There is a lot you can blame Mr Bean for - be it finding rather complicated solutions to simple problems or creating issues when there are none. But now, Rowan Atkinson, the actor who played Mr Bean is being blamed for the low sales of electric vehicles in the UK.
British news outlets like the Telegraph and Sky News have reported that during a meeting of the environment and climate change committee of UK’s House of Lords an article written by Atkinson was called ‘damaging to the cause’ of EVs.
‘One of the most damaging articles was a comment piece written by Rowan Atkinson in The Guardian which has been roundly debunked,’ Sky News reported think thank Green Alliance as saying.
"Unfortunately, fact checks never reach the same breadth of audience as the original false claim, emphasising the need to ensure high editorial standards around the net zero transition,” the think thank reportedly added.
The article written by Atkinson in 2023 was titled ‘I love electric vehicles - and was an early adopter. But increasingly I feel duped’.
Atkinson wrote that EVs were ‘a bit soulless’. He also criticised use of lithium-ion batteries.