As the Official EV Charging Sponsor of the Golden State Warriors 2018-2019 season, it would be an understatement to say we are proud of our hometown heroes’ achievements. “Ecstatic” and “over the moon” come a little closer. And if there’s one player who epitomizes the Warriors’ winning ways, it’s point guard Steph Curry. Not only has he led his team to an NBA championship four of the past five years, he broke the NBA record for most 3-point shots made in a season and then broke his own record twice more. He’s also the only player in NBA history to ever be unanimously elected league MVP.
But the main reason Steph Curry is a winner in our book? He’s an avid EV enthusiast. Besides driving a Tesla Model X, this past January, he gave his 13 million Twitter followers (and 8.2 million Facebook fans) a sneak peak of the Infiniti QX Inspiration, an all-electric concept car that won the hearts and minds of attendees of this year’s Detroit Auto Show. Steph Curry isn’t the only high-profile trendsetter touting e-mobility. Far from it. Check out these other folks using their outsized platforms to promote, popularize and advance the electrification of transportation.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Academy Award Winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars alongside Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, is not only one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, he’s probably the most notable climate change activist around. That’s why he’s been driving electric since before EVs were on most people’s radar. In fact, he is still the proud owner of the very first Fisker Karma, a groundbreaking EV that was, sadly, a little too far ahead of its time. Oh, and that other guy? Brad Pitt drives a Tesla Model S.
Katy Perry
It isn’t only athletes at the top of their game and A-list actors who have caught on to EVs. Katy Perry, one of the top-selling musicians of all-time, was so concerned about the size of the carbon footprint her tours were generating, she famously bought each of her five assistants an aforementioned Fisker Karma to the tune of $500k. Since then she’s kept e-mobility and the environment in the news by being seen in her Model S and, most recently, starring in comedian/rapper Lil Dicky’s Earth video alongside Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber (another Karma driver) and, yes, even Leonardo DiCaprio.
Bill Nye
Of course, the person with the moniker “The Science Guy” drives an EV. Make that “EVs.” Nye has owned seven, including the first mass-produced EV in modern times and star of the 2006 film, Who Killed the Electric Car, General Motors’ EV1. He’s also been seen out-and-about in a BMW i3, a Ford Focus Electric, a Mini E, a Nissan Leaf, a Volkswagen e-Golf and, most recently, his pride-and-joy, a 2017 Chevy Bolt, in which he likes to impress EV neophytes by giving them a ride (and putting what he refers to as “that EV smile” on their faces). We’re happy to report, the electric car is alive and well—thriving even—thanks, in part, to guys like Bill.
Alyssa Milano
Driving electric is fashionable these days, so it’s fitting that the host of Project Runway: All Stars, the actress and activist, Alyssa Milano, is all in on EVs. Back in 2011, Alyssa reportedly couldn’t decide between the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt—so she bought them both. She added to her stable of EVs the following year with a Tesla Model X. Who’s the boss now? We’d say it’s Alyssa Milano.
Jay Leno
Wait, what? Jay Leno? Isn’t he the guy who used to host The Tonight Show? While the comedian’s star power may have faded in recent years, there’s one big reason he’s on this list. Jay Leno, more than just about anyone else, knows cars. In fact, he’s such an automobile fanatic he has his own reality show, Jay Leno’s Garage, dedicated to his passion. So, when Jay Leno says, "I predict a child born today, most likely by the time they're 18, may not have ever ridden in an internal combustion car," as he recently did in an interview with USA Today, you listen. When gas cars lose Leno (who also owns a 1909 Baker Electric, the world’s first EV and the only car he owns that he says is “100% maintenance-free”), you know they’re history.
What’s the world coming to when one of the most famous car enthusiasts on earth starts touting electric as the future of transportation and a guy who calls himself Lil Dicky can get the biggest celebrities in the world together to help save the planet? Sometimes it seems like the only thing we can count on anymore is the Golden State Warriors appearing in NBA championships.
