Electric Cars Have Been Around Since 18th Century

Whats Old is New Again

Maybe I havent been paying attention, or maybe I’m just not 110 years old, but either way it’s news to me that Electric Vehicles we’re some of the earliest to have been made and we’re publicly available for purchase as early as the late 18th century in Europe and the US. What? And here’s an even crazier fact – many of them still work with the original batteries. Ok. Mind blown. It seems that they were mostly used by women, so that they didn’t have to get out and crank up the motor, to do some shopping around town. There were also cab companies who had electric vehicles and some trolleys as well.

Even crazier, the first Hybrid was built in 1911. Take that Toyota!

Woman Charging An Electric Vehicle in 1905

The Wikipedia article about the History of the Electric Car has some fascinating tidbits:

At the turn of the century, 40 percent of American automobiles were powered by steam, 38 percent by electricity, and 22 percent by gasoline. 33,842 electric cars were registered in the United States, and America became the country where electric cars had gained the most acceptance.^[24]

In order to overcome the limited operating range of electric vehicles, and the lack of recharging infrastructure, an exchangeable battery service was first proposed as early as 1896.^[25]

Ho Ho Mr. Musk, so what Mr. Jobs, et al says may be true – “Good artists copy, great artists steal” eh? Well this is the type of intellectual property borrowing I wouldn’t mind seeing more of. Frankly for me, it’s less about global warming tomorrow and more about the quality of life today. I think it’s easier for most folks to wrap their heads around what we can see, feel, touch, and for anyone who’s been to Beijing or Los Angeles on a bad day knows what I’m talking about. Noise pollution is another obvious nuisance we could all live without.

Bonhams auction recently sold a 1905 Wood Electric Queen Victoria Brougham for $95,000. Hey, that’s still cheaper than some Teslas!