Few invenÂtions have come to define twenÂty-first cenÂtuÂry mobilÂiÂty as much as the elecÂtric car. As reportÂed at EVBox by Joseph D. SimpÂson and WesÂley van BarÂlinÂgen, the numÂber of elecÂtric vehiÂcles on the road has explodÂed from “negÂliÂgiÂble” in 2010 to “as many as 10 milÂlion” by the end of 2021. ElecÂtric vehiÂcle manÂuÂfacÂturÂer TesÂla “is the most valuÂable autoÂmoÂtive comÂpaÂny on the planÂet,” worth “an estiÂmatÂed $1 trilÂlion.” That comÂpaÂny takes its name from invenÂtor and alterÂnatÂing-curÂrent pioÂneer NikoÂla TesÂla, but it was under the influÂence of TesÂla’s rival Thomas EdiÂson that the elecÂtric car went through much of its earÂly evoÂluÂtion.
“At about the time Ford Motor Co. was foundÂed in 1903, EdiÂson had made inroads with batÂtery techÂnolÂoÂgy and startÂed offerÂing nickÂel-iron batÂterÂies for sevÂerÂal uses, includÂing autoÂmoÂbiles,” writes Wired’s Dan Strohl. At the turn of the 20th cenÂtuÂry, the vehiÂcles on AmerÂiÂcan roads ran on three difÂferÂent kinds of powÂer: 40 perÂcent used steam, almost as many used elecÂtricÂiÂty, and round 20 perÂcent used gasoÂline.
NevÂer hesÂiÂtant to proÂmote his own techÂnoloÂgies, EdiÂson declared that “elecÂtricÂiÂty is the thing,” with its lack of “whirring and grindÂing gears with their numerÂous levers to conÂfuse,” of “that almost terÂriÂfyÂing uncerÂtain throb and whirr of the powÂerÂful comÂbusÂtion engine,” of a “water-cirÂcuÂlatÂing sysÂtem to get out of order,” of “danÂgerÂous and evil-smelling gasoÂline.”
As BBC Future PlanÂet’s AlliÂson Hirschlag tells it, “EdiÂson claimed the nickÂel-iron batÂtery was incredÂiÂbly resilient, and could be charged twice as fast as lead-acid batÂterÂies.” He even had a deal in place with Ford Motors to proÂduce this purÂportÂedÂly more effiÂcient elecÂtric vehiÂcle.” Alas, “by the time EdiÂson had a more refined proÂtoÂtype” — one that could be driÂven from ScotÂland to LonÂdon — “elecÂtric vehiÂcles were on the way out in favor of fosÂsil-fuel-powÂered vehiÂcles that could go longer disÂtances before needÂing to refuÂel or recharge.” It didÂn’t help, as SimpÂson and van BarÂlinÂgen add, that “after the disÂcovÂery of oil in Texas, gasoÂline became cheap and readÂiÂly availÂable for many, while elecÂtricÂiÂty only remained availÂable in cities.” As a result, elecÂtric vehiÂcles had “almost comÂpleteÂly disÂapÂpeared from the marÂket” by the mid-nineÂteen-thirÂties.
By the mid-twenÂty-thirÂties, howÂevÂer, elecÂtric vehiÂcles will quite posÂsiÂbly domÂiÂnate the marÂket, and 200 years after their invenÂtion at that. “It is said that the first elecÂtric vehiÂcle was disÂplayed at an indusÂtry conÂferÂence in 1835 by a British invenÂtor by the name of Robert AnderÂson,” write SimpÂson and van BarÂlinÂgen. The twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry cenÂtuÂry saw its develÂopÂment set back by the slow develÂopÂment of batÂtery techÂnolÂoÂgy, comÂbined with the sudÂden develÂopÂment of gasoÂline-relatÂed techÂnoloÂgies and infraÂstrucÂture. But ecoÂnomÂic, enviÂronÂmenÂtal, and politÂiÂcal facÂtors have conÂverged to make it seem as if elecÂtricÂiÂty is, indeed, the thing after all, and cars powÂered by it are posiÂtioned to come roarÂing — or at least humÂming — back.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
A FlyÂing Car Took to the Skies Back in 1949: See the TayÂlor AeroÂcar in Action
NewÂly Unearthed Footage Shows Albert EinÂstein DriÂving a FlyÂing Car (1931)
The TimeÂless BeauÂty of the CitÂroĂ«n DS, the Car MytholÂoÂgized by Roland Barthes (1957)
The World’s Fastest Solar Car
Behold the First ElecÂtric GuiÂtar: The 1931 “FryÂing Pan”
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall, on FaceÂbook, or on InstaÂgram.
