1894 WAS THE START, NOOB. ELECTRIC'S BEEN REBOOTING SINCE BEFORE YA WERE BORN.

From Electrobats to Leafs: A History of Electric Cars (and Why They're Back, Man) - By Grimbly31

Okay, settle in, kiddies. Grimbly31’s gonna lay down some history on you. You think electric vehicles are new? You think Elon Musk invented the thing? Hah! Bless your heart. This isn’t some overnight sensation. Electric cars have been around longer than you’ve been online, probably longer than your parents have been alive. Seriously.

Let's rewind. Back in the late 1800s – yeah, before streaming and dial-up - electric vehicles were a thing. I’m talking 1894, when the Electrobat got patented. These weren’t your sleek Teslas, obviously. They were more like glorified golf carts, but they were there. And get this: between 1900 and 1912, electric cars accounted for about a third of all vehicles on American roads. Think about that for a second. More popular than gas guzzlers. They were faster, lighter, and cleaner – sounds familiar, right?

Then, like a bad BBS connection dropping mid-download, it all went south. 1908. Enter Henry Ford and his Model T. Mass production, you see. Suddenly, everyone could afford a gas-powered car. And when Texas crude oil started gushing and gasoline prices plummeted in the 1920s... well, the electric dream got put on the shelf. Dust and all.

Fast forward a few decades, and things looked pretty bleak for electric transportation. But the internet never forgets, and neither does technology. The US government started poking around in the 1970s, trying to get something, anything, moving in the EV space. Then, in '97, Toyota dropped the Prius - the first real hybrid to hit the mainstream. A tiny spark, but a spark nonetheless.

And then… 2008. Tesla. The Roadster. Suddenly, electric vehicles weren't just about being “okay.” They were about performance, design, and a whole new way of thinking about cars. Tesla lit a fire, a genuine revolution.

The 2010s? Game changer. The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf arrived, bringing plug-in electric vehicles to a wider audience. Sales hit a record high in 2021, and 2022 just kept the momentum rolling, driven by government incentives and, honestly, people finally realizing that climate change isn't some abstract concept they read about on Reddit.

So, what’s the big implication here? It's not just about swapping out a combustion engine for a battery pack. It’s about a cyclical history – a reminder that technology rises and falls based on a bunch of factors: cost, availability, societal shifts, even something as simple as the price of gasoline.

Electric vehicles will continue to evolve. Battery technology will improve. Charging infrastructure will expand (hopefully, with more than just those slow-as-molasses Level 2 chargers). The future is electric, man. But remember, it’s a return to a future that was almost realized a century ago. It’s like… downloading a retro game, but this time, the game is the future.

Stay frosty. - Grimbly31