So the government paid for 40% of the cost of your car, and allowed you to use the HOV  lanes as a single.  Would you have purchased the car at full price and without HOV lane usage? That was the point of the article - too much of the "green" industry is based on politicians using taxpayer money for virtue signalling.

If there were 000's on the road, the government would be broke, and the HOV lanes would be packed and useless.