work at night, I would take the car out to visit my friends! I learned to drive at 14 and I think I got my license at 16.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): So, what’s the story behind your first car?
Tony: My first car was a Nissan Stanza, 1989, which my mom gave me. It was a manual and had some power to it. Unfortunately, it broke down, and my next car was a Honda CR-X, which I had to pay half for by working at McDonald’s. I love Hondas now — my favorite cars.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): I saw you at Ala Moana Center a few months ago and was surprised to hear you were driving an EV. Congrats on making the switch! How long have you been driving it?
Tony: About three months now. I got a Chevy Bolt. It would have been nice if Honda had similar options though.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Okay, and what were some of the reasons you ended up making that switch?
Tony: My other car broke down, and since I drive for Uber and Lyft, I thought you know what? It would be a great idea to get an EV, because Uber gives more opportunities to drivers with EVs — they had something like a $1,000 incentive for buying an EV, and paid extra bonuses for completing a set number of EV rides per month. I also hoped to save on gas, like everybody says.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): What do you enjoy most about driving electric?
Tony: The power. Since they’re fully electric, EVs have a LOT of torque and power, which is great for driving. I enjoy that. You see some of those smaller gas cars with smaller engines that have a hard time merging onto the highway, right? Well, EVs don’t have that problem. My favorite thing about having an EV is that power.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Have you encountered any challenges or surprises?
Tony: I guess I haven’t had it long enough to have problems like mechanical issues yet. But I am a gearhead, and there is just less that can go wrong with an EV, less for me to worry about except for my battery running out! But because I do Uber and Lyft, I drive a lot. And I can’t let my car just sit there for hours, or I’m losing money. I don’t have charging at my apartment, so I can’t do it overnight. So, I found myself going to the fast chargers, which obviously cost more, and sometimes costs as much as I would pay for gas. I imagine if you weren’t driving all day, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue. We need more chargers because there just aren’t enough to support all the EV drivers. A lot of us don’t have houses with solar panels and chargers.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Charging infrastructure is definitely a challenge here. Are you familiar with Hawaiian Electric’s DC fast chargers?
Tony: Yeah, I’ve seen a few. I haven’t used any yet though. With a lot of these chargers out there, you have to sign up for accounts and download apps, and it just seems like a hassle. I started using Electrify America at Walmart in town because it was the simplest to use and doesn’t require a temporary hold on my card. Or if they do it’s a very small amount. I don’t like temporary holds and a lot of these stations put a hold anywhere from $60 to $100. I like how Electrify America has prepaid card options too.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): There are lots of different players involved in building out the EV charging network, but if you could ask Hawaiian Electric to do something about the state of EV charging, what comes to mind?
Tony: If Hawaiian Electric really wants to push this EV situation, then they should find empty properties and buy them or rent them using Hawaii’s money, from the taxes we pay, to put EV chargers in the ground. They’ll get the money back. If you go to the charging stations today and see how many people are lined up trying to charge their cars, you’ll see it is not enough. Look at states we’re trying to be like, which seems to always be California, and you’ll see parking lots full of EV chargers. Don’t get me wrong, I understand they have more space there. But if we really want to support EV growth, we need to think outside the box and ask ourselves what we can do to help everybody who wants to get an EV but is worried about charging.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Really good feedback — I appreciate it. Alright, let’s focus more on the driving part of your experience. What features of your EV do you find most useful or innovative?
Tony: Regenerative braking is the best feature. Look, every EV is different and to be honest, the EV I have is kind of quirky because they are trying to be trendy and put stuff in random places that we’re not used to. I couldn’t care less about those quirks. But, I do like regenerative breaking.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): How many miles do you put on your EV in a given week?
Tony: My average distance is 125 miles per day, so I’d say… 750 to 850 miles a week.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Do you use any apps or tools to improve, or hack, your driving experience?
Tony: I use Waze for traffic and ChargePoint to find chargers. ChargePoint will tell you where every charger is located, even ones that aren’t theirs, like the Shell Recharge ones at Ala Moana mall.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Now, let’s talk incentives. Are you aware of any for switching to an EV? Perhaps by the government or other entities in Hawaiʻi?
Tony: I remember when Teslas were first coming out you get could get a tax cut or something, but I haven’t heard of or had anybody push other incentives on me. The dealerships didn’t say anything to me. It seems like there are fewer incentives now. So, I always wonder is there still a tax credit? Nobody is really talking about it.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Also great feedback — it sounds like a lot of organizations need to do more to educate potential customers about some of the incentives out there. What are your thoughts about the environmental impact of driving EVs? You mentioned loving the torque and power, but what about the fact that you’re driving clean transportation?
Tony: I guess I’ve always been a gearhead, and I just love the sound of engines. I think it’s great if our society becomes EV based. We only have one Earth, and thinking that we’ll be dead before any of this bad climate stuff happens is not a good way to look at things. We should always be trying to improve our quality of life. So, I think EVs are a good thing. In a perfect world though, I would have a garage where I’ve got this 1989 Ford Mustang and a motorcycle for hobby driving — and a Rivian EV for everyday use.
It’s important to improve our environment, but I’m curious about the actual difference in terms of footprint, especially considering the factories that make the batteries for EVs. I have read about some future plans to create zero emission factories, which is pretty neat.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): As a driver who has driven both gas and electric cars now, would you recommend an EV to your friends and family in Hawaiʻi? What tips or advice would you give them?
Tony: I would recommend EVs, but only if they have a house or have access to a home charger. I have a friend who switched and says he doesn’t see a huge difference in his power bills for charging his EV, and he doesn’t have solar panels. If you don’t have a house, well, I guess I would still recommend it if you’re thinking about the future. I would think eventually more companies, like Hawaiian Electric, would find ways to install more chargers.
Timur (Hawaiian Electric): Tony this was excellent — I really appreciate your thoughts. Any last thoughts or suggestions for Hawaiian Electric?
Tony: Yes. Lower my bill!
Inspired by Tony’s story? Here are some resources to help you get smarter about EVs:
- 🚗 Explore Chevrolet’s current EV lineup
- 💸 Learn about rideshare EV rewards:
- Uber’s Zero Emissions incentive
- Lyft’s EV incentives - 🔌 Find EV charging stations near you
- 🧭 New to EVs? Read Hawaiian Electric’s FAQs
Timur Tufail is the electrification of transportation senior program manager at Hawaiian Electric.
