Politicians and automakers tout the rise of electric vehicles. But gas station owners aren't rushing to install chargers.

Gas stations, truck stops and convenience stores are the essential infrastructure that allow Americans to leave their homes, drive to work, the store or from coast to coast without fear of running out of liquid fuel, supplies or a safe spot for when nature calls. Many gas stations are open seven days a week, 24 hours a day — and stations are where the National Association of Convenience Stores estimates 40 million gasoline transactions take place every day.

That dependence has turned the transportation sector — which also includes the trucking and airline industries — into the country's leading source of greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has said the future of a green U.S. economy is dependent on this "once-in-a-generation opportunity to spark an electric vehicle revolution." The revolutionaries seem steadfast. Automakers have pledged to only produce electric models in years to come. President Joe Biden has touted, since the beginning of his campaign, the goal of installing half a million electric vehicle charging stations across the nation's highways. But there might be bigger challenges — and expenses — the gas stations strung along the nation's roads can take on.