⚡ ELECTRIC VEHICLES: THE SECOND CAR REVOLUTION
PAGE 1 OF 5, ELECTRIC CARS BEFORE PETROL
1899, QUIET SPEED
BATTERIES ON WHEELS, DECADES EARLY
Long before Tesla became a household name, inventors were already building battery-powered cars. In 1899, Belgian driver Camille Jenatzy pushed an electric car called La Jamais Contente to about 105 km/h, a shocking land speed record for the time. Early electric taxis hummed through cities like New York and London because they were smooth and did not scare horses with loud engines. If you think EVs are brand new, history says otherwise.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
Some wealthy drivers in the 1900s preferred electric cars for city trips because they were easy to start and did not need a hand crank like many early petrol cars.
HUM!
LEAD ACID
🔋 Early batteries were heavy lead-acid blocks that limited range to short city hops.
🏙️ That was fine for deliveries and taxi rides, but not for cross-country adventures.
🏙️ That was fine for deliveries and taxi rides, but not for cross-country adventures.
NO SMOKE
🐴 Electric cars rolled silently past horses that hated noisy petrol engines.
🌫️ Cities liked anything that reduced smoke in crowded streets.
🌫️ Cities liked anything that reduced smoke in crowded streets.