The Car World Is Going Electric, Without America For a dealer, every EV sold represents years of lost service income. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images) After $50 billion in squandered investments, will U.S. auto companies finally get serious—or just watch while China wins? When it comes to electric vehicles, Detroit was in denial for too long. Then it panicked and launched a flurry of flawed initiatives and hurried Hail Marys.