Home / Technology / Electric Cars: A 200-Year Ghostly Revival
Electric Cars: A 200-Year Ghostly Revival
1 May
Summary
- Electric cars first appeared in the 1830s, predating gasoline vehicles.
- By 1900, EVs were popular but vanished due to cost and convenience.
- NASA's lunar rovers are the only vehicles to operate on another world.
The electric vehicle (EV) has a history stretching back to the 1830s, predating the widespread adoption of gasoline-powered cars. By the dawn of the 20th century, roughly a third of American vehicles were electric, offering a cleaner and easier alternative to hand-cranked gasoline engines and exploding steam engines. However, the introduction of the affordable Ford Model T and the electric starter in the early 1910s led to the electric car's decline.
Electric cars resurfaced periodically, notably with experimental prototypes in the 1960s and the production of the NASA lunar rovers, the only vehicles to have operated on another world. The 1973 oil embargo spurred interest, leading to vehicles like the CitiCar. The modern EV era began with the 1996 GM EV1, a leased vehicle that was later recalled and crushed.
The founding of Tesla Motors in 2003 marked a turning point, with its 2008 Roadster offering over 200 miles of range. By 2011, Nissan released the mass-market Leaf, and the 2012 Tesla Model S demonstrated that EVs could outperform gasoline rivals. Today, with over 10 million EVs worldwide, the historical barriers of inconvenience, expense, and limited range have largely been overcome.
