Nick Pell

No, they weren't.

When we think of early cars, I think of these monstrosities you had to crank by hand to get going.

Weird aside, chauffeur comes from the French word stoker, like somebody who stokes an engine.

I see.

Fun fact.

Yes.

Because, yeah, that's what you used to have to do with gas powered cars to get them started.

Well, they're not totally wrong.

Tesla was the first company that made electric vehicles practical for everyday use.

Before Tesla hit the scene, they were kind of just toys for rich guys or car enthusiasts with significant disposable income.

The electric car museum in my town is thus kind of underwhelming.

You're not looking at something that can win a race or really even be driven across town.

They're basically sort of glorified golf carts, if I'm not mistaken.

That's a decent way of putting it, except for one thing.

Like you said, the first cars on the road were electric vehicles.

This was during an era where gas-powered cars...

Electric cars and steam-powered cars shared the road.

It sounds like a joke, but it's not.

Electric cars used to be advertised as ladies' cars because they were cleaner and required less maintenance.

A lot of people chalk this up to conspiracy.