A Tesla and a Hot Dog? Drive the Most Popular EVs at This 7-City Festival

LONG BEACH, Calif.—Although electric vehicle adoption is growing rapidly, the vast majority of Americans still have limited experience with EVs. Maybe a friend or family member owns a Tesla, or your Uber driver picks you up in a Chevy Bolt. But some of the buzziest brands have eschewed traditional showrooms for online sales, while a visit to the dealership brings with it the dreaded sales pitch, so how can you get some quality hands-on time with an EV?

Electrify Expo—which describes itself as “the number one electric vehicle festival in North America”—is a fun, casual way to experience a wide range of EVs in one afternoon. Imagine an auto show and street fair combined. Attendees on e-bikes zoom between hundreds of vendor tents in a closed area the size of multiple football fields. One side borders an open road with a 15-minute marked course for test drives.

Kids try out a pedal-less ebike with a throttle.
(Credit: Emily Dreibelbis)

The idea is to offer “demos of the latest products so that attendees can determine which brand matches best with their demands,” says Electrify Expo.

Some participants are looking to buy vehicles soon, while others might not be sure EVs are right for them. “I’m in the market to buy,” Steven Jiang told PCMag at last week’s Long Beach expo. “This is an opportunity to do some homework.”

Others came in groups of friends or family. “My son found it online, so we all came out,” said Vic Carillo, who attended the event with his wife and three kids. “He wants to see motorcycles with his dad. Mom wants a Volvo Recharge.”

(Credit: Emily Dreibelbis)

The festival offered test drives for most major EV brands: Tesla, Ford, Kia, BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Lexus, and more. Wait times depended on how many test vehicles the brand brought to the event, and the number of participants in line.

The longest lines were for Tesla and Ford, maker of the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning; both automakers brought a number of vehicles for attendees to check out. PCMag drove in a Kia EV6 and BMW iX. The Kia line took around 30 minutes; BMW took about seven minutes.

Ford and Tesla test-drive tents, as a Ford Mustang Mach-E pulls in for the next guest.
(Credit: Emily Dreibelbis)

The Kia experience included a product specialist in the passenger seat to walk through the features (i.e. how to engage GT mode, how to turn on one-pedal regenerative braking). BMW let passengers go out on their own(Opens in a new window). There are no sales at the festival, and no discussion of purchasing, leases, and negotiations. It’s all about driving and asking questions.

Kia EV6 product specialist who sat in the passenger seat.
(Credit: Emily Dreibelbis)

The festival schedule kicked off in Long Beach last weekend, the first of seven cities that will host Electrify Expo in 2023. Tickets(Opens in a new window) are $20 per person, or free for children under five.

Electrify Expo 2023 Schedule

• May 19-21: Long Beach, California at Long Beach Convention Center 

• June 24-25: San Francisco at Alameda Point

• July 22–23: Washington DC at RFK Stadium

• Aug. 12-13: New York at Nassau Coliseum (Long Island)

• Sept. 9-10: Seattle at Marymoor Park 

• Oct. 14-15: Miami at Miami Dade Fairgrounds

• Nov. 10-12: Austin, Texas at Circuit of the Americas

Electrify Expo dates back to 2020, when “we were in a grass field during the pandemic,” said founder BJ Birtwell, a self-described car guy who used to be a sucker for a good gas-powered engine rev—until a test drive in a Tesla Model S changed his perspective. “I had a lightbulb moment, and that was the genesis of Electrify Expo,” he said.

Electrify Expo founder BJ Birtwell sits on one of many Anker electric generators powering the festival. ‘We have to walk the talk, too,’ he said.
(Credit: Emily Dreibelbis)

The first Expo attracted primarily early adopters with an interest in reducing carbon emissions, Birtwell said. Today, it’s more mainstream. Birtwell is particularly excited about a new section of the event this year called the Showoff, where hobbyists show off customized EVs. This redux version of classic car culture could include taking a gas-powered vehicle and turning it into an electric, or modifying an EV, like a Tesla, with a new motor, custom paint job, new steering wheel, and more. The options are limitless.

When organizing vendors and brands for the 2023 event, Birtwell noticed an uptick in the number of brands interested in participating. “It’s becoming a more competitive space,” he said. “We have 80 e-bike manufacturers here; outdoor power sports and recreation is exploding.”

(Credit: Emily Dreibelbis)

The event begs the question: “Is this the new auto show?” The Long Beach Electrify Expo started with “Industry Day,” a closed, $360 ticketed event for those interested in the inner workings of the EV industry. It offered panels to discuss challenges with mainstream adoption, charging networks, and more, as well as networking opportunities and product launches.

The next day, the fest opened to the public. “Consumers no longer have to jam inside a convention center and look at cars behind a velvet rope,” Birtwell said. “We have created a new way for EV shoppers to experience electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes.

“In our outdoor, family-friendly festival setting, it makes the path to purchase a fun experience for the consumer, and we are proud to be fundamentally shifting the way people think about shopping for their new EV, whether two wheels or four,” he added.