Acceptance of Electric Vehicles

Tesla: The World’s Most Popular Automaker

One surprising fact learned in “The Interesting History of Electric Cars” (2019) is that electricity is one of the oldest fuel types in existence for vehicles. But the cheapness of gasoline coupled with the rise of Ford Motors as the nation’s most popular car manufacturer (and the desire to make automobiles more financially accessible to consumers) caused gas to become the favorable fuel type. Rising gas prices and concerns about the environment generated a corresponding increase in interest in electric vehicles only in the 1970s, and it would be a long time before the vehicles were remotely affordable or realistically functional for the average consumer.

Consumers are often slow to adopt to changes which relate to such an important part of their daily lives and routines as the car. America has even been resistant to adopting mass transit, except in major cities, because of the focus on larger vehicles as a symbol of status and comfort. Other countries, where fuel has been more expensive, have been more open to the concept of electric cars. Tesla is now the world’s most valuable automaker, thanks to increased charging stations, improved battery life, and the growing social acceptance of such vehicles. Tesla’s value as a company increased 375% recently (Routley, 2020). This is particularly impressive given the COVID-19 pandemic which substantially limited driving during the height of the pandemic.