If the energy is used for something intended (e.g. hot air) than it is not inefficient.

That's not really the context of the comment though. The point is just that an EV turns ~80% of its fuel energy into motion (with the rest as heat) and an ICE turns about ~30% of its fuel energy into motion (with the rest as heat).

If you need heat, an EV needs to turn more of its fuel energy into heat, while an ICE can just repurpose what was otherwise being dumped.

	▲	themafia a day ago \| parent [-]
		The second factor is your battery needs heat. So you may be forced to generate excess heat even if you aren't using it in the cabin. The point being is that EV cars are a great idea, but the American auto market was not a good _general_ fit, and manufacturers didn't tailor their products enough to actually be successful. They really just pushed a bunch of product onto the market to capitalize on government subsidies. Which, to me, is the real "risk." Manufacturer incompetence. That all being said my next car will probably be a hybrid.