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Malcolm, I think a lot of the stuff about Mr Tesla, a great man nonetheless, is vastly exaggerated. Much of his experimentation did not work, after all, and rumours that some of his work is still classified are believed to be untrue. Granted, he branched out into areas others did not understand, but he didn't really advance things. The problem with the electric car is that manufacturers have jumped on the technology in order to look like they are doing 'something' in advance of the apparent demise of the internal combustion engine. In fact, the motor industry is not worried about its demise at all, and sees it very much as the staple power source for decades to come. More efficient, smaller, turbocharged engines with hybrid energy recovery systems are the way forward in the immediate future, while the hydrogen fuel cell is undoubtedly the engine of beyond that. It's a little known fact that, in the early days of motoring, electric cars were much more popular than ICE powered vehicles. This was largely because they were more reliable. Indeed, the first vehicle to top 100kmh was an electric vehicle, in 1899. It's notable that the range/mileage of the vehicles back then was not far short of that of current electric vehicles. In other words, the electric car is a dead end.