Electric Cars

The change of powertrain. The early EVs and the EV1, Tesla, the battery and the charging network, the hybrids, and the manufacturers retooling for it.

Part of Cars

38 moments in this segment.

  1. - 1900 - Electric vs Steam vs Gasoline. 1900. Of 4,192 US cars produced, 1,681 are steam, 1,575 are electric, 936 are gasoline. Electric wins city-driving (no crank, no smoke). Cheap oil + Model T mass-production kill electric until 2008.
  2. - GM EV1 - The Crushed Electric Pioneer. 1996-1999. GM EV1, first modern mass-produced EV. Lease-only in California + Arizona. GM crushes most of the fleet in 2003 amid CARB-mandate rollback. Subject of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" (2006).
  3. - Toyota Prius - Mass Hybrid. December 10, 1997. Toyota ships Prius in Japan, first mass-produced hybrid car. Global launch 2001. 20M+ Prius hybrids sold by 2024. Single biggest "drive-the-Hollywood-shift-to-EV" cultural moment.
  4. - Tesla Founded. July 1, 2003. Martin Eberhard + Marc Tarpenning found Tesla Motors in San Carlos, CA. Elon Musk leads Series A in 2004 + becomes chairman. Renamed Tesla Inc. (2017).
  5. - Tesla Roadster - First Lithium-Ion EV. February 1, 2008. Tesla Roadster ships, first production EV with lithium-ion battery (Panasonic 18650 cells). 245-mile range, $109,000. Proves EVs can be sport-cars not golf-carts. ~2,500 sold 2008-2012.
  6. - Elon Musk - Tesla CEO Era. 2008 onward. Elon Musk takes over as Tesla CEO during 2008 financial crisis. Saves Tesla with Daimler + Toyota deals. Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck under his tenure. Most-divisive auto-CEO of the 21st century.
  7. - Top Gear vs Tesla (BBC Lawsuit). December 2008. Top Gear airs Tesla Roadster review showing the car running out of charge + being pushed. Tesla sues for libel + malicious falsehood. UK courts rule for BBC (2013). Cementing Tesla-as-thin-skinned-PR narrative.
  8. - Top Gear Tesla Roadster Road Test. Paired YT embed for "Top Gear vs Tesla (BBC Lawsuit)". Query: Top Gear Tesla Roadster review pushed
  9. - Nissan Leaf - First Mass-Market EV. December 2010. Nissan Leaf launches at $32,780. First mass-market BEV. By 2024: 650,000+ sold. Defined affordable-EV template that everyone else (Bolt, ID.3, Model 3) followed.
  10. - Tesla Model S - Reset the Luxury EV. June 22, 2012. Tesla Model S ships. 265-mile range, 4.4s 0-60, OTA software updates, gigantic touchscreen. Forces every legacy luxury OEM to abandon their "EV is just a Prius" assumption. Defines EV-as-aspirational-product.
  11. - Model S Customer Delivery Event. Paired YT embed for "Tesla Model S, Reset the Luxury EV". Query: Tesla Model S 2012 launch
  12. - Tesla Model X - Falcon Wing Doors. September 29, 2015. Tesla Model X ships. Falcon-wing rear doors (delayed product launch by 18 months). Bioweapon Defense Mode (HEPA filtration). Becomes the EV-school-mom suburban-status symbol.
  13. - Elon Musk Shows Off Tesla Falcon Wing Doors in Tight Parking Spot. Fans go nuts!. Paired YT embed for "Tesla Model X, Falcon Wing Doors". Query: Tesla Model X falcon wing doors reveal
  14. - Tesla Model 3. July 28, 2017. Tesla Model 3 ships. $35,000 target price. Production-hell year follows; by 2020 Model 3 is the best-selling EV globally. Single car most-responsible for normalising EVs in the US.
  15. - Tesla Unveils Model 3. Paired YT embed for "Tesla Model 3". Query: Tesla Model 3 reveal launch
  16. - Tesla Semi Reveal. November 16, 2017. Tesla reveals Semi at $150K-180K. Production starts 2022. Pepsi takes first deliveries. 500-mile range from 1,000 kWh pack. Electric long-haul-trucking experiment.
  17. - Waymo One - First Public Robotaxi Service. December 5, 2018. Waymo launches "Waymo One" robotaxi service in Phoenix suburbs, first public self-driving-taxi service. Earlier (1995) Carnegie Mellon's "No Hands Across America" was a demo; this is the first real product.
  18. - Porsche Taycan. September 4, 2019. Porsche ships Taycan, first BEV Porsche. 800V architecture (industry first). 0-100 km/h in 2.8s (Turbo S). Sets Nürburgring lap record for EV. Validates premium-EV-as-Porsche credibility.
  19. - Get to know the all-electric Porsche Taycan. Paired YT embed for "Porsche Taycan". Query: Porsche Taycan launch reveal
  20. - Cybertruck Reveal Glass-Break. November 21, 2019. Tesla Cybertruck reveal. Franz von Holzhausen throws steel ball at "armoured glass" window, it shatters. Twice. Elon's reaction face becomes one of the decade's most-shared meme images.
  21. - Ford Mustang Mach-E. 2020. Ford ships Mach-E, first Mustang-branded SUV + Ford's real EV bet. Sells 30k+ in year one. Validates legacy-OEM EV-with-cool-badge strategy before F-150 Lightning (2022).
  22. - Tesla FSD Beta - Mass Autonomy Test. October 22, 2020. Tesla starts rolling out "FSD Beta" to public, first scale-deployment of supervised-autonomy on consumer cars. Marketed beyond capability for years; recall + name change to "FSD (Supervised)" in 2024.
  23. - Tesla Model Y - Best-Selling Car Globally. March 13, 2020. Tesla Model Y ships. By 2023: best-selling car globally (1.2M units). Toyota Corolla loses its 50-year crown. First EV ever to be the world's best-selling car of any kind.
  24. - Mercedes EQS - Luxury EV Flagship. 2021. Mercedes EQS, first dedicated-platform Mercedes EV. 0.20 drag coefficient (lowest production car ever). Hyperscreen 56-inch dashboard. Mercedes's reset moment vs Tesla.
  25. - Rimac Nevera - 1,914 hp Electric Hypercar. June 2021. Rimac Nevera ships, quad-motor, 1,914 hp, 412 km/h. Croatian Mate Rimac's company. Holds production-car 0-100 km/h record (1.81s). Bugatti-Rimac joint venture follows.
  26. - Lucid Air - 520-Mile EV. October 2021. Lucid Air ships. 1,111 hp Dream Edition, 520-mile EPA range, longest of any production EV. Peter Rawlinson (ex-Model S chief engineer) leads. Highest-efficiency EV powertrain in production.
  27. - Rivian R1T - First Electric Pickup. September 2021. Rivian R1T ships before Cybertruck or F-150 Lightning, first electric pickup. Quad-motor, 314-mile range. Defines premium-EV-truck category.
  28. - Ford F-150 Lightning. April 2022. Ford F-150 Lightning ships. Electric F-150, most-important EV in US market (F-Series = best-selling US vehicle for 40+ years). Pro Power Onboard, Frunk. ~150K orders pre-launch.
  29. - Ford F-150 Lightning. April 2022. Ford F-150 Lightning ships. Electric F-150, most-important EV in US market (F-Series = best-selling US vehicle for 40+ years). Pro Power Onboard, Frunk. ~150K orders pre-launch.
  30. - Tesla Cybertruck. November 30, 2023. Tesla Cybertruck ships. Stainless-steel exoskeleton, no paint, geometric prism shape. Most-divisive design of the decade; either future or punchline depending on which Twitter feed you read.
  31. - Cybertruck Delivery Event. Paired YT embed for "Tesla Cybertruck". Query: Tesla Cybertruck delivery reveal
  32. - BYD Overtakes Tesla on Quarterly EV Sales. Q4 2023. China's BYD ships 526,409 BEVs in Q4, beats Tesla's 484,507. First quarter BYD passes Tesla. Chinese auto exports surge; the West's 100-year auto-industry dominance starts visibly ending.
  33. - Lucid Air Sapphire. 2023. Lucid Air Sapphire, tri-motor, 1,234 hp, 0-60 in 1.89s. Fastest production sedan ever. Lucid attempts to position above Tesla Model S Plaid; struggles commercially despite tech win.
  34. - Driving Lucid Air Sapphire For The First Time Over 200 MPH On The Autobahn! This Thing Is Crazy. Paired YT embed for "Lucid Air Sapphire". Query: Lucid Air Sapphire review tri-motor
  35. - 2024 GMC Sierra EV vs. 2025 Rivian R1T Tri: Luxe Truck Duel. Paired YT embed for "Rivian R1T, First Electric Pickup". Query: Rivian R1T review electric pickup
  36. - Chinese OEM Wave (BYD, Nio, Xpeng, Zeekr, Xiaomi SU7). 2024. China-OEM EV wave hits global media. BYD ships 4M+ vehicles. Xiaomi SU7 launches to 88K orders in 24 hours. Nio + Xpeng + Zeekr + Li Auto + Geely Lotus all scale. Western OEMs scramble to respond.
  37. - Xiaomi SU7 - Phone Company Builds Car. March 28, 2024. Xiaomi (phone company) ships SU7, 89,000 orders in 24 hours. 800V architecture. Lei Jun positions Xiaomi as the Apple of cars. The Chinese-OEM-EV inflection point in Western media.
  38. - Xiaomi SU7 | New Colors Unveiled. Paired YT embed for "Xiaomi SU7, Phone Company Builds Car". Query: Xiaomi SU7 launch reveal
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