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Did big oil companies destroy the first electric car?
The idea of an electric car has always fought against the oil industry. Why did electric cars go so quiet for a while? Did big oil companies buy and hide the first electric cars?
Marlee John · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Great question! Big oil companies did not buy and hide the
electric cars
, but car manufacturers mysteriously stopped making them and the remaining were destroyed. Electric cars don’t run on fossil fuels and hence they make oil companies obsolete. In the ‘90s, companies like GM motors and other members of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association developed their own emissions-free prototypes.
However in 2003 despite public interest, GM stuck to their plans of destroying the vehicles the reason being that they wouldn’t sell enough to make a profit.
These early electric cars were essentially “killed” until the talk of electric vehicles became less and less mainstream.
A documentary by Chris Pane called Who Killed the Electric Car? investigates why the only cars available until recently ran on oil. He gathers that many of the companies which first made electric cars were then lobbied to destroy them due to power politics and corporate interests.
With the increasing number of cars on the road, the oil was booming. Introducing a car that was no longer dependent upon oil companies, was not in the interest of an economy based on the success of the oil industry.
It seems as though, like in many cases in history, the health of the environment took a backseat to the wealth of the economy.
Power, politics, and world economics can be a mystery, but your insurance doesn’t have to be. Let
Jerry
, help you find the best insurance policy at the best rates!View full answer
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