Argumentative Essay On Electric Cars

Electric cars, although now commonly associated with the Tesla brand, have in actuality been around for more than 100 years and have since then risen and fallen in popularity and efficiency. The electric vehicle was created initially to replace the inefficient steam and gasoline-powered vehicles of the 20th century, however, as the years progressed and the dangers of global warming and greenhouse gas became more evident, the purpose of the electric car transitioned into providing a better alternative to gasoline vehicles in order to help preserve the Earth for generations to come. From innovators in Europe and the United States toying around with the idea of using batteries to power vehicles to the renewable energy giant, Tesla, creating a
From the original electric van that was only able to travel 14 miles per hour, innovators throughout the years have been able to create more and more efficient cars that are now as luxurious as a Mercedes-Benz and as powerful as a sports car. With the advancements in technology as well as the continued interest in creating an electric vehicle that was capable of functioning as well as, if not better than a gasoline-powered vehicle, the electric vehicle has reached a point in its life where affordability is the only issue in making the electric car readily available to the middle-class and decreasing the harmful effects of gasoline-powered
This original electric vehicle sparked the interest of automotive companies and by the turn of the century, various automotive companies had released electric vehicles across the U.S. and these vehicles accounted “for around a third of all vehicles on the road” (Matulka) because of how fast the technology had spread. The electric car quickly gained popularity in the early 20th century because it was much easier to drive and very affordable as opposed to the gasoline cars which only the wealthy could afford. However, by the time the Roaring Twenties came long, gasoline was cheap and gasoline-powered vehicles were affordable enough for a middle-class member of society to drive, this was especially true with the introduction of Ford’s Model T (Matulka) which was the first mass-manufactured vehicle on the market making it extremely cheap to produce and sell. The Model T “cost only $650, while an electric roadster sold for $1750” (Matulka), making the Model T a much more affordable car to both drive and purchase, and ultimately causing the electric car to die out by 1935 (Matulka). In the next 30 or so years, following the death of the electric vehicle, gasoline