13/04/2025
By the late 1800s and early 1900s, electric vehicles were considered a cutting-edge form of transportation. In fact, around 1900, electric cars made up about a third of all vehicles on the road in the United States. They were especially popular in urban areas because they were quiet, easy to operate, and didn't require the hand-cranking that gasoline cars did back then.
Here's a quick snapshot of the early EV scene:
- In 1899 and 1900, electric cars outsold all other types of cars in the U.S.
- Women favored them for their cleanliness and ease of use — no gears to shift, no smelly fumes.
- Taxi fleets in cities like New York and London used electric cars.
So what happened?
The rise of the internal combustion engine. With Ford's introduction of the Model T in 1908, gasoline-powered cars became far more affordable and convenient for long-distance travel. At the same time, the lack of charging infrastructure, limited battery technology, and mass production of gas cars pushed electric vehicles into near-oblivion.
Oil magnates like John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil were becoming some of the wealthiest and most powerful people on Earth. Gas-powered cars needed gasoline and thus gasoline became a massively profitable commodity. It’s no surprise that oil barons had every reason to get behind gas cars and bury EVs.
If EVs had won out early on, the economic dominance of the oil industry might have looked very different.
