Powerline 1/17/2024
Many people don’t realize that electric cars have been around for more than 100 years. One might think that the fact they have never caught on is more than a coincidence.
Yesterday, Robert Bryce provided testimony on electric vehicles to the Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. His testimony is reproduced at his Substack site. It is all worth reading; here is an excerpt:
The history of the EV is a century of failure tailgating failure. In 1901, in an article headlined “Edison’s New Storage Battery,” the Los Angeles Times declared, “The electric automobile will quickly and easily take precedence over all other” types of motor vehicles. It said, “If the claims which Mr. Edison makes for his new battery be not overstated, there is not much doubt that it will make a fortune for somebody.”[ii] The media hype continued for the next 100 years:
* In 1911, the New York Times reported that the electric car “has long been recognized as the ideal solution” because it “is cleaner and quieter” and “much more economical.”[iii]
* In 1915, the Washington Post wrote that “prices on electric cars will continue to drop until they are within reach of the average family.”[iv]
* In 1959, the New York Times claimed the “Old electric may be the car of tomorrow.” The story said EVs were making a comeback because “gasoline is expensive today, principally because it is so heavily taxed, while electricity is far cheaper” than it was in the 1920s.[v]
More:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/01/electric-vehicles-cars-of-the-past.php
