The First Electric Car

The first electric car was the 1888 Flocken Elektrowagen, a four-wheeled open carriage with a 1-horsepower electric motor, a rechargeable lead-acid battery and a top speed of 9 mph. You might think the year is a typo, but the 1800s were actually chock full of EV-related innovations. By the early 1900s, numerous electric cars were on sale and being used for local errands in cities, much as they are today. Cheap gasoline, subpar EV performance and a lack of environmental concern ultimately spelled doom for this initial crop of electric cars. But the fact remains that modern EVs stand on the shoulders of pioneers from more than a century ago. Let's take a closer look.

Early Inventions and Precursors to Electric Cars

The first electric cars were only possible thanks to key advancements in the harnessing of electricity itself. Here are the major developments along that timeline:

1. Discovery of electricity
2. Invention of the battery
3. Invention of the electric motor
4. Invention of the rechargeable battery

Discovery of Electricity

Although natural phenomena like electric fish and static electricity had been observed since antiquity, it wasn't until the 1600s that the concept of electricity came into being. From about 1600-1800, numerous thinkers made contributions to this burgeoning field, perhaps most famously Benjamin Franklin when he flew a kite in a thunderstorm to demonstrate that lightning was electrical in nature. By the late 1700s, it had been established that electricity consisted of both positive and negative charges (Franklin again), but there was still no way to store it and use it continuously — a key obstacle on the road to electric mobility.

Invention of the Battery

The first battery was Alessandro Volta's "voltaic pile" (1799), which was able to provide a continuous and stable electric current, as opposed to unleashing stored electricity in unstable bursts like its predecessor, the Leyden jar. While Volta's batteries ran out of juice after no more than an hour, they paved the way for many refinements in the years to come. However, it would be decades before the rechargeable battery came along; all of these early batteries were permanently dead once their chemical components had been used up.

Invention of the Electric Motor

The first electric motor capable of propelling a machine was invented by William Sturgeon in 1832, followed shortly by Thomas Davenport's patented direct-current electric motor, or DC motor, in 1837. DC motors are relatively inefficient, however, so further innovation would be required. This came in the form of the alternating-current or AC motor, which was invented by Galileo Ferraris in 1885 and refined for commercial use by Nikola Tesla in 1887-'88. Today's electric cars can trace their origins directly to Tesla, since they all use AC motors for propulsion. You can see why the automaker Tesla picked that name.

Invention of the Rechargeable Battery

When Gaston Plante invented the lead-acid battery in 1859, he unlocked the future for electric cars. That's because the lead-acid battery could be recharged by passing a reverse current through it. As noted, earlier batteries could not be revived once spent, so they were not practical energy sources for a motor vehicle. But the rechargeable battery flipped the script. If an electric motor could be paired with such a battery and made to drive the wheels, all the elements would be in place for a viable electric car. Remarkably, these boxes were checked before the turn of the 20th century. It just took another century-plus for the electric car to come into its own.

Rise and Fall of Electric Cars in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

At the beginning of the automotive era, electric cars got off to a fast start, literally — they didn't need to be laboriously hand-cranked to start up like their gasoline rivals, enhancing their appeal. The aforementioned 1888 Flocken Elektrowagen, while arguably the first functional electric car, was a prototype that never made it to production, but one notable early electric car was the Detroit Electric, which started production in 1907. Offering an advertised range of 80 miles, the Detroit Electric was favored by city dwellers who didn't need to go faster than its 20-mph top speed. But EVs ultimately proved to be less practical and accessible to the masses than gas cars, for a variety of reasons.

Limitations and Challenges

The early 20th century witnessed rapid advancements in internal combustion engine (ICE) technology, but perhaps the biggest single reason for the demise of early electric cars was the gasoline-powered Ford Model T. Debuting in 1908, the Model T boasted a top speed of 42 mph and a theoretical range of 200 miles per tank, so it was twice as fast as the Detroit Electric and had twice the range, too. The Model T was also much more affordable, starting at $850 when it debuted and getting significantly cheaper over time. By 1921, the Model T started at just $370, while the Detroit Electric would run you a minimum of $2,985.

Given such clear advantages on the ICE side, EVs were probably bound to get elbowed out no matter what, but two additional factors sealed their fate for the next 100 years. First, the electric starter was invented in 1911, spelling doom for the hand crank and eliminating the EV's initial edge there. Second, while well-to-do city folks could keep their EVs charged up using urban electricity supplies, household electricity remained a primarily urban phenomenon until the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. As late as 1925, only half of American households had electricity, but just about anyone could buy a Model T for cheap and refuel it at a nearby gas station.

Impact on Electric Car Development

The rapid decline of electric cars after their peak in the early 20th century led to a reduced focus on EV research and development. Resources and investments shifted towards improving gasoline-powered vehicles, resulting in further advancements in ICE technology. Still, the rise of electric cars during the late 19th and early 20th centuries marked a crucial chapter in the history of the EV. The brief popularity of electric vehicles demonstrated their potential as a cleaner and quieter alternative. A century later, environmental concerns would spark renewed interest in the electric car as an ICE substitute, but contemporary EV manufacturers like Tesla were hardly starting from scratch. Technologically speaking, the foundation — AC motors powered by rechargeable batteries — was already in place.

Revival of Electric Cars: The Modern Era

In the late 20th century, growing concerns about climate change brought EVs back into mainstream conversation. Although the production and recharging of EVs can and often do rely on fossil fuels, the primary environmental benefit is that the vehicles themselves produce zero emissions while operating. The promise of emissions-free roadways has led to huge new investments from the public and private sector alike, powering major progress in battery technology and the rise of Tesla and other EV producers.

Advancements in Battery Technology

One of the key factors behind the modern resurgence of electric cars is vastly improved battery technology. Lithium-ion batteries, which offer relatively high energy density and efficiency, represent a quantum leap forward from the rechargeable lead-acid batteries of the early EVs. Indeed, today's electric cars are quicker to accelerate than their ICE counterparts and have no trouble keeping up at highway speeds and beyond, yet they also boast driving ranges that are on par with many ICE vehicles. In other words, the Model T's clear advantages over the Detroit Electric no longer reflect the broader state of affairs, and that's due in large part to better batteries. Arguably, the only enduring EV shortcomings are affordability and recharging times.

Tesla's Impact on Electric Cars

The entry of Tesla, Inc. into the automotive industry in the 2000s was a transformative event for electric cars. Whereas modern EVs had previously been regarded as boring and limited, Tesla introduced world-class style, luxury and performance to the EV space. Although the first Tesla model, the niche-market Roadster, was essentially a Lotus Elise with an electric powertrain, Tesla's lineup has since grown into a powerhouse among premium brands, leaving rival automakers playing catch-up. To wit, Tesla sold the most new cars of any luxury brand in the United States in 2022, electric or otherwise, and it wasn't even close. The proliferation we see today of stylish and fast EVs in all shapes and sizes owes much to Tesla's trailblazing success. Moreover, Tesla's Supercharger network set a new standard for fast charging on the go and has become the dominant player with the widespread recent adoption of the Tesla NACS charging connector.

Government Incentives and Support

Governments around the world have introduced various incentives and policies to promote the adoption of electric cars. These measures included tax credits, subsidies and grants to stimulate both the purchase of EVs and the development of public charging infrastructure. The success of these initiatives varies widely from country to country; in Norway, for example, nearly 80 percent of new cars sold in 2022 were fully electric, but on our shores that number was barely 5 percent. Given the enduring convenience and affordability of ICE cars, particularly used cars and especially in rural areas, there is much work left for governments to do in promoting the widespread adoption of EVs.

Advancements in Charging Infrastructure

To address the challenge of charging infrastructure, significant progress has been made in expanding the network of charging stations. DC fast charging has emerged as the solution to charging up an EV on a road trip, although it can still take an hour or more for a full (or full enough) charge. The most significant inroads have been made in urban environments, true to the original appeal of the first electric cars. In particular, the advent of widely available Level 2 home charging stations makes modern EVs perfectly suited to daily driving and errand-running, since an overnight charge will replenish the battery for the next day. Rural communities face more challenges, as it's harder for their residents to fit all of a day's driving into a single 200- or even 300-mile charge. Moreover, given the wealth gap between urban and rural residents, having an EV alongside an ICE car to mitigate range anxiety may be less financially viable outside of metropolitan areas.

The Future of Electric Cars

As technology advances and economies of scale are realized, the cost of electric cars will hopefully decrease, making them more accessible to a wider range of consumers. There is also the potential that future battery advancements will reduce charging times dramatically, narrowing the current gap between ICE refueling times and EV charging stops. For now, EV drivers remain heavily city-centric, just like they were when the first Detroit Electric rolled out in 1907. But unlike back then, electric cars are now fully competitive with, or even better than, their ICE peers in most respects. Suffice it to say that the EVs of tomorrow won't be meeting the same fate as the first electric cars.