On: Can Elon Musk and Tesla Reinvent the Way Cars Are ...

[CharlesW]

That seems unlikely, considering that the first "Golden Age" for EVs was in the late 1890s and early 1900s.[1] Musk was the first to use lithium-ion batteries for a highway-legal vehicle, but is that really a unique innovation that wouldn't have occurred to anyone else?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicl...

[cowmix → CharlesW]

The 'innovation' is that car companies did not (and still do not) want to make EV cars. There's so much inertia behind ICE vehicles the incentive to make EVs is small.

1) Oil companies don't want them. 2) Dealerships don't want them. 3) Automakers don't want them.

Tesla's energy has forced the issue.

[_mog1 → cowmix]

> The 'innovation' is that car companies did not (and still do not) want to make EV cars

Car companies want to sell cars that can make a profit. They're willing to wait for the technology to improve to the point that that is feasible.

[cptskippy → _mog1]

Unfortunately our planet isn't.

[justAnotherNET → CharlesW]

Ah, so we’ve crossed from the “it’s impossible” to the “it was inevitable” stage of disruption :p