Why didn’t we listen to him a century ago? Answer? Taxes.
He added, “He [Edison] came from America to live in Dukes Street, in London, and built three cars, one of which he drove from Scotland to London, charging it up along the way. The final leg, 170 miles (273 kilometers), has still never been beaten.”
Edison’s car is slow compared to modern standards. It has 15 two-volt batteries which power a 30-volt electric motor.
The car’s top speed is just 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour).
“In Edison’s day it would have been speedy in comparison to other cars,” Mr Burrell said.
He added: “A hundred years ago, Edison said electricity was the future because all the oil would be pumped out of the ground but it was decided more money could be made from taxing petrol. Imagine what we would have now if Edison had been listened to a century ago.”
via Last known electric car ‘ready to run’ | The Daily Telegraph.
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